Game Over for Ivey League Poker Coaching Site

(Photo: Cardschat.com)

The aim of "teaching the world to win at poker" undertaken by Phil Ivey at his Ivey League coaching website has been tossed into the muck, as posts on the website and accompanying Twitter account indicate that operations will cease and subscribers will be refunded.

"With the current state of online poker, as of May 1st we will no longer be posting new video content," posted one of Ivey's coaches on the site's forum page. "The video library will remain online as we process prorated refunds for everyone who paid for yearly subscriptions. Month to month subscriptions can be cancelled anytime."

Ivey League launched in 2014 to much fanfare and interest from poker players. Phil Ivey purchased Leggo Poker prior to launch and integrated that established coaching site into Ivey League.

Stagnant U.S.

There are likely a number of reasons why the tent is folding at Ivey League, one of which is the slow progress of state-by-state legislation. No states have joined Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey in regulating online poker in almost four years.

It's hard for online poker to grow when legality is in a grey area in the U.S. and other jurisdictions around the world. U.S. players remain fearful of poker room shutdowns orchestrated by the government a la Black Friday or site operators running off with the cash as was done at Lock Poker and Full Flush Poker.

Other Avenues for Players to Improve

We also can't discount the fact that there are many other areas where poker players looking to improve their game can find information and content to do exactly that - and not pay any subscription fees.

The poker vlogging craze has perhaps siphoned some studious players away from poker coaching sites. Vloggers like Andrew Neeme and Jeff Boski are creating a relatively new kind of content that players can relate to in a real way.

Just read some of the comments posted by viewers after watching the vlogs. Many will say flat out how much their own game is improving by learning the thought processes and the reasons behind the decision-making made by the popular poker vloggers.

Free YouTube Content

Also, regular tips and hand breakdowns posted on YouTube by the likes of Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk have likely caused poker training sites to feel the pinch. Who wants to pay for poker knowledge when there is a good amount available for free from big time pros?

It must also be stated that Polk's Upswing Poker training site may be part of the reason for the Ivey league's demise. Doug is all over YouTube, Twitch, and social media, and is also spending plenty of cash on advertising at 2+2 and Facebook, drawing lots of attention to the coaching site.

Phil Ivey, of course, is a bigger name in the world of poker and likely could have attracted many more subscribers if he would have put himself out there much the same way Polk has done. But Ivey apparently doesn't roll that way, as submitting oneself to that type of exposure and accessibility is not for everyone.

"We would like to thank everyone who was a part of Ivey League and wish everyone the best with their poker journey’s going forward," was the last portion of the Team Ivey League announcement on the website.