Collecting Craze: A Complete Beginner’s Guide to the Poker NFT Scene
One of the biggest buzzes lately in the poker community has been talk of NFTs. These are digital collectibles and NFT stands for “non-fungible tokens” – and seem to be the talk of the industry.
These “tokens” are digital moments and can be collected like baseball cards – only in a format that offers even more multimedia opportunities.
Several poker companies and players themselves are getting in on the NFT action, allowing fans to collect. Those new to the process may be wondering: “How do I get my hands on one?”
Here’s a look at the NFT poker scene and how to go about acquiring a poker NFT.
Get in on the Drop
ThetaDrop has catered to card players with World Poker Tour collectibles. The NFT collectible site has made it easy to get in on the trend.
The site allows the purchase of NFTs by using US dollars or the site’s digital currency called “theta fuel.” The currency’s market value from day to day.
The site’s marketplace allows the consumer to purchase and sell NFTs on the page without much hassle. The one-stop shop has made it convenient for rookies to get in on the NFT game.
Sellers can set their own price on the tokens they choose to list. The marketplace shows the “floor” price of the current lowest-priced item. Theta also lists how many releases of each token are available, such as #335 or 1,000.
WPT joins the NFT world
The WPT got in on the NFT action early, launching the tour’s first packs in April 2021. These were released exclusively on ThetaDrop and varied in price.
Each interested buyer could get in on a pre-funded drop. Once funded, buyers were randomly assigned a number in the waiting list. Those receiving low numbers were more likely guaranteed a pack.
Consumers then either “opened” the NFT pack or left it sealed. Once the pack is opened and the contents revealed, it can’t be “closed” again.
The packs can be resold as sealed items. Or if opened, the individual cards can also be sold on the Theta Marketplace.
“I couldn’t believe I scored a rare Daniel Negreanu card,” Nerdthusiast Poker Podcast host Brian Keane said. “I knew it was an instant payday when I saw it.”
Some cards scored big money and collectors jumped on board to add these unique items to their collections.
Theta reaches deal with partypoker
Partypoker is following in the steps of WPT and plans to launch NFT cards on ThetaDrop. The site hasn’t announced an official drop date yet.
However, the recent news has some poker NFT collectors ready to get in on the action.
Collectors can expect some of the biggest moments in partypoker Live history.
“Partypoker has established a history across 20 years full of great hands and epic poker moments that have happened during our live and online events,” partypoker director Vadim Soloveychik said in a news release.
“We are happy to give players the opportunity to own their very own piece of poker history in partnership with Theta. I am truly excited for partypoker to join the NFT space.”
Can other online poker operators be far behind?
NFTs swimming in an OpenSea
Besides ThetaDrop, another popular spot for token collectors is OpenSea. This site is more like the ebay of the NFT world. Collectors simply create an account and can then buy and sell.
A quick search of “poker” on the site brings up plenty of results – from pixelated poker chips to real works of art.
Collectors simply click on an NFT that interests them and can then make an offer.
It remains to be seen if the NFT interest will last. But plenty of poker players are having some fun adding to their token collections.