More In-Depth Information

Data was gathered beginning with a request for participation on April 30, 2013. Results were collected throughout the month of May, ending on May 31, 2013. Members were initially selected for participation based on those that

  1. Had been members of APT continuously for three months prior to April 30, 2013.
  2. Had played at least 1500 hands of poker on APT during the month of April, or at least 10 training sessions.

Members were not required to participate in the study, but it is our opinion that this did not create any bias in the results, since data was to be collected anonymously.

Some additional notes about the research:

  1. Participants were asked to provide demographic information, but no personally identifiable information was collected, to avoid biasing the responses.
  2. Some respondents replied in currencies other than US Dollars. These were converted to US Dollars at the going exchange rate for purposes of the study.
  3. As specified previously, participants received one free additional month of membership for their time, but the awarding of this free month was not tied to their responses in any way.
  4. For beginning players, the $1,494 average improvement is statistically greater than 0 (t=12.32, p<0.0001). With 95% confidence, the range of actual average improvement is between $1251 and $1737.
  5. For advanced players, the $1,543 average improvement is statistically greater than 0 (t=4.90, p=0.0002). With 95% confidence, the range of actual average improvement is between $876 and $2210.

Additional Data Gathered

We also asked the following demographic and other questions during the survey. 

Question: What is your gender?

ANSWER RESPONSES PERCENT
Male 64 90%
Female 6 8.5%
I’d rather not answer 1 1.5%

Question:  How old are you?

ANSWER RESPONSES PERCENT
19 or under 2 3%
20-25 7 10%
26-34 13 18.5%
35-54* 28 39%
55-64 14 19.5%
65 or over 5 7%
I’d rather not answer 2 3%

*Error in study, this was meant to be broken into two age ranges.


Question:  What is the highest level of education you have completed?

ANSWER RESPONSES PERCENT
Less than High School 0 0%
High School / GED 4 5.5%
Some College 14 19.5%
2-year College Degree 12 17%
4-year College Degree 20 28.5%
Masters Degree 14 19.5%
Doctoral Degree (PhD, JD, MD) 6 8.5%
I’d rather not answer 1 1.5%

Question:  Which of these poker games you play the MOST?

ANSWER RESPONSES PERCENT
No-Limit Hold’em 54 76%
Fixed-Limit Hold’em 13 18%
Pot-Limit Omaha 2 3%
Fixed-Limit Omaha 0 0%
Something else 2 3%

Question:  How many players are generally at the table?

ANSWER RESPONSES PERCENT
7 or more (Full Table) 51 71.5%
5 or 6 (i.e. 6-max) 19 27%
4 or fewer (heads-up included) 1 1.5%

Question:  And, which of these formats do you play the MOST:

ANSWER RESPONSES PERCENT
Cash games 33 46.5%
Multi-Table tournaments 31 43.5%
Sit-N-Go tournaments 7 10%

Question:  Which best describes your typical buy-in (amount of money you start with) or tournament entry fee in US Dollars?

ANSWER RESPONSES PERCENT
Under $100 20 28.5%
$100-$200 27 38%
$201-$500 15 21%
$501-$1000 8 11%
Over $1000 1 1.5%