Counter-Strike is said to be the most popular computer game in the world. Thousands upon thousands of servers are filled all the time with people screaming into microphones and firing pretend guns. For as many gaming servers as there are, I can almost guarantee 10 times as many poker tables are in play — both online and off.

What makes people play poker so much? To be frank, I lean towards human nature. Inherently, people like competition. Almost anyone can play in a satellite tournament (a small tournament in which the winner gets entry to a bigger tournament) for as cheap as $1. With some skill (and luck), it can be parlayed into a $10,000 entry to the World Series of Poker. If, by chance, the lucky entrant can outlast his field, he just may walk away $10 million richer.

I'm a frequent poker player these days. I used to be hooked on Counter-Strike and playing competitively, but somehow it lost a lot of its flare for me. Why? Because I was investing a great deal of time into a game with too large of a field and not enough of a return.

Always a competitive person, I decided to invest more of my time into my card playing habit and be a more sociable person, which has lead me to become a pretty solid tournament player. I write for Team 3D on the side as well, and I've mentioned it in passing to Torbull that we need to create a 3D poker division, as that's where the real money would be at. He hasn't given in yet, but give me some time and you'll see KSharp on The World Poker Tour on The Travel Channel.

That's where events like the CPL and WCG come into play. Teams of amateur and professional gamers can pony up the money to play in a tournament and, if they're lucky, win a little something-something as well. There have been professional poker players for decades, if not longer, but professional gamers are still a new breed. Nonetheless, they go hand in hand, albeit with smaller cash purses for the gamers.

So what will make eSports realize its potential? Well, for starters, there is a bit of an issue in regards to hardware. Being forced to constantly update your video card and machine is a costly matter, and for the relatively small prize money that is offered in return, there is little long-term return on investment. Fortunately, there are certain games still in play which don't demand a high-end machine. The eSports boom in Korea is quite a testament to this, where Starcraft tournaments are huge and players are treated like celebrities.

My concern with the advancement of eSports is that there really isn't enough money in it at the moment. Rixhack, a rather large swedish tournament, just finished. First place paid only $9800, and there were 100 teams who entered.

When you consider the amount of time being invested into practice, along with the cost of travel and computers, it's really a meager victory. To top it off, the prize pool only paid out to 3 spots, resulting in 97 teams who made no return on their investment. Frankly, I'm surprised as many teams participated as they did.

The CPL had an event in Spain recently as well. First place paid out 10,000 Euros, with only 4 places being paid out. Teams paid for flights, paid for hotel accommodations, paid for food, practiced long and hard... and 5th place received nothing. Considering the variance factor in Counter-Strike competitions, eSports really is at a feast-or-famine stage at the moment.

Poker currently has its situation figured out well. Dependent on tournament structure, it's not too difficult to make it into the money and make a profit on your entry fee. Of course, the price of entry is significantly higher than eSports tournaments, with the recent World Poker Tour Championship having a $25,000 entry.

My suggestion to help move eSports forward is to increase buy-ins and develop a better payout structure for tournaments. People constantly wonder why these amazing teams break up following a CPL, or why a star player jumps ship. The answer is quite simple — if you have a bad match or two, it breaks your tournament and you lose money on your trip. Unfortunately, most of these competitors just don't have the sponsorship or bankroll to continuously compete and take losses.

With poker tournaments, there is an upside to losing out on a tournament — players can compete in cash games on the side. I'd wager that if there were more cash games in eSports, players would be able to build their bankroll and increase the likelihood of keeping their team together. I believe that UltimateArena was on the right track with their cash games. CEVO also seems to have their ducks in a row by requiring teams to pay to play, and eventually CAL will get there as well.

Poker is a success because people can play, win money, and feel like they have accomplished something. Considering how many teams compete at a loss, I'm not surprised in the least at the current state of eSports.

related links