The online poker world is ????
As usual, lots to update, but I’ll start with the breaking news…
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I’m sure most of you have heard about the recent shut downs of the online poker world. Even if you don’t have any interest in poker, you have likely overheard or skimmed something streaming about the federal indictments made to the heads of the main online poker companies.
I have taken it a little further and investigated deeper into the issue and I was disappointed when I found that poker players haven’t changed, and they continue to show that they don’t belong having control over this industry. Sorry Poker Players Alliance (PPA), but you and your fellow players have no business deciding any of the regulations within the industry, and here’s why…
There’s a reason why the online poker industry crashed and sorry professional online players, it’s not because you guys are so awesome and are taking everyone’s money. The government hasn’t stepped in and said you’re not allowed to play poker anymore. You still want to play? Go to the casino… step outside, get a life, one that includes you actually showering and/or dressing yourself. That’d be a start.
I noticed some of my friends facebook posts about how they’re now “unemployed” and that the government is robbing them of freedom. Then when anyone puts forth an argument (which I’m getting to mine) about why this needed to happen, the first comment they make is “you clearly lose all the time online.” IT’S NOT ABOUT THAT. POKER PLAYERS NEED TO STOP BEING SO FOOLISH ABOUT ALL OF THIS. I WAS ONE OF YOU AND THIS IS WHAT I HATED MOST ABOUT ALL OF YOU. IT’S A STEREOTYPE BUT I HAVEN’T FOUND IT TO BE INACCURATE YET. PROVE ME WRONG.
The online industry was so fly by night and sketchy that the government had to step in. Even though the government has stepped in for different reasons then I’m going to discuss about, it’s still about time that something was done. Any kid could log in (whether they were 18/21 or not), and use their parent’s bank account or credit card or play with their own money, lacking the true understanding that each click of the mouse is for actual money. It’s even more disguised than the chips casinos use to fool people into thinking that chips aren’t real money, yet they are and so is each click on the computer. It’s time that this industry takes itself seriously. Livelihoods are being ruined at the expense of this activity.
When else has there been an opportunity for people to not get out of bed, get dressed, or walk out of their house and risk everything they have. What is it about this competition with two stupid cards that had even me hypnotized. People are not themselves when they get roped into this game and it’s not okay to just let it be because online players want their freedoms.
Regretfully, I will admit, online poker will come back. Rest easy everyone who has been forced to live real lives instead of jonesing in front of your computer waiting for your next hand. However, you may have to wait. And honestly, I can only hope, you may not like the changes that come about because of this responsible act on the part of the US Government. This industry needs regulation, less exposure (i.e. media coverage), less enticements that draw in the average person who had no intention of playing poker, and needs more official documents in order to use bank accounts/credit cards, and perhaps even a test that measures the level of addiction a person has, which in turn, could regulate the amount of money allowed to play with on the site. (Relax, poker players, this needs to happen. You may have to play against other professionals for a while, instead of the frequent young adults who probably don’t know much about poker.)
Some professionals have been begging for this for a while. Some have wanted less amateur players because they’re tired of losing to amateurs. Annie Duke, Howard Lederer’s sister — Howard has a huge piece of Full Tilt poker, has been trying to set up a pros only league. Well, now she may have her wish. Finally the cash crop may start to dry up. Hopefully, people will find something else to do with their money and that thought might scare some poker professionals and online executives.
Here are a few pieces to follow along with the action.
Perhaps, as a result of online poker becoming such a hot button issue, someone will take a national note of “Into the Muck.” I will actually be making my drop by to ESPN tomorrow and will update all of you on what happens. I’m excited, yet I don’t think anyone will listen or take me seriously. But now may be the time. Gambling addictions do exist and it’s not about an individual being able to make decisions for themselves. It’s more than that. And one last time, I’m so damn sick of poker players accusing people of just being terrible at poker. GROW UP.
I’m not against people playing. Play at the casino or online, but make sure it’s fair and regulated.
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In other news… its been a pretty busy week for me as well. I spoke at two colleges this week, one of which, UMass Amherst, has made “Into the Muck” part of their class requirements. Awesome!
First though, I spoke at Middlesex Community College on Tuesday. It was the first time I’ve done any speeches with Problem Gambling Services (PGS). They offer another way to combat gambling addictions and would like to know more about their treatment methods. When I know more, I’ll let all of you know.
The speech was also my first on a Recovery Panel. It featured three former gambling addicts, myself included. PGS showed a video about a 20-something year old man, “Jimmy,” and his addiction to poker. I related really well to the piece considering my background. The other two addicts were older and had different stories than mine, each very powerful in their own way.
I did another speech later that night for Middlesex Community College solo. There was a class that was given extra credit for coming to the event. We showed the same “Jimmy” video, then I told my story and PGS interviewed me with questions that helped provide for some good discussion. I think it worked! There were some really good comments and it was an overall great experience. Perhaps there will be future events with PGS.
This past Thursday I went to UMass Amherst. I met with the professor of the class and we had lunch along with the Department head. We talked about the different issues that younger/college aged students face, especially with online poker — and this was before all of the news broke!
Then I went in and spoke for the class. I’m not going to lie, because the students had all read the book and already had a class that focused on discussing the book, I was a little anxious about doing a speech for them. I was unsure of how I wanted to tailor the speech. I tossed around for days how much I should say of my “traditional” talk. I knew I wanted to show the Ivey video (see the Eastern Blog for the link), but before that, how much did I want to re-iterate to them without being boring or redundant?
I decided to do a brief speech, similar to the one I gave at E.O. Smith, but I went off on tangents a couple of times. And because I try to be perfect each time, I found myself a little upset that I couldn’t have been a little more flawless considering this audience knew more about me than any other audience I had given a speech for. I found myself looking around the room gauging reactions of the students, not focusing on what words were coming out of my mouth! But overall it was really great.
And again, the video was a hit! Thank you ESPN for such a great piece that makes my point so clear about how overly dramatized and glamorized this industry is, especially by you. Now what will you do if the online poker companies aren’t funding your poker programming?
There were some really great questions and comments. Some wanted to know more about specific stories from the book — including the Turningstone story with Mosko, the “Lucky to be Alive” chapter. Another student asked me, and like I said to him “I can’t believe no one has asked me this yet,” do you think it would have been different if you won? I stood there and thought about it, knowing that there’s no reason to lie, but like I said to them, it may have prolonged things but eventually gambling would have caught up to me. I couldn’t escape the emotional breakdown that would have taken place no matter when it occurred.
Others wanted to know more about the hypocrite story — from the E.O. Smith blog. That impressed me too, not online did they read the book, but they went through the blogs too! The idea of potentially being a casino addict came up also came up — the need for that excitement and wanting to be a part of that. Interesting!
Like I told the professor, I’m curious to know how people who still gamble (whom I don’t know) or who swear by that lifestyle, would react to my book. Perhaps they completely push it away and don’t believe what I have to say. Or they say what a typical poker player says, “he just sucked at poker.” Or maybe they like it…
I haven’t been able to reach that demographic yet, but would love input from anyone in that situation that has read the book. Contact me, good or bad, I’d love to hear your feedback.
Once again, it’s been a great week. Things keep moving forward and I can’t wait until the time that I can tell all of you that “Into the Muck” is finally national. Hopefully that day comes sooner rather than later, but I’m definitely enjoying the ride!!
That’s all for now, check back soon…
