Poker in a Post-Allegedly-Ponzi World

No, this will not be some insightful, informative post on where the online poker industry is at present.  Quite frankly, I could care less about online poker at this point.  I do still play the occasional game with my son, but it is not really challenging me at all.  I am out of work, with no bankroll, and a place to play poker only 20 minutes away.  Is this the definition of hell?  Maybe if I was as poker obsessed as I was 4 or 5 years ago, the answer would be yes.  I am finding I can live without poker.  Not that I want a pokerless existence. 

The main problem I have seen and continue to see with online poker is not getting the website to run a clean game and keep their books straight.  The main problem is cheating players.  And it is not just that they cheat.  It is the erosion of trust the sites have because they allow cheating to go on.  This is the reason that when I was playing with real money, I was playing the lowest stakes (that and lack of bankroll).  Why would I want to play in the middle or upper levels when I know there are easy ways to cheat and get away with it.  I don't consider myself too much of a mark.  I am always trying to figure out how thing can be done and cheating with online poker seems to be a fairly easy thing to do. 

Legislation:  Do states really believe they can make money with online poker limited to their own state?  I am not sure how.  The big sights had one thing going for them.  They had tons of players, at all hours of the day and night.  You wanted to play a game, it was there.  With State-limited poker, there would be a lot fewer players out there, fewer games, fewer dollars to rake.  And cheating would still occur.

What is the solution to online poker?  I don't know.  At the very least it needs to be heavily regulated, audited, and policed.  I think the best level to do this in the US is to do it at the national level.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness,

mortal_one

Now with more Readers

Just a short note as I need to get to my Son's school for an award luncheon.

mortal_one's Poker Journey: Now read in 12 states and the District of Columbia! (Plus a few other places around the world.)

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

New Look?

I am thinking about updating the look of this blog.  (My two or three reader are shouting "It's about time!" at their screens.)  Look for some changes in the next week or so.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Running Bad?

I think I am running bad.  Either that or my recent hot streak was just a fluke.  I have not yet determined whether it is me or variance.  I am leaning toward me.  I guess I will have to break out the 5 Poker books I own.  Three of which are instructional, and two that aren't.  (Note to self:  Once your lazy ass gets a job, pick up a couple of new books.)

I have been doing my online playing at Full Tilt Poker lately.  Ultimate Bet used to be a favorite, but they have pretty much abandoned the lowly dial-up speed at which I can connect.  (Another Note to self:  When you get a job, spring for a cable modem.)  I have a feeling that PokerStars will be the same as UB, but I will try later anyway. 

Anyone have any site suggestions?  Are there any sites that have a shortage of fish like me?  Let me know.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Still Playing, Though not as Much

Yes, I am still playing. Maybe once or twice a week I will go to FTP and play a couple of 90-seat S-n-Gs for chips, not real money. About 90 percent of the time, I make the final table. I guess I need a new challenge. More later.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Yes it has been Four Years.

Yes this blog has been around for 4 years. And considering the content, it is kind of a dubious distinction. There are many poker blogs which have fallen by the wayside in that time. Blogs which were better written. Blogs which had more content. Blogs which posting was done on a more regular basis. Yet here I am.

If you had asked me four years ago where I would be in my poker journey, I would have told you I would be at the WSOP and cashing big. I would have said I had plans to attend most of the WPBT get-togethers. Those things and a lot more should have happened.

What did happen?

Work - and lots of it. I had a very good, well paying tech job, but the commute and the price of gas forced me to leave it. I now make less than half that in a retail environment. (Any jobs out there?)

UIGEA - Those bastards in Congress ruined the Party!! Forcing Neteller, Party Poker, and others to drop US players out of fear of lawsuits and more.

The fine voters of Jefferson County, West Virginia - These people did not see the merit in table gaming at the local race track. Although the voters in the counties of the other 3 racetracks in West Virginia voted for table gaming. Jefferson County Schools, who would have been the benificiary of the Table Gaming revenue, missed out on an estimate 2.5 million dollars the first year and an estimated 4.5 million dollars in each subsequent year. Hopefully they will vote FOR table gaming the next time it comes up. It would be nice to have a poker room twenty minutes from home!

Online poker - I have been playing play money since UIGEA. I know I could play real money at some sites, but it is the principle. Until Congress gets off their butts and acts...

So what little poker skills I have will languish. What little sense of poker blogging community I once felt will stand idle. I will wait. I have patience. Eventually circumstances will change, they always do. And I will pursue my poker journey with renewed vigor. Until then I will be playing for play chips, reading poker blogs, and wishing there were more poker players in Congress.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

I don't know what has gotten into me this month, but I like it. I have played more poker online (still play money - Thanks Congress) than I have in a while. I have also posted more in the past month than I have in a while. And for that I am truly sorry. This isn't the best written poker blog out there. This isn't the most popular poker blog out there. But as the politicians like to say: It is what it is.

Sometime soon, I will have a couple of site reviews to put up. Don't hold your breath though. They may appear here tomorrow or next month sometime.

In the meantime, why don't you visit my Amazon.com storefront. If you don't see something you like, let me know and I will put it up there for you. I promise that all the proceed from my storefront will go towards paying my bills and not something degenerate like playing poker. (heh heh)

Until next time, Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!