Death of Online Poker: Day Zero

With the indictments today of the Big Three online Poker providers in the US today, there is a virtual blackout of online play.  I am sure you can still feed your urges at some of the smaller sites, but I would not encourage it.  This is the reason I have played very little with real money since UIGEA was passed by congress.

For details on what is happening, I suggest you got to Pokerati.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness (just not online for the time being)!

Getting Better

I had time for some play money SnG action this week on FTP.  I played 4 multitables and made the final table 4 times.  I was in the (play) money twice and even won once.  I was making good reads and getting my chips in at the right places throughout.  The two where I did not make it to the money, I was not patient enough.  I'm getting better.  Hopefully the trend will continue.

As you may or may not remember, I have not played with real money online since the US Congress passed the most dastardly, cowardly act I can remember.  I think it would be better if they regulated and taxed online poker than try to ban it.  It does not stop those who truly wish to play.  They can get their money to the online site.  With any luck, congress will wake up after the election and deal with this.  But I doubt they will.  At this point it is not a major issue and the atmosphere is too polarized for them to agree to anything. 

UIGEA Hearing

On April Second, the Financial Services Committee of the US House of Representatives held a hearing on UIGEA. I will deal with the substance a little later. Right now I want to deal with the subtext, or as I like to call it, the pretext of the hearing.



The UIGEA was passed in 2006. Today it is 2008. Both of these years are election years. Senator Bill Frist snuck the UIGEA into the Safe Ports Act because he knew that no one would vote against safe ports, especially in an election year. And he was right. It passed and President Bush signed it.



UIGEA is not before the Committee because Congress is serious about either changing or repealing it. It is before the Committee because politician want other politicians to be on the record. This way they can use the record to bash their opponents over the head with it in the elections this fall. I don't think that Congress will do anything about UIGEA (if they do anything at all) before the Fall of 2009.



With that said, on to the "substance": UIGEA overburdens banks with regulations. It is vaguely worded, and therefore hard to interpret. The cost to financial companies to comply would be "prohibitive", but hard to calculate the exact amount because of UIGEA's vague wording. It is limited in how it can combat "illegal internet gambling" and does not define exactly what "illegal internet gambling" is.

My take: Could UIGEA be used to stop purchases of goods and services via the internet? According to my mother-in-law it could. She views purchasing anything over the internet as a gamble.

Until they sort all this out sometime in 2009 or 2010,

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Has It Been That Long?

Has it really been that long since I posted? It seems only like yesterday.

Yes I am still around (not dead yet!) Yes, I am still playing poker online (not with real money - thanks again Congress). No, I haven't found a home game (still haven't played live poker since I lost pennies to one of my college roommate).

Of course, I know when there is a home game in the area. My job at a convenience store clues me in. Whenever sales of Red Bull and Jager go up on the same night, there is a home game. Haven't gotten an invitation yet. Poker players are really bad at taking hints around here.

On another note, I am thoroughly disgusted with the online poker cheating scandals at Absolute Poker (never played there) and Ultimate Bet (haven't played real money there in ages). I think these two sites (and possibly others) have made it a lot harder for the US Congress and the politicians to find a way to let online poker players fund their entertainment.

What needs to happen in the online poker industry here in the US is REGULATION. Yes, regulation will take a piece of the pie through stiffer requirements for online poker operators and of course operators will be required to report wins and losses tax purposes. But in my mind, it is a small price to pay for the financial safety, peace of mind, and the hours of enjoyment it will provide to the millions of US residents who at this point are left out in the cold.

Ah, well, I will step down from my soapbox for now.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!