OT: The Throwing vs Hitting Tennis Bet

[El Diablo]

goof,

Yes, those things make a difference to me.

[Parlay Slow]

El Diablo,

I wasn't attempting to make a statement by asking a rhetorical question.

I respect your moral stance on this issue, and I am genuinely curious as to how you would respond in that situation in case I should come across it in the future.

[El Diablo]

Parlay,

Honestly, here's what I would probably do. It's hard to say unless I'm actually in that situation, though.

I would probably play until I got even.

Then, if I liked the guy, I would probably get up.

If I didn't like the guy, I would probably keep playing.

I have played drunk guys, I have played guys playing above their comfort and skill level with their rent money, I have played guys who I know are ruining their lives by gambling. I do not feel like it is my or anyone's responsibility to protect these people (well, actually, I think it is the cardroom's responsibility to a certain degree, but that's a whole different topic). However, I don't think it's appropriate to cast judgement the way bz did on Nick if he's partaking in any of these actions, which I consider morally far worse than anything Nick might have done.

Over time, my personal decisions in these matters have to do with what makes me feel good. I've come home beating idiots out of their last money, knowing that it is really going to cause them pain. And, for the most part, how bad I feel about that is worse than how good I feel about the money I won. So, that's sort of the metric I use. If I don't think I'm going to feel really good about the money I win, I just choose not to play certain people. I have no problem with anyone who chooses to play these people - they are almost certainly going to lose that money to someone. I just sometimes decide I'd rather not be that person.

Please don't think I'm Mr. Niceguy when it comes to such things. I've also played douchebags who I know are going to be f'ed over when they go bust and I've taken great pleasure in sending these guys home broke. Character flaw of mine probably, but just telling the truth.

[Little_Jim]

Wow @ BZ. Disgusting.

[Keepitsimple]

Kind of interesting this gamblers morals. I think I would not play a drunk guy who looks genuinly sad when he loses. On the internet however I have no qualms seeking up the worst players and take their money.

[kidcolin]

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i think ken wrote that, not sure tho...

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Indeed he did.
My bad.
I think you personally are getting a bad rap in this thread.
Ken on the other hand is quite the cum stain

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I adressed this earlier in the thread. I told bz he should take a lesson from Ken. Ken's long post in defense of him backing out was one of the most pathetic things I've read on 2+2. Far more classless than BZ's 33 SNG comment. Yet once Ken posted it, he stepped out (though I'm sure he's lurking). BZ, on the other hand, rather than doing the same, or saying "yeah I f'ed up and backed the wrong guy", came up with some backward-ass rationalization of why it was OK to insult someone and why it was OK for he and ken to reneg on his word. Then when he got called on _that_, he just kept digging deeper and deeper.

He's like a giant douche onion, and with each post another layer peels off.

[tolbiny]

[ QUOTE ]
t,

When people are nice and respectful and want help, I am likely to communicate in a certain way. When people act like a-holes, I am likely to treat them with less respect.

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Phew, lucky i've been on my best behavior in this thread.

[Scotty.]

El D,

This thread is starting to go off on a new tanget here, so sorry for hijacking it further. I'm just curious as to why you would say that you would feel bad, sometimes to the point of not continuing to play an opponent. What are your opinions on the common stance of "well, if I don't take his money, somebody else is going to, so it might as well be me."

[cbloom]

This should be it's own thread (poker morals / taking money from drunks, degenerates, etc.). Sort of an interesting topic.

[iggymcfly]

Wow, it took about an hour of my life, but I just read this whole thread. Anyway, the way I see it is that Nick was nice enough to reveal himself to Ken and whereas I wouldn't expect him to play since they hadn't finalized the agreement, I do think that it was really [censored] of them to give away the hustle by giving out details from a private conversation, and it was even worse to try to act like Nick had done something wrong by offering the bet. The "stealing" analogies are so far off the page that I can't even fathom how they came up with them.

Personally, I don't feel bad taking away people's money under almost any circumstance. If someone's playing in a manner that they're obviously losing money, then I usually figure it would be patronizing to tell them to change what they're doing and I usually make a default assumption that they're just looking to gamble. I've never gotten the idea at a poker table that someone was absolutely desperate and couldn't afford to lose, but usually when someone gets really pissed off when they're losing and are down a lot, I make extra effort to try to bust them just because they're annoying and feel very satisfied when they go broke. I don't think I've ever felt bad taking someone's money.