Stop talking about the games getting harder...

[disjunction]

“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”

[morphball]

[ QUOTE ]
Frankly, the game *should* be getting harder, because as more players who came in during the boom play longer, most can't help but get better, to some extent.

Of course, the OP's numbers on Sharkscope are -34% ROI at an average stake of $2, and a present form of "Super Tilt", and his MTT numbers are like -98% ROI.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL Mondogarage, I am not MorphBall on Pstars, when I tried to take that one it was already taken. The only account I have played as "morphball" that is on sharkscope is on pokerroom, pre-UIGEA.

Here's the pokerroom though...



I only play cash on FTP. I am not "morphball" on FTP either.

[Gobgogbog]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Sort of see your line, but noone is going to lie to their friends just to add a few more fish for random online pros to feed on.

[/ QUOTE ]

Coincidentally, I believe this 100%, so I am not advocating misinformation.

I am not telling people to lie.

[/ QUOTE ]

But you said this is not about the debate about whether it has gotten harder.

So you claim to be targeting both sides of the debate with your argument.

One of those sides would have to lie to their friends if they chose to tell them that poker has not gotten harder.

[Mondogarage]

For what it's worth, in the micro ring stakes I'm playing online these days, I saw plenty of tables in PStars last night with 60-80% of players seeing the flop, and was able to pick up about 4 buy-ins in a couple of hours, even including the jackhole who sucked a two outer on a river on me for one buy-in, heh. Again, however, that was micro stakes (I don't claim to be ring game balla).

That said, I don't think there was enough in it to conclude these were real and true fish, or whether these were tighter players at higher levels, who were just truly donking it up at the micros for a time.

[morphball]

[ QUOTE ]
But you said this is not about the debate about whether it has gotten harder.

So you claim to be targeting both sides of the debate with your argument.

One of those sides would have to lie to their friends if they chose to tell them that poker has not gotten harder.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, well I guess that you can't avoid either side of the debate, and I the 100% percent comment was kind of an admission that that debate was unavoidable.

I think a lot of people have stopped growing as players, and now that a higher percentage of players know a little about the game, they chose to blame the government, instead of sharpening their skills. But not only that, their negativity reduces new players, and leads to a self-feeding cycle.

If more players remain positive and excited about the game, I believe that this will encourage new players, with a side benefit of making the games a little softer. However, softer games are a small benefit, the more people playing poker, the less authority the government has to do anything about it.

And why am I telling people to lie? I said I believe 100% that any person who devotes time and effort can beat some level of poker. If you disagree with this, I am not telling to lie, I am saying that you are wrong.

[Mondogarage]

Okay, so "lie" is probably too strong a word, but what you're really encouraging is for players to try to sell outsiders on the idea that this is still the go-go growth era of 2003-2006, and that's just rank BS.

Why? Because it *is* more difficult and inconvenient to deposit/withdraw (especially the latter), because there ARE more and more HUDBOTS, and those using artificial aids, because there ARE now more rocks than before at higher levels.

Does that make me any less positive and excited about the game? Of course not. I work to improve my skills daily, and the process is the thing. However, that does not alter the reality of the situation, and failure to recognize it for what it is, will doom one to foolishness.

"the more people playing poker, the less authority the government has to do anything about it" is patently incorrect. The government has the authority the government has. They've done a *very* successful job at making the financial transactions end of this very inconvenient. I've already had to change payment processors twice since UIGEA to deposit. Thankfully, I cleaned out my Neteller funds before they pulled the plug. However, no matter how much you tell prospective new players that nothing's changed, that does not alter the fact that everything *has* changed.

Why do you think there are less players now than before? How do you explain the lower numbers of people seeing flops?
How do you explain all the weeks and months-long delays in people getting withdrawals?
How do you explain all the poker sites that have left the US market?

So you propose we just ignore all that actual evidence and tell people "hey, the water's just fine"?

What will encourage new players is actual changes in current law, and actual changes in the actions of the poker sites still doing business in the US. You or I telling Joe Schmoe that today is same as it ever was, will not. Not the first time they find out they have to get a new ePassporte VISA, or trudge down to a Walgreens for a gift card that might or might not work, or send money through a Honduran 3rd party, etc., etc.

In the meantime, just look at this as an opportunity to improve your game. Because if you can beat the new, harder game regularly, then if and when such time comes that the fish can easily jump into the pool, that time will become quite profitable indeed.

[Backspin20]

Every time I play live in AC I always push online poker. Never a time goes by that someone tells me its Illegal. Or "you can still do that" The Law destroyed the online game, I see it every time I play live. Very sad

[epass_rep]

I agree with you 100%.

That being said, am I the only one that thinks the games are getting harder?