Online Poker: Why We Play

[autobet]

If my memory serves me correctly The Engineer requested an article some time ago about why we play. I finally got around to a draft. Suggestions for improvement appreciated.

Special thanks to a poster who wrote a great piece several years ago. His was in sections: 1. Poker as slot machine 2. Poker as Combat 3. Poker as Puzzle...etc.

Thanks to the Save the Family Websites...They have been a true inspiration. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]


I would like to add a short section on political action like supporting the bills in congress, but its getting late...



Online Poker: Why We Play

It is estimated that over 70 million Americans play poker at least once a year. Much of poker’s recent surge in popularity is due to televised poker and the Internet, but a good deal of poker’s amazing popularity has to do with the game itself. Part I discusses a few of the reasons poker is a popular game. Part II discusses some of the advantage of playing poker online.

Part I: Poker

We Play Because We Can Win in the Long Run
Poker is very different than most other forms of gambling. In most other forms of gambling gamblers play against the casino (house). The casino always has an edge, so in the long run they are going to win and the gamblers lose. In poker you play against other players. You can win at poker in the long run, since you are playing against other players and simply need to be better than the average player you play against.

We Play to Have Control and our Decisions Matter
You have a great deal more control in poker than most other forms of gambling. On any given hand you may have as many as twenty decisions to make. You must decide whether to bet, check, call or fold on every betting round of the hands you decide to play. In no limit forms of poker you also decide how much to bet or raise.

In poker your decisions matter. Good players win in the long run simply because they make better decisions than their losing opponents. For example, an expert might fold a full house knowing he is beaten, where a poor player has to call simply because he has a full house.

We Play Because Poker Combines the Perfect Mix of Skill, Strategy, Psychology and Short-Term Luck
Poker combines the perfect combination of skill, strategy, psychology and short-term luck. Playing winning poker is both an art and science and thus appeals to both the logical and creative types. A combination of problem solving, calculating odds and logical analysis are needed to play the game successfully. To move up the skill later players must study their opponents, and make adjustments based on each opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.

The best players do not play poker according to some simple basic strategy. They are constantly observing their opponents and adjusting their play according to how their opponents play. At the same time their opponents are studying them. This makes for an interesting cat and mouse game as the better players are constantly trying to out think and out play each other.

On any given day the worst player can defeat the best players in the world. Amateurs can sit right beside pros and have a chance to win. It is the short term luck factor that keeps the game exciting. Who wants to play a game of chess where the best player almost always wins?

We Play Because We are Constantly Learning and Improving
Poker has an endless learning curve. Even the world’s best players talk about learning something new every time they play. Experts often disagree on the best way to play a hand. So much goes into the play of a hand that players are often considering over half a dozen factors/criteria. Over one hundred books are available to help a player learn the basics and finer points of the game. Continually learning and improving as a player is one of the most rewarding aspects of the game.

We Play as an Act of Self-Expression
Each player will develop a style of play that is unique. No two players play exactly alike. The game also gives individuals an outlet for their alter ego. For example, a conservative accountant can come home from work, take off his suit and play a wild and aggressive style of poker.

Part II: Online Poker

We Play Online Poker Because of the Great Game Selection
On the larger Internet sites you can have over 50,000 players playing from all over the world. This gives every player at almost every level a huge choice of games, limits and tables. During primetime a player might have several thousand games to choose from at almost any limit they desire. A player at a card room or casino might have only one or two tables to choose from, if any.

We Play Online because We Don’t have to Wait
With so many tables to choose from you can usually be in a game within fifteen minutes. Driving to a card room or casino with only a few tables to choose from you often have to wait 1-2 hours to get in a game.

On the Internet you can play several tables at a time. The average online table deals over twice as many hands an hour as a live game. If you are playing three tables at a time you can play over six times as many hands in an hour than a live game. This alleviates a common problem a lot of players have, playing too many low quality starting hands out of boredom. For most successful players, waiting for quality starting hands is a big part of their success. Since you are getting many more hands to play, you don’t have to wait as long to find a good hand to play.

We Play Online to Learn How to Play
Most beginning players are intimidated to step into a card room. Playing online allows beginners to play for fun or for only a few dollars in micro-limit games as they are learning and developing confidence. In land based casinos you need at least a few hundred dollars to have enough to comfortably sit in even the smallest games, and you could easily be broke in a few hours. On the Internet $50-100 could last you months while you are learning the game.

We Play Online to Save Money
Driving a hundred mile round trip at the IRS rate of 50 cents a mile is $50. Most Internet sites charge $3 per hand or less. The cardrooms in Northern California charge $4 per hand plus $1 jackpot and it is customary to tip the dealer at least $1 for a total of $6 per hand. So winning twenty hands saves $60 plus the $50 saves the online player a total of $110.

We Play Online so We Can Relax for an Hour or Two After Work
Getting in a poker game online takes only a few minutes and saves the time, trouble and expense of driving. Since you have so little invested you can play for a few minutes or a few hours and quit. After driving to a card room or casino and waiting to get in a game most people feel obligated to play for many hours to have made the trip worth wild. The large majority of online poker players unwind after work by playing poker for a few hours a few days a week on the Internet.

We Play Online because We Want to Save Gas and Reduce Global Warming
The President has asked us to drive less. How are we supposed to do that without interesting and exciting things to do at home? Driving (or flying) to a casino wastes gas, time, and money. It also causes traffic, pollution, and global warming. Online gambling can do its small part to lower gasoline consumption, traffic, pollution and lesson global warming.

We Play Online to Save Lives
Many people drink when they gamble. Drunken driving deaths rose to 17,941 in 2006, the highest level in 14 years. Do you want your friends and family on the road with someone who has been drinking and gambling all day and/or night? With online gambling people who choose to drink and gamble can do so in the safety and comfort of their homes without endangering themselves and others.

We Play Online for the Children
Let’s face it. Many people, including parents, are going to develop a gambling problem with or without online gambling. I once rented a room from a mother of two wonderful elementary school age kids before online gambling existed. The mom would go out gambling 4-5 nights a week. She had a problem quitting when she was losing, so two or three times a week she would not be home when her kids got up to go to school. The kids were very sad that their mom had not come home and they had to get ready for school by themselves. She had a gambling problem and was obviously not mother of the year candidate, but at least if she had been playing online she would have been home with her kids.

We Play for the Shut-ins and Physically Handicapped
Shut-ins and Physically Handicapped generally have severely limited entertainment options. Online poker allows them the opportunity to play and interact with people from all over the world in a form of entertainment that can be fun, challenging and profitable.

[MiltonFriedman]

1. "We Play Because We Can Win in the Long Run"

Not as a group. As a group, poker involves a net transfer of funds from the players to the operators and their suppliers. (This may be socially useful in its own right as a means to accumulate capital in more productive hands for investment elsewhere.)

2. We Play Online to Save Money

I like this one, as well as the time efficiency and travel one, because it highlights the efficiency of online gaming in delivering the services the market demands. No need to travel or pay for brick & mortar operations, an online game is much more cost effective, in terms of transaction costs.

3. Some real stretches which would be better dropped....

The social utility of problem online gambling ???

"....at least if she had been playing online she would have been home with her kids...."

Gambling = drinking premise ... so online means fewer drunk drivers on the road ?? This seems a stretch. I think the FREE booze handed out in Las Vegas 24/7 may account for a seemingly higher incidence of drunk driving there. However, the gambling is incidental to the drinking activity for those people.

[Uglyowl]

I like your artcile a lot, my recommendations::

Eliminate: For example, an expert might fold a full house knowing he is beaten, where a poor player has to call simply because he has a full house.

We Play Online to Save Money: Maybe some analysis could be done to show how drastic the rakes are between B&M and online.

We Play Online for the Children: Add about responsible gamblers being able to play an hour after their kids go to bed instead of needing the whole night away from their children to play the same exact game.

[BoozeHound]

I think you should cite a reference if you're going to say this:
It is estimated that over 70 million Americans play poker at least once a year

[Grasshopp3r]

Here are some stats for online:
http://www.pokerpulse.com/currentCL.php

http://www.pokerpulse.com/#aboutActionForecasts

I play for one reason, to win. Obviously, I don't win all of the time.

[lfairban]

I liked this part, "our Decisions Matter," but I think you were too restrictive.

I got a B.S. in Chemistry in the nieve belief that I would be rewarded as a professional by having a better understanding of how things work and could make good decisions on how to suceed. Or maybe I just made a mistake getting a job working for State Government, who knows.

I don't think there are many areas where you can see rewards from better command of the concepts associated with your endevor than with poker.

[autobet]

Thanks for the feedback. This is my second draft. I need help on section 4: Political Action > Is what I wrote accurate?

Online Poker: Why We Play and What We Can Do to Save the Game

According to a recent survey over 50 million Americans play poker at least once a year. Much of poker’s recent surge in popularity is due to televised poker and the Internet, but a good deal of poker’s has to do with the game itself. Part I discusses a few of the reasons poker is a popular game.

At its peak over 10 million Americans played poker online (Some sources claimed as many as 23 million). Part II discusses some of the advantages of playing poker online.

There is no question that some individuals and families are hurt by online gambling. No one can argue otherwise. However, there are some benefits to society of online gambling. Part III discusses those benefits.

Online gambling has been under attack lately. In 2006, the U.S. Government passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act designed to prevent the transfer of funds to and from offshore (foreign) online gambling sites. Part IV addresses a few of the things you can do to fight for online poker.

Part I: Poker

We Play Because We Can Win in the Long Run
Poker is very different than most other forms of gambling. In most other forms of gambling gamblers play against the casino (house). The casino always has an edge, so in the long run they are going to win and the gamblers lose. In poker you play against other players. You can win at poker in the long run, since you are playing against other players and simply need to be better than the average player you play against.

We Play to Have Control and because our Decisions Matter
You have a great deal more control in poker than most other forms of gambling. You control if and how you play each hand.
In poker your decisions matter. Good players win in the long run simply because they make better decisions than their losing opponents. For example, an expert might fold a full house knowing he is beaten by a higher full house, where a poor player has to call simply because he has a full house.
On any given hand you may have as many as twenty decisions to make. You must decide whether to bet, check, call or fold on every betting round of the hands you decide to play. In no limit forms of poker you also decide how much to bet or raise.

We Play Because Poker Combines the Perfect Mix of Skill, Strategy, Psychology and Short-Term Luck
Poker combines the perfect combination of skill, strategy, psychology and short-term luck. Playing winning poker is both an art and science and thus appeals to both the logical and creative types. A combination of problem solving, calculating odds and logical analysis are needed to play the game successfully. To move up the skill latter players must study their opponents, and make adjustments based on each opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.

The best players do not play poker according to some simple basic strategy. They are constantly observing their opponents and adjusting their play according to how their opponents play. At the same time their opponents are studying them. This makes for an interesting cat and mouse game as the better players are constantly trying to out think and out play each other.

On any given day the worst player can defeat the best players in the world. Amateurs can sit right beside pros and have a chance to win. It is the short term luck factor that keeps the game exciting. Who wants to play a game of chess where the best player almost always wins?

We Play Because We are Constantly Learning and Improving
Poker has an endless learning curve. Even the world’s best players talk about learning something new every time they play. Experts often disagree on the best way to play a hand. So much goes into the play of a hand that players are often considering over half a dozen factors/criteria. Over one hundred books are available to help a player learn the basics and finer points of the game. Continually learning and improving as a player is one of the most rewarding aspects of the game.

We Play as an Act of Self-Expression
No two players play exactly alike. Each player will develop a style of play that is unique. The game also gives individuals an outlet for their alter ego. For example, a conservative accountant can come home from work, take off his suit and play a wild and aggressive style of poker.

Part II: Online Poker

We Play Online Poker Because of the Great Game Selection
On the larger Internet sites you can have over 50,000 players playing from all over the world. This gives every player at almost every level a huge choice of games, limits and tables. During primetime a player might have several thousand games to choose from at almost any limit they desire. A player at a card room or casino might have only one or two tables to choose from in the game and level they desire, if any.

We Play Online because It’s Quick, Easy and There are No Commitments
With so many tables to choose from getting in a poker game online usually takes only a few minutes and saves the time, trouble and expense of driving. Since you have so little invested you can play for a few minutes or a few hours and quit. After driving to a card room or casino and waiting to get in a game most people feel obligated to play for many hours to make the trip worth wild. The large majority of online poker players unwind after work by playing poker for a few hours a few days a week on the Internet.

We Play Online Because We Can Play Several Tables at the Same Time
The average online table deals over twice as many hands an hour as a live game. If you are playing three tables at a time you can play over six times as many hands in an hour than a live game. This alleviates a common problem a lot of players have, playing too many low quality starting hands out of boredom. For most successful players, waiting for quality starting hands is a big part of their success. Since you are getting many more hands to play, you don’t have to wait as long to find a good hand to play.

We Play Online to Learn How to Play
Most beginning players are intimidated to step into a card room. Playing online allows beginners to play for fun or for only a few dollars in micro-limit games as they are learning and developing confidence. In land based casinos you need at least a few hundred dollars to have enough to comfortably sit in even the smallest games, and you could easily be broke in a few hours. On the Internet $50-100 could last you months while you are learning the game.

We Play Online to Save Money
Driving a hundred mile round trip at the IRS rate of 50 cents a mile costs $50. Most Internet sites charge typically charge $3 per hand (paid by the player winning the pot). The card rooms in Northern California charge $4 per hand plus $1 jackpot and it is customary to tip the dealer at least $1 for a total of $6 per hand. So online players save about $3 per every hand they win. A player winning twenty hands would save $60 (20 x $3) and $50 (100 x $0.50) in total auto expense for a hundred mile round trip for a total savings of $110.


III. Benefits to Society of Online Gambling

We Play Online because We Want to Save Gas and Reduce Global Warming
The President and our Senators have asked us to drive less. How are we supposed to do that without interesting and exciting things to do at home? Driving (or flying) to a casino wastes gas, time, and money. It also causes traffic, pollution, and global warming. Online gambling can do its small part to lower gasoline consumption, traffic, pollution and lesson global warming.

We Play Online to Reduce Accidents and Save Lives
The less we drive the fewer accidents we will be in. And let’s face it, many people drink when they gamble. Drunken driving deaths rose to 17,941 in 2006, the highest level in 14 years. Do you want your friends and family on the road with someone who has been drinking and gambling all day and/or night? With online gambling people who choose to drink and gamble can do so in the safety and comfort of their homes without endangering themselves and others. Online gambling can do its small part to reduce accidents and lower drunken driving deaths.

We Play Online for the Children
Responsible parents can play for an hour or two after their kids go to bed. There is no reason to be away from your kids at a casino when you can play the same games at home.

We Play Online to Fight Poverty
2,000 jobs have been lost in Antigua since 2000 as casino revenue has dropped from 1 billion to 130 million due to restrictive legislation in countries like the United States. Tourism has also been down since the hurricanes of the late 90’s. Countries like Antigua have seen more of there population slip into poverty. We play for the thousands of families who have lost jobs in countries like Antigua with limited economic opportunities.

We Play for the Shut-ins and Physically Handicapped
Shut-ins and Physically Handicapped generally have severely limited entertainment options. Online poker allows them the opportunity to play and interact with people from all over the world in a form of entertainment that can be social, fun and challenging.

IV. Political Action

Support Bill H.R. 2046: The Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007
This bill would legalize online gambling at the federal level making the way for political contributions to politicians and their PAC’s, and create jobs from any United States based sites. Regulation would include age verification controls. Individual states would be able to opt out. Write, call or email your United States Representative and ask them to support Bill H.R. 2046.

Support Bill H.R. 2610: The Skill Game Protection Act
This bill exempts games of skill where the competition is between the players participating and not the operator (house) of the game from federal anti online gambling laws. A game is considered a game of skill if that over a substantial period of time that a player’s success is determined by a player’s relative level of skill compared to the other players, not luck. The bill requires that Web sites use the best age verification technologies, provide services for problem gamblers, abide by monetary controls to detect and stop money laundering activities, and make sure appropriate taxes are collected. Write, call or email your United States Representative and ask them to support Bill H.R. 2610.

Ask your U.S. Senators to Abide by the WTO’s Ruling on Remote Gaming
The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body has found that the U.S. is not in compliance with its WTO obligations with respect to the provision of remote gambling services. Antigua, Costa Rica and the European Union are seeking or planning to seek billions in compensation. My understanding is Antigua has asked the trade body to target American Trademarks and Copyrights if the U.S. refuses to comply.
Besides facing sanctions, failure to comply with the WTO ruling will ruin our credibility around the world. If we refuse to comply, we are setting an example for every other country to follow. When we seek to press countries like China regarding their violations on a wide range of important issues including copyright violations, how can we expect them to comply if we do not lead by example and abide by the rulings of the WTO? Write, call or email your United States Senators and ask them to comply with the ruling by the WTO on remote gaming.

Join the Poker Players Alliance (PPA)
The Poker Players Alliance has over a half million members from the United States. The continual growth of the PPA will give it considerable clout when it is negotiating on behalf of poker players. Go to www.pokerplayersalliance.org and join the PPA today.

[Richas]

I don't like the conceding online gambling hurts people early on, the same problem gamblers would have the same pain with or without online gambling. You can only go bust if you are a problem gambler and they will and do - by which medium matters not a jot.

Why do we play?
Well its not so all of us can win long term. We play because it is fun. I would big up the micro limit games as a big plus for online gambling, we can play them and have fun and learn for pennies.

If I like golf or football I spend money on playing, watching live or on subscription TV. This hurts families and individuals shoot I spend a lot more on football than poker. If I spend $500 on golf everyone thinks I'm a good guy, why do they assume I am a reprobate if I spend $500 on poker - its my money I'll spend it how I like thanks.

The number 1 for online should be disabled access, number 2 the ability to play for very very low stakes and as for why we play - we like it, which should be enough on its own.

[nineinchal]

I don't have to talk to my wife.

If we made this argument to Congress how could they not repeal the UIGEA? Start any married lawmaker.

[MiltonFriedman]

"I don't have to talk to my wife."

That's okay, she talks to me ..... if by talking, you mean making those garbled, slurping sounds.