Perhaps why you should care about bots and cheats

[DeadMoneyDad]

I have received a number of questions on what my motives are in the bot issue. Here are my thoughts on why the affiliates and poker sites should as well as the casual players should give a $hit.

My suggestions are based on my on personal knowledge only of the limited amount of information I get from my own rake back affiliate. But even that limited amount of information gives me some idea of the accounting that goes on behind the scenes.

For example I never knew and many rake back earners don't know that FT charges a player a portion of the prize pool of any freeroll public or private. MTT's and regular rake are accounted for in two separate columns. I have a fee's charge for making a deposit. I have yet to make a withdraw but given my experience so far I'd bet there is an accounting charge for that as well.

Given the nature of the flow of information I would suspect that the amount of detail is greater for my rake back affiliate than the information they provide me.

Given all of that it seems the "poker accounting" is much more detailed than most people imagine, or it is on FT to a degree much greater than I imagined.

So if bots play something close to break-even poker and bank the rake, just given the limited information I have from my account I imagine I could spot the difference between a "casual player" and a bot almost with out effort.

Now getting in-between a truly dedicated multi-table grinder and a bot will be much trickier if the amount of rake back affiliate information is limited to only what I've personally seen. I'll admit I am a casual player. I looked into software enhanced with 24/7 data mined computerized multi-tabling grinding. I gave it serious consideration. Personally if my figures are even 1/2 way correct and my wife finds out I didn't do it I'm a dead man.

Don't take this the wrong way any multi-table grinders but I don't call that poker. I'm new to poker, but old school in my poker philosophy; if you can do it in a live event it has no place in my on-line game.

So if a number of multi-tabling software assisted data based HUD players get caught up in this mess and get their payments delayed I really don't care if it only catches one or two bots a month. The affiliates will have to make their own marketing decisions on what is best for on-line poker in general.

Personally I think the grinders are as much as a problem to the on-line industry as the bots, but currently grinding is legal. Well depending on how you read FT's T&C, but that isn't the issue.

The issue is some sort of legislation affecting on-line poker will come one day. Some time before that day their will be hearings to decide the regulatory burden placed on the industry in exchange for the licensing rights to once-again accept unrestricted "legal" US deposits. At that time the industry and the affiliates will make at least one claim that the industry is self regulating.

I'll tell you now as someone interested in that future legislation I am basing my decision on how much credibility FT and the industry really has on how it reacts to these types of issues now. Do not tell me then, how you are willing to stop whatever type of "made for TV sob story" the anti-gambling folks will trot out with some future computerized filter or highly developed security. I want to see action now.........

Or at least show a little concern for the future of on-line poker.

For you other casual players out there, who don't think this issue affects you, just consider who is ultimately going to pay for those fees, the cost of the regulatory burden, and any newly implemented filters or security!

If you think that FT or any one else in the poker "economy" is suddenly going to get charitable, you have a bad beat coming.........


D$D