LC: Mainstream view of online poker

zabt · #1 08-22-2006, 08:44 AM

An article from this morning's Boston Globe.

notfreemoney · #2 08-22-2006, 09:19 AM

nice article. The sad thing is that what that article says is true in many cases. Twoplustwoers are a very small fraction of the gambling population and the 2plus2ers that are good and actually study/understand the game are even smaller. Many of the lurkers/posters here are barely break even players. Its easy to see where this view comes from when last weekend I went to Atlantic city and watched my friend almost cry as he lost over 800 dollars after returning to the ATM time after time to fund blackjack. (which is easily accessable online with a single click).
Another thing that I think many people react to playing poker instead of having a job is that even say if I'm making 30-40 dollars an hour playing poker, it shouldn't be substituted for a more valuable internship in your field so that when you get out of college, poker is a hobby and not a substitute for a job.
That being said, many people do NOT understand that it can be a profitable game if played correctly, but what do you all say (pros and college kids) to people who just dont understand and think you are getting lucky. Obviously you cant spend hours explaining ICM and correct play early and late and ROI and how you use pokertracker over thousands of games becuase its like a foreign language to them.

dave1mo · #3 08-22-2006, 09:25 AM

Don't suck at the game, and you won't lose 50 grand...

And I've played with 50 dollars of my own over the past year. The other 3 grand I've cashed out/is in my bank roll is some poor sucker's money, not mine.

JuntMonkey · #4 08-22-2006, 09:35 AM

I like the final quote, where the guy's dad says that he's worried about his son because (paraphrased) "these casinos aren't in business because they lose all the time". That combined with the focus on credit card funding shows how much the journalist knows about the subject.

blinlk182 · #5 08-22-2006, 09:58 AM

A good friend of mine was written up in the article, he's the Tufts grad mentioned in the second to last paragraph (he posts on 2p2 a little as well). He did the interview a while ago and said it was pretty clear the author was going to try to spin it in an anti-gambling fashion. I'll see if I can't get him to add something in here. He's also got some more quotes in this article here: http://www.affbrainwash.com/archives/021297.php

JuntMonkey · #6 08-22-2006, 10:05 AM

blink, can you get us the e-mail address of the author of the Boston piece?

AltarBoyCHA · #7 08-22-2006, 11:02 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I like the final quote, where the guy's dad says that he's worried about his son because (paraphrased) "these casinos aren't in business because they lose all the time". That combined with the focus on credit card funding shows how much the journalist knows about the subject.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, the biggest problem often with these types of articles is conflating online poker and online gambling. The kid who lost a bunch of money because he hadn't made the playthrough requirement was probably an online casino player; the kids who are doing well and winning wsop spots are playing poker. But to the outside observer, they appear to be the same, most likely because you find both games in the same physical casino buildings, so they all appear to be the same, the house advantage v. poker distinction isn't seen.

Werty83 · #8 08-22-2006, 11:24 AM

I did my best to explain to the author that poker is generally a good thing, IMO. People learn from it, and anybody who is going to be able to keep playing will have learned at least something about game theory and statistics.

It was, as Blinlk said, obviously tilted against online gambling right away. I don't think that's even the author's fault, it's what the editors demand. She seemed understanding when we talked.

I completely understand not wanting to let people play on credit though.

mackthefork · #9 08-22-2006, 10:58 AM

Yeah people just don't get that you can win and the house can win at the same time. Anti gambling organisations are knowing misinforming the media and members of the public with lies and half-truths, as a result their opinions should be completely disregarded imo.

Mack

canada_dry · #10 08-22-2006, 12:07 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah people just don't get that you can win and the house can win at the same time. Anti gambling organisations are knowing misinforming the media and members of the public with lies and half-truths, as a result their opinions should be completely disregarded imo.

Mack

[/ QUOTE ]

For there to be winners, there must be losers. And many of the losers pay a hefty price. Keep this in mind.