Poker takes a step back

2003. Chris Moneymaker, the everyman, beats all odds to become the World Series of Poker Main event Champion and take home the 2.5 million dollar first prize that came with it. Before this improbable event occured poker was a niche "sport" (game) As soon as Moneymaker won, however, people saw the type of money that could be made by playing this game and the popularity shot through the roof! The very next year, the winner of that same tournament took home 5 million, the year after that the winner took home 8 million and the year after that the winner took home 12 million dollars. With such an explosion in prize money, due mainly to online sites offering "satelites" to the tournaments (smaller tournaments where the winner wins entry into the bigger tournament) It's easy to see the Domino effect of people wanting to play the game. (the higher the prize pools, the more people want to play) After 2006, the year the winner (Jamie Gold) won 12 million dollars for his first place finish in the World Series of Poker's Main Event, The Bush administration passed the UIGEA. (Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act) as part of the Wire act. What this did was restrict "Gambling sites" to tranfer money to and from their site, to the respective bank. It did not make playing poker Illegial, just made it more difficult to deposit or withdraw money from the sites. This, obviously crippled, not only the online poker scene, but the "Brick and Mortar" poker scene too, as less people played the game because of this legislation.

     The legislation that was passed was passed because of the fear of money laundering and the fact that none of these sites are operated in the United States, making it impossible to know the validity of the sites, and how reputable it is. It was mainly passed to stop the transfer of money onto online sportsbooks and horse racing accounts. (True Gambling sites)  Poker advocates, and myself included do not feel as though Poker is a game of luck. In other casino games it is the player Vs The house.  In Poker, it is the Player Vs the Player, and the house takes a small percentage of each pot (the rake) to deal the game.  Therefore, you are up against other people and must make each decision based on what you think the other player has, and how they are playing their cards.  The player that plays their cards the best walks away with the money.  There are literally thousands of people currently playing poker for their sole source of income.  If poker was indeed gambling people in those numbers could not make a set amount of money every month playing the game.  Eventually, "luck," would turn around and the player would go broke.  This, however does not happen as people have made a living playing the game for decades. 

     Legislators feel as though poker is gambling, and have therefore been steadfast in their attempt to not allow online poker to be regulated along with online sportsbooks and other sites that offer "games of chance"  The general public, for the most part also feels the way that legislators do.  As long as our government gets voted by the general public they will pander to what they want, not looking at the facts.  The reason both parties feel the way they do about poker is becuase they are not educated.  Poker, very simply is a game of math.  The people that use math the best generally make the most money.  For example.  In a game of Texas hold'em (the most popular version of the game currently and the one you will see televised) you are dealt two cards, then you can choose to play those two cards or not put any money in and fold them.  There are then 3 cards dealt on the middle of the table (The flop) All players still in the hand can use their two cards with the 3 in the middle to make the best 5 card hand, if you like your hand, or like the potential of your hand you can put more money in and see a 4th card (the turn, or 4th street)  Same thing goes here, and if you like your hand you can see a 5th card (the river, or 5th street)  this is the final round of betting and after this you show your two cards down with other players that went to the river and the best 5 card hand wins the pot.  The math is everywhere, but here is a simple example.  Lets say you have a 10 and a J in your hand.  you decide to put money in the pot to see the "flop"  the flop comes down Q 9 6 with different suits.  Somone that saw the flop with you bets before its your turn. Most people that feel this is a game of luck can look at this situation and say, "I didn't get lucky, I don't have a pair I should fold"  People that understand this is a game of skill and math look at the same situation and see that they have 8 to 14 cards that could possiby give them the best hand.  (the 4K's and the 4 8's make a straight, and if a 10 or J comes that could possibly give them the best hand too).  Lets say you think your opponent has the Q and a 10 or J would NOT give you the best hand.  So you use logic and people reading skills to assess this.  you determine, that your best chance to win is to hit one of 8 cards.  That means you have roughly a 32 percent chance to hit your hand by the river, or a 16 percent chance to hit your hand on the next card.  Now, if your opponent bets an amount that, in the long run gives you a mathematical edge, you can make a profit continuing on.  Let's say that there is $100 in the pot currently and he bets $13.  It's going to cost you $13 to potentially win $113. That means you could only hit your hand once every EIGHT times and STILL make money in the long run by continuing on, since you only need to win ABOUT once every 4 times to make it worth it.  It is by using math in this way, and using your own logic that you can see that Poker is in fact a game of skill.  The people that play using those tools have a HUGE edge on the recreational player that just plays what cards he/she likes.

 Barney Frank, the Chairman of the House Financial Committee has been working diligently since early 2009 with other members of congress to create legislation that would essentially regulate and tax online poker, giving the government a much needed new revenue stream and giving poker players the opportunity to grow the game and the "poker economy" bringing in new players and allowing the existing players to earn a larger income from the game.   Barney Franks argument is that Government should not tell people where they can and cannot spend their money.  Although the reason for him and other members of congress to regulate the online poker industry is good, he doesn't necessarilyagree that poker is in fact a game of skill.  This makes it difficult to get other members of congress to pass this legislation, and make it law because them voting pro "gambling" makes them susceptible to not being re-elected by people to are anti gambling themselves. 

     The PPA (Poker Players alliance) is a group of now more than 1 million members that are out trying to get poker regulated on the basis that it is not in fact a game of chance, but a game of skill.  It had been a very difficult thing to do until this summer, when, Phil Ivey, Highly regarded as the greatest poker player on the planet made the final table of the World Series of Poker's main event.  This signified a HUGE advancement to the state of poker.  The best player playing in the "final stage" of the biggest poker tournament in the world, where all mainstream media outlets were there to capture all the action and finally cement poker as a game of skill, get the regulation of online poker completed, and get the image of poker being an "old mans" game out of the head of so many people that grew up with poker being played in the smoke filled back rooms of so many casinos.   The 3 months leading up to this final table were the most exciting months for so many poker players ready to take poker to the next level when the one word working against Phil Ivey occurred and dashed our hoped temporarily.  L-U-C-K.  Phil had the best hand with all his remaining chips in the middle, his opponent, would have to hit 1 of 3 remaining Q's in the deck to win the hand and knock out the best player in the world.  He hit it!!!  Phil Ivey was knocked out in 7th place because of that "bad beat" and the poker world would then shake their heads in disbelief as a 22 year old Unknown poker player would take the crown.  Joseph Cada.  He had an INCREDIBLE run of luck himself to claim the title. (Although he is in his own right a very good player and was able to buy a house with cash from his poker winnings when he was 19)  I am alright with people playing well, and getting lucky in crucial spots to win the championship, but for this one year I really wanted the best player to win.  Just like in sports, the best team doesn't always win, so it goes with poker.  But with poker in the spotlight the way it was it really needed to happen and didn't.   You replay that final table 100 times and the outcome would go Phil's way a generous portion of the time, but you only get that one time, and variance, or luck as you would call it played a huge roll in the best player not winning.

     That obviously didn't help poker.  At a time when Poker yelled to the legislators to say, "See, the best player is playing in the biggest stage of the biggest tournament" It left with a wimper and the legislators not being convinced that poker is in deed a game of skill.  It has slowed the regulation process down some.  There was a House meeting at the beginning of December to discuss the regulation of poker, but it was dismissed without a vote and there has not been one re-scheduled.

     Will online poker be regulated?  will it happen soon if it is regulated?  Will it be regulated for the right reasons, and not just because the government needs the tax money to help pay for all it's debt?  These are all questions yet to be answered, but one this is for certain.  Millions of people from all around the world will continue to fight public perceptiont that poker is a game of luck.  Sure, there is short term variance involved.  Luck plays a factor in the outcome of individual hands, but just like luck plays a roll in the roll of a dice, if you roll that dice long enough Math dictates that every number will be rolled the same percentage of time.  Same goes with Poker.  The people that make the correct decisions the highest percentage of time will end up with the lion share of the profits, and will be another reason to prove that poker is a game of skill.  Please, call, or write to your congressman and let them know that the regulation of online poker is the RIGHT thing to do.  Bingo is played online by millions.  Last time I checked it was a game of luck.