I have not made the Mid-States Poker Tournament at our local Casino, a mere two miles from our home. I had hoped to participate as I mentioned on my last post. I have just been too preoccupied; I could say busy, but that doesn’t quite fit. The days are long, the garden is producing and the demands of life never cease.
The biggest factor among all others that kept me from getting to the tables was that my finances have been too tight. Yes, I have money set aside dedicated to my poker pursuits, in the hopes of growing such funds. But when the general funds are not expanding, when it looks like you’ll just be getting by (at least until we get past our quarterly tax payment) I just can’t bring myself to chance any funds.
We did stop by the casino to dine and to briefly take advantage of some slot offers we received. And we came out ahead. But the total investment and the time a tournament requires have been something I couldn’t set myself to.
“So what are you trying to say Phillip? Your title is Internet Poker.”
Exactly.
I receive e-mails from the Poker’s Players Alliance. They have been lobbying in congress for a bill that would legalize Internet poker. The cause has steadily advanced and seems to be making progress.
I have a problem with this. Yes, I played quite a bit of Internet poker over past Winters; not for real money. I also believe proper legislation could limit a persons financial risk; allowing only tournament play with limited but-ins for example. Of course anything can be worked around. Those who made a profit off of Internet poker played multiple games at a time, many large displays hanging before them, each covered with virtual tables. A person could also set up multiple accounts to get around any restrictions also.
So what’s the real problem? The real problem is the almost hypnotic effect the Internet has over the mind. Gamers have been known to lose their lives, figuratively, in the particular format they play within. The draw of the virtual world along with the allusion of potential profits could destroy people’s lives on a far greater scale than that attributed to those with a gambling addiction. The Internet can a an addiction.
And how do you track Internet addiction? (An addiction that drains one’s funds) A casino can, and they do to a certain degree, track their guests with a gambling problem. They encourage people to seek help if they believe they have a gambling problem.
I believe the environmental control the casinos practice does not come close to the trap the Internet can become. That’s just my personal observation. The Internet is in your home. It sits there in front of you, or just out of the corner of your eye, every moment you are there. And if your unemployed…
Personally I have enough problems with Facebook. I have so many varying Internet log in names and passwords that my head hurts. The effort to keep track of them all is a burden I increasingly long to be free from. Though I enjoyed Internet poker in the past, mostly on dark Winter nights, I have no interest in becoming involved in Internet poker again. I do not believe I am unique in my growing compulsion to be free from the Internet, even computers, all together.
When I write my books, transcribing my notebooks to the computer is the most dreaded part of the process of getting to a finished work. Though I find working on a computer sometimes tedious, it does increase my efficiency. I imagine it will also increase the efficiency with which Internet poker sites will be able to relieve people of their money.
Poker is a game of skill, but the skilled will be few and far between amidst Internet poker players.
Poker is a personable game. A social experience. Limiting it to sitting alone in a room, in front of a screen, demeans the game and in kind the person playing. You’ll be much more fulfilled playing at the casino with real live people to observe and interact with. Just don’t spend to much time thinking about the rake; except when the pot is small and a bet or raise would increase the rake with little benefit to the winner of the pot. The others at the table will share their disdain for such a bet. It is the best classroom in the world.
