A state of mind Part 1: Poker is not pure gambling!

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Looking back at the success of online poker and the boom it caused after 2003, it is quite understandable that everyone wants to get a part of the cake ... especially when there is so much money involved. Even the mass media has realized the potential and expands their horizon now and shows the average reader and watcher their very own mix of sensations and publicity, may it be good or bad ... it doesn't matter though as long as it does attract the audience.

The problem lies within the general "recipe for success": The truth does not always sell as good as a plausible story full of prejudices and false pretenses that will catch the attention of the ordinary and uneducated masses. It is not the responsibility of the mass media to educate the audience, they have to make profit and in the current society this is usually defined upon publicity. It already starts within the educational system that does barely encourage the younger generation to pick up knowledge on their own. 

It is a two sided sword though and we shall not blame someone else for the lack of education, we are responsible to do our utmost to gain knowledge and improve our chances to break out of the daily routine. But it is obviously by far easier to search the mistake everywhere else, it's a reflection of our current society that we appreciate everything when we can take advantage of something ... but if exactly the same does not help us, we want to send it to hell.

Unfortunately those prejudices don't stop around the corner; they are also well established in most of the governments all over the world. Online Poker is a thorn in the flesh of most politicians and they try their utmost to build up the impression that every poker player is a criminal and you get treated by far worse than the general manager of a bank that just burned several million Dollars due to a speculative trading.
It is quite remarkable though that most of those prejudices are just based on assumptions and not personal experiences ... and somehow surprising when you consider the fact that the government does not make any money with it. A really strange coincidence, isn't it ... the campaigns against smoking have also decreased dramatically in the last few years, maybe because they need the taxes on cigarettes?

I for my part can't wait for the day when an official research by the state will claim that poker is an illness caused by a specific genetic defect and that we should get a medical treatment to find a cure. Nobody is a gambler by default, some people tend to get addicted but that doesn't mean that every poker player doesn't know at all what he / she is doing. It doesn't automatically mean that we are fanatics that enjoy the danger and put our life to risk whenever we can, yet many still think that poker is played in a dark backroom and when you get beaten you pull out the gun and shoot your opponent as shown in the old Wild Western movies. 

Would it not be by far more profitable in the long run if poker actually gets regulated on a reasonable level, where the government and the poker players cooperate to establish a secure and profitable ambiance for all? Or is it evil by default that everything where the state doesn't get its fair tax has to be wrong? When you see the recent development all over the world, you might get that impression ... there are a few exceptions and we also know that organizations exist that want to improve that situation, however nobody really knows where this might end up. The poker business is still going strong despite the current economical crisis and the slow process of recovery.

It is the time though that we all do more to show that poker is not gambling, sure it is a card game and thus will always involve luck ... we as poker players are not denying this fact because it is more than obvious. But with the right preparation, strategy and also education there are a lot of potential solutions to cut down the variance and make the game more predictable. Or why do you always see familiar names in the big tournaments all over the world? They must either be the luckiest players on this planet and can maintain this hot streak for years ... or they have an edge and actually know what they are doing.

Part of the fascination of this game is that we all theoretically have the same odds at winning, this is mathematically correct ... yet some players seem to be more successful in the long run than others. Is it eventually possible that there is more than just luck involved? Holy crap, this would actually mean that everybody can learn to be successful at poker if they are open minded and constantly work on their game! More about the educational and psychological aspect to follow in the next blog entry ...