Girah, Online Poker, and the WSOP Circuit
Although the world of online poker has been relatively quiet in the USA since Black Friday, the latest online poker scandal, involving Jose "Girah" Macedo, the "Portuguese poker prodigy," has been fascinating. If we thought the the Ultimate Bet superuser cheating was interesting, how about a low tech version of it?
Online poker players are quite interesting regarding their views on honesty and honor. Considering that we play a game where the goal is to take the other person's money, there is really a high degree of trust and respect in many circles. Money is throw about in a way that is foreign to most people in everyday life, yet the degree of trust seems to be higher, even in a world where it is so easy to hide behide computers and the internet. We honestly seem surprised on occasions when we are stung by fellow players -- particularly when the scamming involves people with big reputations with little (comparitively) to win and everything to lose.
Of course, with the regulation of online poker an international joke and with so many of the top online players being young and living in this fantasy world of ridiculous riches, what is to stop the temptations of scamming with virtually no consequences? In the "real world," this type of behavior gets you time in jail ... or dead.
With Black Friday now over four months in the rearview mirror, I find that I miss online poker very little. I had already begun to decrease my time playing online before the roof caved in, playing mostly private tournaments against friends. People with full time jobs, spouses, and kids ofttimes run into a wall when playing too much. There are only so many hours in a day.
All is not lost between poker and this player, however. The lack on online poker has forced me to take several road trips and hit the brick and mortar poker rooms. I am happy to report that the results have been positive and I have been having a blast.
With the 2011 WSOP now history -- except for the Main Event final table, of course -- I am looking forward to playing in a couple of WSOP Circuit events at the Horseshoe Hammond and/or Horseshoe Southern Indiana. Both these sites have exceptional poker rooms. I have played a few circuit events in the past and have found them, as expected, to be extremely well run. However, I have been playing mostly cash games over the past several months, and my questionable tournament skills are a tad rusty. Maybe I should seek out some coaching from Very Josie?
Online poker players are quite interesting regarding their views on honesty and honor. Considering that we play a game where the goal is to take the other person's money, there is really a high degree of trust and respect in many circles. Money is throw about in a way that is foreign to most people in everyday life, yet the degree of trust seems to be higher, even in a world where it is so easy to hide behide computers and the internet. We honestly seem surprised on occasions when we are stung by fellow players -- particularly when the scamming involves people with big reputations with little (comparitively) to win and everything to lose.
Of course, with the regulation of online poker an international joke and with so many of the top online players being young and living in this fantasy world of ridiculous riches, what is to stop the temptations of scamming with virtually no consequences? In the "real world," this type of behavior gets you time in jail ... or dead.
With Black Friday now over four months in the rearview mirror, I find that I miss online poker very little. I had already begun to decrease my time playing online before the roof caved in, playing mostly private tournaments against friends. People with full time jobs, spouses, and kids ofttimes run into a wall when playing too much. There are only so many hours in a day.
All is not lost between poker and this player, however. The lack on online poker has forced me to take several road trips and hit the brick and mortar poker rooms. I am happy to report that the results have been positive and I have been having a blast.
With the 2011 WSOP now history -- except for the Main Event final table, of course -- I am looking forward to playing in a couple of WSOP Circuit events at the Horseshoe Hammond and/or Horseshoe Southern Indiana. Both these sites have exceptional poker rooms. I have played a few circuit events in the past and have found them, as expected, to be extremely well run. However, I have been playing mostly cash games over the past several months, and my questionable tournament skills are a tad rusty. Maybe I should seek out some coaching from Very Josie?
posted by lightning36 at 9:41 PM
3 Comments:
Where is the Horseshoe Indiana and when is the tournament?
Horseshoe Southern Indiana -- Elizabeth, IN (across the river from Louisville, KY): Sept 29 - Oct 10.
Horseshoe Hammond -- Hammond, IN (next to Chicago): Oct 13 - 24.
The circuit is not in Tunica until February.
I can't believe this guy. Not only is this cheating, but it was a grift from the very beginning - an out and out con job. If it's possible, it's WORSE than cheating.
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