Poker Face
November 30, 2008 6:46 PM
Steve Kroft investigates how online poker players who suspected cheating were forced to successfully ferret out the cheaters themselves.
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See all 23 CommentsI play poker online, mostly for entertainment and to hone my skills for the very infrequent live poker tournaments I play. I use only non-discretionary funds and I am fueled neither by illusions of ?breaking the bank?, nor am I driven by an ego the size of a ?Buick?. While it true that CBS's fact finding and subsequent reporting were somewhat inaccurate, the analysis provided by the three "experts" was quite informative, sobering and also revealed a couple of disturbing situations that need exposure.
1. Since the Moneymaker windfall victory in 2003, poker, both online and live has exploded in popularity at an exciting, alarming, and also dangerous rate. The danger, as I perceive it, lays not so much in the potential of players losing enormous amounts of money that may have been earmarked for more necessary destinations and/or being cheated, but in the United States or the world for that matter, being robbed of literally thousands of young minds that are no longer being productive to the community at large. The three experts who testified were attorneys and a computer scientist and the WSOP winner mentioned was a former CPA. Graduate college, earn post graduate degrees, doctorates, spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and then spend inordinate amounts of time and money at the poker tables (winning or losing) ? how does this help our society?
2. Additionally, to be successful at poker in the long run, a player has to be very skillful, fairly lucky, and possess the otherwise unflattering characteristics of being extremely paranoiac as well as a convincing liar. While not dwelling the moral implications the effects poker is having on the youth of today, are these the character traits we should be developing as individuals? And once developed, will they not play an integral role in how we conduct ourselves away from the poker tables?
First as several people have commented on it is NOT illegal to play on-line poker. CBS does a disservice by not researching the facts.
Secondly this is a old issue that people in the poker world have been aware of for several months. I cannot begin to understand the motivation of waiting almost a year after the fact to file this report. They were able to report on the Wal-Mart worker who was trampled within days, so why the delay?
Thirdly, there is always someone who will be willing to risk everything to cheat. We see it everyday be it performance enhancing drugs for athletes, or insider trading on Wall St. The answer is over site and regulation. We know that prohibition does not work, so what we need is for the U.S. government to legalize and regulate these on-line gaming sites. We have the SEC that regulates Wall St., which is a form of gambling that closely mirrors poker (know when to holdem and when to foldem), so its not that big of a stretch.
Also sites like FullTiltPoker and PokerStars closely monitor there players in an attempt to prevent cheating, be it with a poker bot (a computer program to play prefect poker strategy), by collusion (player sharing information or playing at the same table from the same ISP address), and monitoring winning percentages which fall outside the norm. Do they catch ever cheater? No, but then has baseball, cycling or other professional sports caught all the cheaters? All that can be done is apply the latest technology in an attempt to most of them.
The most important fact that was overlooked was that professional players can sense when something is not right. It may take a while to catch the cheaters but they all share one common fault- GREED, if they went in and made a small profit and quit no one suspect but when they keep reaching into the cookie jar they get caught.
The real story here is that the online players who were cheated broke this apart, not CBS or any law enforcement agency. Law enforcement agencies know nothing until someone points out that laws have been broken. They are basically lazy and ingnorant.
It is completely false to state that online gambling is illegal in the US - something that was mentioned several times throughout the piece. If you had done your research you would have reported the TRUTH, which is that online gambling is not regulated, and that US banks are now restricted from financial involvment - it is this kind of wreckless reporting that makes people not trust your reporters.
As a viewer, and someone that has a great deal of knowledge of online gambling, the UIGEA, and this very old story that you reported as new, I find this a complete disgrace. Please get your facts straight and correct the damage this kind of false report creates.
The Mohawk people are neither Canadian or American. We are not citzens of either nation. And we do not "live off your tax dollars". You obviously have no clue the degree of oppression first nations people face in this day and age. To argue otherwise only highlights a lack of intelligance, and lack of information. I would gladly pay taxes if the governments of Canada and the US would retroactively honour the hundreds (if not thousands) of treaties they have violated over the years.
I in no way support the gaming industry in the community, but I fully disagree with the content of your post. You should be ashamed of yourself.
So don''t gamble.
I can say that the overall skill level of players has risen since I first started playing 5 years ago as expected, especially in higher stake games.
One always wonders if someone has a crack to see all the cards and plays it just under the radar.
This game needs to be regulated but not taxed. I support the Fair Tax. Tax will be paid when the winnings are spent.
States could add online poker to their lottery games as a another source for education funding. America could have the most educated workforce produced by mankind....yeeedoggy
That said, there is an organization working with many members of Congress to regulate the online gaming industry, as others here have already mentioned. You can visit their website at www.pokerplayersalliance.org. Anyone concerned about online poker security can join their organization or donate toward the effort to pass meaningful legislation to protect consumers.
And finally, the legality of playing poker online has been confirmed both in the courtrooms of America and by Department of Justice officials during a House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on the issue earlier this year.
Chief Delisle, shame on you!!!!
Having living in Mtl for 25+ years,it was always very clear the benifits that were granted to the "Kahnawake" nation through various govt agencies.
Maybe you do Candians a service by denying them.....now that I think about it.
In fact what the poker sites and the players want is to be regulated and taxed.
This news about Absolute and Ultimate Bet is old news. It is at least two years old. Did you find anything within even the last six months that could have made this a current story.
Sounds and looks like a case of bad reporting with mistaken claims as to the legality of online poker.
In fact what the poker sites and the players want is to be regulated and taxed.
This news about Absolute and Ultimate Bet is old news. It is at least two years old. Did you find anything within even the last six months that could have made this a current story.
Sounds and looks like a case of bad reporting with mistaken claims as to the legality of online poker.
In fact what the poker sites and the players want is to be regulated and taxed.
This news about Absolute and Ultimate Bet is old news. It is at least two years old. Did you find anything within even the last six months that could have made this a current story.
Sounds and looks like a case of bad reporting with mistaken claims as to the legality of online poker.
In fact what the poker sites and the players want is to be regulated and taxed.
This news about Absolute and Ultimate Bet is old news. It is at least two years old. Did you find anything within even the last six months that could have made this a current story.
Sounds and looks like a case of bad reporting with mistaken claims as to the legality of online poker.
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