Online Poker

One thing I notice comes up often in poker blogs is an obsession with the behavior of poker players who are in the spotlight. Poker bloggers seem to freak out at anything that could possibly be interpreted as bad for the image of the game. I could understand this if poker was in its infancy and only just creeping into the public consciousness, but poker is massive. I think poker bloggers need to chill out when the mainstream media reports on some poker player acting out.

Let me lay out a few of the things that keep me cool when I see a news story about a misbehaving player.

1. Most people have no concept of poker culture. To them it is just a game.

If you're worried about people unfamiliar with poker relating behavior to poker play, then you don't really get it. Perhaps poker players have some kind of poor reputation with those who are fundamentally against gambling. Someone who knows nothing about poker, however, has no idea that there is such a thing as poker culture. If they just think of poker as a game, then why would they make a connection between someone's bad behavior and their play of a card game? Sure, there is some prejudice against gamblers in general, but again, only those fundamentally against gambling will actually associate playing poker with other things they consider to be bad behaviour.

Also, while not everyone is familiar with poker, not everyone is familiar with cricket, either. Cricket is one of the most widely watched and played sports in the world, but many Americans would not be able to follow it, as it just isn't played or watched much in the US. If a story on a cricket player being uncovered as a jewel thief were shown in the US, do you think this would damage its reputation in the eyes of people who don't care about cricket? It seems doubtful, doesn't it?

2. Poker is big enough to survive more than a few knocks

Consider that PokerStars can get more than 300,000 people playing on the same day. There are even more players than that who have a PokerStars membership and just didn't play on the record setting day. We aren't going to lose those players to negative reports about poker players, and those same players will defend poker and its culture to those unlikely people who would vocally denigrate the game because of one famous player's misdeeds. 300,000 PokerStars members behaving just like anyone else are going to have a bigger real impact than 1 or 2 famous poker players going wild.

3. The dark side of poker remains part of its appeal

It's not all bad that some people expect a few shady characters at the poker table, as it can be quite appealing. The element of risk is part of what makes poker so compelling, and the risk is seen as part of the culture as well as part of the game. That you could end up dealing with some underhanded types is part of the fantasy for countless numbers of players. It's not that people want the chance of getting ripped off by shady operators, but rather that they are outsmarting the bad guys and prevailing in the face of all that risk. Poker is cool. It would be a lot less cool if it didn't have its bad boy reputation.

For me, I just don't think that poker players need to be examples of perfect social graces and impeccable behavior. I'd prefer it if they were, because it's much better dealing with nice gals and guys than it is with sociopaths. I simply think that nobody needs to worry too much about poker getting a bad name due to a few rotten apples.

What do you think about famous poker players and their responsibility to act as a public face of poker? Should they be on best behavior at all times, or do you think that the acts of individuals will be attributed to those individuals rather than to a game they play? Please tell us your views in the comments.

- Shad