ONLINE POKER REVIEWS

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Poker is a game of risk and reward. Using this definition I could argue that free poker isn’t really poker at all. In fact, I do argue “play money” internet poker isn’t. Freerolls are a step away in that they offer some small monetary reward and you risk wasting your time completely rather than slightly. Playing in a “poker league” hosted by your local bar is yet closer to real gambling in that you now risk your time, gas for travel, and some sliver of dignity.

Locally, I have a few options for poker leagues: Full House Poker, Any Two Cards, the Georgia Poker Club, and the Atlanta Poker Club. If you would like a formal review post of each, let me know. As I am unsure of the international popularity of these leagues, I am holding off.

Leagues are usually well organized and have a weekly following of regulars. They are free to play and charge the venue for bringing in customers. My issue with using leagues as an avenue to improve your game comes from their alternate revenue streams.

• Players can buy more chips by purchasing food or drink from the bar. For example, a league may offer an additional 500 chip for every $10 spent.
• Players may have the option of buying premium league memberships for $100 or $200 for the year which ensures a certain chip up nightly.
• Players who volunteer to deal the table can receive a chip payment.
• Players who refer newcomers to the game can be rewarded with a chip up.

In short, if you show up to play in one of these leagues and don’t expect to spend anything, expect to be at a major chip disadvantage.

At first this bothered my sense of fair play, but it only brings the game closer to real poker. More at risk and, assuming the league uses some money to offer better prizes, more reward. I don’t blame anyone for a fair business model. However, it is important to know what you are getting into. Once you start playing “free” poker every night you may find yourself out of a lot of money. That is money you could have used playing real poker, and even if you lose, it is a better gauge of your skill level. Have fun at the bars, but when you start to get serious about your game, risk for the real rewards.

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A number of blogs and other news outlets have reported  on a Nova Southeastern University study finding that 80% of poker players use performance enhancing drugs. It is a misleading headline in many ways, not least of which in that when you think of performance enhancing drugs, you think steroids. Of course, physical strength isn’t what needs enhancing at the poker table, that is unless you need to strong arm winnings out of a deadbeat player. Looking further into the study I found just what drugs they included in their statistic.

In descending order of use, players employ caffeine, energy drinks, marijuana, alcohol, nicotine, sports drinks, and cocaine.

I think more than 80% of the people I know, poker playing or otherwise, use some combination of coffee, soft drinks, Gatorade, beer and cigarettes daily. The fact that the study is getting any press at all is a symptom of society’s desire to paint poker in a bad light. Connecting one vice, drugs, with another vice, gambling, is a win in appealing to a conservative audience.

If any of those listed drugs are “performance enhancing” it is only in that caffeine and energy drinks are helpful in keeping a player awake during long sessions. A better study would be showing the effects on how weed or alcohol affect a poker players’ results at the table. I guess that they would mellow out an overly aggressive player, but I don’t know because NSU opted not to perform an actually useful study.

To be fair to NSU, most of my rant is directed toward the echo chamber reporting the 80% headline. Their study also found that 28% of players use prescription drugs while playing poker and 46% of players use dietary supplements. I find those numbers of more interest, but when it comes down to it, the study was just an online survey of a self-selected sample size of less than 200. Big deal.

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