Future of U.S. Online Poker

I am just curious with all the uiega talk and things what do you guys think, or know about the future of U.S. poker. I have not done that much research on the subject but i would just like to know if the poker sites are coming up with a alternative to checks or will we just not have a way to get our money off poker sites. I for one will will be quite distraught if i do have to stop playing online poker because of some uneducated people in Washington trying to say what is and what is not good for me.

Well MGM owns the online rights to online poker in the USA, we cant keep this bullshit up, the USA is losing billions of dollars due to the fact that we are not in the market, so my guess is and due too our economy we are going to sooner or later have to legalize it. See take great heed to warning that this is what happens when you get a C-, X coke head, drunk tard that riggs our elections and gets 1000's of people killed in the process while on a god power trip, we all lose. Obama is a poker player, so if we do have a chance he might make it happen, I cant see them making pot legal, while at the same time telling people that they cant play cards in there own home.

Thats exactly what i think they should do, legalize and tax it. It seems stupid to me that they are missing out on what could be billions of dollars that this country needs very badly. I would even be willing to have them require having a card on file for age verification purposes.

I think they should explicitly legalize it (the difference being I don't believe it's illegal now) and NOT tax it. They already tax income. Tax my winnings. Tax the income of the US based poker sites.

And I have to say it's MASSIVELY hypocritcal for states to run lotteries which are -EV for everyone who plays, but oppose poker, which is +EV for those who are willing to learn. What a tragedy that politicians should oppose a game which encourages people to become good at math.

RF

I agree with you RoyalFish but god knows there not going to legalize anything and not tax it, might as well try to sweeten the deal with it.

I'm all for the "Hey, we're the voters, and oh, about a million of us are active players, and a lot more don't see a problem with poker (including the pres)...so knock it off, ok? You work for us."

We, as voters sometimes forget where the power is. It's us.

RF

I like you, RF.

The problem is the field is too . . . anti . . . poker. Where I am (somewhere in Iraq), some kid lost $900 in one day playing poker - presumably online. He went to his chain of command, and now they're coming down hard on people who are playing poker (It's against general order #1, which isn't so much about guarding your post so much as it is conducting yourself overseas. Also against GO #1: Pornography. Just saying.)

If a kid plays against his limits and loses $900 playing poker and goes and complains about it, it's obviously not the kid's fault, it's poker's fault. This is the mindset that plagues our country, and it's just an example from a group of warriors overseas with too much free time on our hands.

The real problem is, in my opinion, people who poker doesn't effect getting to vote on the matter. It's a fact that casinos make money and provide jobs, whether online or off, provided they have a successful business model and are reputable - Commerce Casino in LA, or PokerStars, for instance. While yes - people with addictive personalities who aren't responsible with their money might spend their month's rent at the tables on payday, they could do the same with firearms, alchohol, drugs, or softball gear.

My father was not a gambler, but he was by no means responsible with his money. As such when I expressed interest in poker, all I got from my mother were words of caution. It wasn't until I started showing positive income (one that when I was running good rivaled her own college education's income) that I got her off my case.

She to this day warns me to take it easy, and not get in to deep in poker, when she has no reason to fear I will. She gets a vote, and she thinks it's bad. All her friends get votes, and they probably think it's bad.

The problem isn't that poker is dangerous, because alchohol and fire arms are dangerous. Poker, either recreationally or proffessionally, is merely a set of rules to which those who are lucky or good at math or good at reading people have an advantage at. The person themself is dangerous that lets themselves get thrown into a situation where they need to win back everything they lost with this last $100 or they're not going to be able to pay for their car. Poker is merely a means to get there.

My bottom line is: People need to take responsibility for their actions. And the only way this is going to happen is if people are held accountable. It's too easy to blame somebody else when you're on the TV and then let the minds of the people be shaped by your silver tongue rather than logical thought.

^^^^^
excellent post, weregoat. Pretty much sums it up perfectly.