Ben Affleck's new poker film "Runner, Runner" inaccurate, say PPA

hobonc

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[old link~tb]
 
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xlmnx

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Legalize it!! Ben can do better then this.... He has his moments.
 
dmorris68

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I haven't following things closely but from what I read awhile ago, the movie was inspired by the UB/AP scandal, which was perpetrated by company insiders who were stealing money from players by using a backdoor in the server software to view everyone's holecards. The game itself wasn't rigged or predetermined, the perpetrators just had access to information they shouldn't have and exploited it to cheat people.

This is quite different from what the rigtard thread is about, which is boneheaded conspiracy theories players have about sites rigging games against them. They're bad at poker or don't understand variance, and then blame the RNG or the site stacking the deck or choosing cards based on table action or whatever.

So assuming the premise of the movie is as I recall, no it wouldn't apply to the rigtard thread.
 
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dragic1

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All I know is that I am excited for this movie! National poker exposure will hopefully create more advocacy for legalization, or at least bring more fish to the game!
 
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jangalang37

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All I know is that I am excited for this movie! National poker exposure will hopefully create more advocacy for legalization, or at least bring more fish to the game!

this is exactly what I was thinking. At the very least more people are going to start playing more online poker...
 
hobonc

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I haven't following things closely but from what I read awhile ago, the movie was inspired by the UB/AP scandal, which was perpetrated by company insiders who were stealing money from players by using a backdoor in the server software to view everyone's holecards. The game itself wasn't rigged or predetermined, the perpetrators just had access to information they shouldn't have and exploited it to cheat people.

This is quite different from what the rigtard thread is about, which is boneheaded conspiracy theories players have about sites rigging games against them. They're bad at poker or don't understand variance, and then blame the RNG or the site stacking the deck or choosing cards based on table action or whatever.

So assuming the premise of the movie is as I recall, no it wouldn't apply to the rigtard thread.

It was inspired by the UB/AP scandal but from the looks of it, the movie isn't portraying that scandal but presenting online poker as whole in that light. Here is a quote from John Pappas:
"People very well could get the wrong idea," said John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance. "Not all offshore operators are unregulated bad guys. This is a dramatization, lets be clear about that. It shows what could be happening in a worst-case scenario."

When Hollywood takes "creative license" you can never tell. Hence the "rigtard" reference. People who don't know online poker (but have the power to influence decisions about it) could very easily walk out of the theatre believing the movie is an accurate portrayal.
 
T-Dubs82

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a movie is inaccurate?!?! be still my beating heart
 
SofaKingCrazy

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At any point does he at least say "To the Bat Flop!!" :p
 
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PlayedYou73

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Movies are made for "mass" appeal, and the masses are generally dumb, hence why this movie is being made the way it is. The masses think it's rigged, hence...

The mass appeal effect is also the same reason we get stupid movies like Star Trek: Into Darkness or TV shows like Revolution.
 
JusSumguy

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So let me see. Affleck is killed in the end by a rogue RNG?

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a true nit

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as the saying goes..any publicity is good publicity..just not sure how much effect on legalization it will have
 
IntenseHeat

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Some people are gullible. Some are just misinformed. A lot of peole will believe whatever you tell them, if you pretend to know what you are talking about. But if you say it on the radio, or on T.V., or put it in a movie, people will believe it like it had been printed in the World Book Encyclopedia.

That is why I hate to hear people say online poker is rigged. People who are uninformed will hear this a couple of times and take it as fact, having "heard it from more than one person". For the most part, I don't care. I couldn't care less whether one more person takes up online poker or not. But it bothers me when poker players say it in poker forums, because this is the information that uninformed decision makers (lawmakers) will find when they consider new legislation. Why would they bother spending the money, or time, or invest the effort in finding out what the actual facts are when a quick search of the internet will show them that, apparently, many individuals in the online poker community themselves believe online poker to be rigged. Whether you realize it or not, you are actually advocating against your own cause when you say these things. It's like saying pot has long term negative side effects and then wanting the government to legalize it. It just doesn't make sense.

And after looking at the trailer for "Runner Runner", I'm not sure how much of a "poker movie" it is. The cheating scandal element of the plot does seem to be based on the AP/UB cheating scandal, but that doesn't appear to be what the movie is about. But for my satisfaction, whenever the AP/UB cheating scandal is mentioned, I like to come right out and use the name Russ Hamilton so I can say screw him. He is a former world champion and a cheater. Screw him again!
 
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Marsd

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you know I thought the same thing at one point when I saw the runner runner preview-- I read an article somewhere that said how Timberlake could save poker with this movei, blah blah-- But I was thinking doesnt this make poker look like a bad thing?
But its just a movie-- they need drama and this is what they chose to do with it. I think it has potential to be a fun movie, but I do see how it could send out the wrong message to people that aren't familiar with everything poker-- So because of that its a bit sad
 
dmorris68

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Moved all the rigtardish posts to the rigtard thread...
 
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winflipsallday

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Justin Timberlake (arguably the biggest pop star of the decade) representing a movie about online poker can only do good things for a push make people more aware of the unregulated online poker market that. The timing for the release of this movie is not coincidental. Think about all the online grinders that are going to take their girlfriends to this movie to make them look better when their girlfriends' see Justin Timberlake's doing the same thing!
 
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