Poker Articles

Half my lifetime ago, I took two ethics classes in college.  I’ve had several refresher courses on the topic as it relates to my career.  In my work as a Test and Quality Assurance engineer, I’m faced with decisions of an ethical nature every day.  If I cut corners and fudge results, our customers are harmed, and in turn, their customers.  On some defense projects I’ve worked on, unethical decisions could lead to the loss of human life.  If you think I’m being overly dramatic, that’s fine; but if anything, I’m understating the importance of ethics in my life.

That said, I read with great interest every post in each thread about the hand a couple players recently that was played in the lobby of the hotel at PCA.  For those who missed it, one player saw the pocket jacks on the other's screen during a hand they were playing together and made a bet after a King-high flop to take the pot down.  Two months after the fact, after someone called him out, he apologized and provided several excuses for his behavior.  I will not provide any opinions as to what I believe actually happened, nor this player's motivations and explanations.  If you wish to accept his apology or continue to hold him in low esteem, those are both understandable reactions.

All I will comment on is a statement he made: “I'm usually the standard of ethics.  I don't slowroll, I'm not much of a trash talker, and I'm usually all for peace & tranquility at the table.”  Ethics are not something that you can pick-and-choose to follow.  This player won’t slowroll or taunt, but he has no problem unethically using information that he should not have obtained.  He is condemning one unethical behavior while practicing another.  I cannot emphasize this point enough:  Personal ethics are not situational based on location, price, ease of execution, or the ethics of other individuals.

If we allowed ourselves to relax our personal ethics because others were not holding themselves to the same standard, our society would quickly dissolve into chaos.  This is not meant to say that that the other player in the hand did anything unethical in this or any other situation.  But for those who say, “Well, other people are doing this all of the time; it’s just part of online poker,” I beg them to reconsider that attitude if they care at all about the game and its future. Misbehavior by others does not give you the right to misbehave.

There is a fallacy that poker and gambling are unethical pastimes, full of cheats and degenerates, so unethical behavior is more acceptable.  Some of the most ethical men alive, like Doyle Brunson and Billy Baxter, have been gamblers their entire lives.  Bobby Baldwin was such a gentleman and trustworthy gambler that Steve Wynn hired him, and then promoted him up through the ranks to President of MGM/Mirage.  Yes, there are plenty of “win at all costs” types who will cheat you out of a nickel around a card game or other gambling pursuit.  Individuals like that are not unique to poker, floating craps games or sports books.  Those people exist in every walk of life.  Minimum-security prisons around the country are full of white-collar businessmen, in noble professions, who sold their ethics.  There are hundreds of staffers working in the White House, tainted by the actions and subsequent sentencing of “Scooter” Libby.  Not coincidentally, his apologies and explanations regarding the outing of Valerie Plame were full of excuses and caveats, just like this player's.

Poker is a fantastic game of wit, strategy, and luck.  Unethical behavior is not part of the equation, and cannot be tolerated if we wish to protect our right to play the game.  Nobody will move to ban Wall Street trading no matter how many junk bondsmen were busted in the 90s or inside traders over the last few years.  Politics will remain business-as-usual no matter how many “Scooter” Libbys there are.  Online poker, however, will not be given the same grace.  Those of us who play the game must keep ourselves beyond reproach.

A lot of people are also blaming the environment in the hotel lobby, saying that the player with JJ should have done more to protect his screen if there were lots of people around.  That’s possible.  The occurrence of only one incident in an area full of people playing poker online, 24/7, for a week, tells me that paranoia about cheating should not have been expected.  Last summer, I spent several weekends at Casa Bodog, a house full of people playing online.  Instances came up where two of us would be at the same online table.  Not once did I see anyone colluding, cheating, sharking, or participating in other unethical behaviors.  There were many houses occupied by swarms of online players last summer in Las Vegas.  I do not recall a story like what happened in the Bahamas at any of them.  I’m pleased to believe that this was an isolated incident.

I am trying to remain open-minded about this situation because both parties involved are quite young, as are most P5ers voicing their opinions.  Ethics often run counter-intuitively to our basest needs and desires.  The study of ethics is one of the highest forms of learning; it’s practice one of the most demanding pursuits.  I don’t wish to sound like an old fogy, but until your ethics have been put to the test and called into question, it is very difficult to know what to do.  Next time, I’m sure this player will consider folding his hand immediately, hopefully with a “Dude, I saw your screen, I’m sorry, let me find another area to sit” apology afterward.  I hope all of us remember this incident and learn from it.

Aristotle held that our ethos makes us human.  If you wish to sacrifice yours for a few chips in a card game, it’s your decision.  Only you can look in the mirror and decide.  All I ask is that you do so.

Who are you?

Who do you want to be?