budsmoker87
New Member
If it has to do with money, it's a political issue, right? Well pretty much every social issue comes back to politics
The world of poker has exploded in the past few years. Texas Hold'em- a specific variation of poker once played behind the scenes has become highly publicized. I see it everywhere- books, magazines, TV, and you can even gamble online. Not for free though. These online poker rooms charge a "rake"- a fee to play at their site. Pokerstars and Full Tilt charge about 5 cents of every dollar that enters the virtual "pot"...and tournament entries are typically taxed at 10%...(ie; you put $1 upfront that goes toward the prize pool for that tournament, and 10 cents goes to the website owners).
The tax may seem marginal- but I think of it like this: in order to win in the long run, you have to win more than you lose. "Breaking even" translates to a loss. Aside from that, I consider poker gambling, and I don't enjoy gambling because i work hard for my money and appreciate what i have.
but it made me wonder- with MILLIONS of dollars going through these websites daily, who are the owners and how much money are they making???
like many fellow spectators, i think the high stakes game shows can be interesting to watch too...but i also wonder sometimes if these so-called "sponsored players" actually run these websites and just play poker in the limelight to promote their sites....like it's all just a big trick/scheme/illusion, whatever you wanna call it
Thoughts?
The world of poker has exploded in the past few years. Texas Hold'em- a specific variation of poker once played behind the scenes has become highly publicized. I see it everywhere- books, magazines, TV, and you can even gamble online. Not for free though. These online poker rooms charge a "rake"- a fee to play at their site. Pokerstars and Full Tilt charge about 5 cents of every dollar that enters the virtual "pot"...and tournament entries are typically taxed at 10%...(ie; you put $1 upfront that goes toward the prize pool for that tournament, and 10 cents goes to the website owners).
The tax may seem marginal- but I think of it like this: in order to win in the long run, you have to win more than you lose. "Breaking even" translates to a loss. Aside from that, I consider poker gambling, and I don't enjoy gambling because i work hard for my money and appreciate what i have.
but it made me wonder- with MILLIONS of dollars going through these websites daily, who are the owners and how much money are they making???
like many fellow spectators, i think the high stakes game shows can be interesting to watch too...but i also wonder sometimes if these so-called "sponsored players" actually run these websites and just play poker in the limelight to promote their sites....like it's all just a big trick/scheme/illusion, whatever you wanna call it
Thoughts?
