Just about everything we do online entails risk. There are lots and lots of bad guys out there preying upon Internet users. Credit card and bank companies files are repeatedly raided for nefarious purpose. Government agency files are hacked. Brigands, sexual predators, stalkers and extortionists have developed highly sophisticated tools for finding prey.
This does not deter us from using the net from everything from grocery shopping to social networking, from banking and investing to pursuing our favorite hobbies. It has become our preferred source of information and and entertainment.
Until this week, online poker was one of my favorite Internet activities. I knew its legal status was under fire, but believed that sane heads would rule and the issue would be decided in favor of the game. At PokerStars I could enter tournaments for as little as a dime and spend several hours testing my wits and luck against total strangers. I could play a few hands of 7-card Stud, a game now hard to find at the casinos for penny ante players like myself, or 5-card Draw.
Like craps, poker is a game designed for gambling. It is a game of wits, strategy, luck, bluffing and trying to get a "read" on your opponents. Playing for real money and playing free games are two completely different animals. The free games just don't provide the same level of play because the size of the bets does not matter.
Online poker has been proven to be a wonderful training ground for players, many of whom have gone on to win major poker championships (as witnessed on ESPN). Like any other Internet venture the major online poker sites have experienced trouble with hackers and cheats, but the top-rated sites have good reputations for monitoring their security.
Now the FBI has not only shut down the major online Poker sites for U.S. players, it has laid criminal charges on the operators, arrested some of them and has warrants out on many more. The charge? Bank fraud. This is so bogus.
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