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Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: Views

Aaron Lee

Have you ever smashed your keyboard into your monitor? If you have, then chances are you are familiar the world of online gambling. I started online poker at the tender age of 18. The idea of turning a quick buck in my free time was too enticing to pass up. Over the past four years I have played thousands of games online, only to realize that I need to get a metal keyboard because replacing mine was starting to get expensive. Online gambling has grown exponentially through the past years due to growing popularity with The World Series of Poker.

The game of choice is Texas Hold 'em. The basic principle is every player is given two cards. The dealer then will put five community cards that any player can match his or her two cards with three community cards to make a five card hand.

Since one is playing online, a player cannot try to read any "tell" the other players might have. The players are all represented by funny characters who range from a penguin to a man that resembles Shaft.

So you need to just have position on the table and good gut instinct. Those are the only tools at your disposal, so a player is already fighting a downhill battle.

I wouldn't say I am an expert poker player but I am no slouch, and over the past four years I have managed to cash out almost $1000. But this money was hardly earned with ease. At one point I was gambling with my tuition money (trust me if you want a real rush watch your education swap hands at the whim of digital cards) and learned that was a bad idea quick. Too risky for me.

But thanks to good ole' George Bush I can no longer receive my funds through direct deposit. But my beef isn't with President Bush; it is with these companies that turn a profit on pinning players against each other and have ridiculous hands come out way to frequently. Some of these companies include Full Tilt, Poker-Stars and Bodog.

These companies charge a fee for every game you enter. So one can see how it can benefit these large companies to get players to play in as many games as possible.

I have no physical evidence that these companies are conspiring to give players monster hands and have them bet into each other. Yet, it seems improbable that everyone online always has killer hands all the time.

I have been the victim of this firsthand, and I know some of you will say that I am just whining and I shouldn't gamble if I don't expect to lose. I have lost and I have won. I have been on both sides of the spectrum and I have seen first hand the devastation these web sites can cause.

A friend of mine lost everything he had due to online poker addiction. He had to drop out of school and now works full-time as a car salesman to pay off student loans that went to the "poker gods" instead of school.

Anyone can see how these web sites are very dangerous and people should know what they are getting into before they dump their money away.

These web sites run 24/7 throughout the world. There is always someone gambling somewhere. I could sit here and reminisce about the bad beats that have been handed to me, but I won't.

Instead I will ask each and every one of you that if you ever feel like playing online poker, come give me half the money you were thinking about betting. I will kick you in the stomach and you will thank me later for the money you have saved.

The bottom line: you can win money gambling online, but it takes skill and quite a bit of luck. In the end, this editor doesn't think it is worth the time or headache.

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