Further Observations

Back in 2003 when I first started playing poker the chat window was used solely to acknowledge a hand well played, to wish someone good luck or for a bit of friendly banter.  Since I have been starting playing again it has astounded me how deeply unpleasant people are to each other. It is seemingly acceptable to question someone’s parentage over a pair of cracked aces, or to fly into a Hellmuth style rant about the crazy call a player made on the turn before making their hand on the river and knocking the guy out.  This is particularly startling because they are making these judgements on other player’s decisions in a freeroll tournament.  Why, if you are such a great and wise player are you playing in a freeroll tournament?  A warm-up for the World Series perhaps?  Unlikely.

I take some consolation in the fact that these hostile players seem to fade out early on, although it is disappointing that a game that throughout its history has placed a great deal of emphasis on respect between its players has been brought down to the level of personal attacks.  Hopefully this is just a characteristic of low stakes poker and that the traditions of old haven’t been completely worn down by the online game where a person can hide behind a monitor and keyboard.