FullTilt Poker Blocks Washington Residents from Playing Online

FullTilt Poker Blocks Washington Residents from Playing Online

news.bluffmagazine.com

As the latest edition of FTOPS is currently underway, FullTilt Poker announced Friday that Washington state residents and visitors can no longer play for real money online on the site. This decision comes over a month after PokerStars made their decision to block Washington State residents from playing for real money online after the Washington state Supreme Court upheld a state law banning online poker

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As a poker player I find this news horrible. PokerStars and FullTilt are the two largest online poker sites and have had to block Washington state residents from playing online because of a recent Washington state Supreme Court decision banning online gambling. This is another blatant blow against individual liberty making laws that look after the local casino interests.

While most people look at poker as just another form of gambling, it isn't. There are many people who make a decent income from playing poker. While luck is a big factor in a single game there is a large skill factor involved and over the long run a skilled player will come out ahead.

There are countless petitions online that are meant to protect our right to do spend our money however we want. I signed up for the Poker Players Alliance in hope that our voice will be heard when it comes to our right to play online.


news.bluffmagazine.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Good, well thats a start....

Do something productive , like grow a veggy garden,plant some trees with your spare time....and stop wasting your money on those corrupted poker sites...

reply to post by jrod


I know this must be very annoying for anyone living in washington that just wants to play for fun: its a sport!
However im sure if you were a professional online poker player, and made serious dollar, you'd just up and move somewhere else, nevada desert where you'd always wanted to live?

reply to post by jrod


I love playing poker. My advice is to stick to live games. Online poker is so rigged it's not funny.
Players teaming up, players that can see your hole cards and sites that rig the deal for more action.

I am an avid poker player and play all the time. I gave up online poker long ago.

Originally posted by Reevster
Good, well thats a start....

Do something productive , like grow a veggy garden,plant some trees with your spare time....and stop wasting your money on those corrupted poker sites...

While maybe 10% of poker player win money in the long run, it is unlike all other casino games(unless you can count cards at blackjack) where 100% of players will loose in the long run and you play against other players instead of the house. The casinos and poker rooms make money by taking a 'rake', generally 10% or less from every game or every pot. To help beat the rake, I have a rake back bonus and get a portion of the rake I pay back.

My ROI(return on investment) after 3 years of online play is much fatter than any other 'investment' options out there. Poker is a game of skill and should be treated differently from the traditional casino games.

Originally posted by Reevster
Good, well thats a start....

Do something productive , like grow a veggy garden,plant some trees with your spare time....and stop wasting your money on those corrupted poker sites...

typical reply by someone who isn't concerned by more laws regulating a persons freedom because it doesnt apply to them.

well let me tell ya, when the government goes after something you love and you come on here crying that it's not fair ill be sure to be here to give you and equaly helpfull reply .

p.s i do not play online poker.

reply to post by Erasurehead


In the case of Ultimate Bet and AP, sure there was corruption. The corruption came on the part of gutter-trash employees with superuser status.

The same cannot be said about FulltTilt or Pokerstars.

If they are rigged, who is it rigged in favor of? Tilt and Stars are very profitable businesses, why would they ruin a good thing?

Collusion also takes place in live games, so why do you even bother playing those?

reply to post by Erasurehead


While there have been sites that have been busted for shady things, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker are two that come to mind when it comes to cheaters who could see your hole cards, FullTilt and PokerStars are committed to keeping the game fair. Players teaming up against others happens at live games too, online players can not play in the same game if they share the same IP address, and those who get caught teaming up get their funds confiscated and distributed back to those they have cheated.

Online play is better that live play because you don't have to risk as much, there is much more action, and the Rake is a lot less than any live game you will find. I can sit down online at a table with less than $1, while if it want to go to my local poker room and $1/$2 No Limit Hold 'Em I need to have at least $400(two $200 buy ins) to risk so I can give my self a reasonable chance of winning. I mentioned before but this is important for one's ROI the rake is much less in online play.

Originally posted by Reevster
Good, well thats a start....

Do something productive , like grow a veggy garden,plant some trees with your spare time....and stop wasting your money on those corrupted poker sites...

Ummm, that is going to be illegal too.

Edited to add 2nd line.

reply to post by BigTimeCheater


Sure play collusion happens in live games but it is much easier to spot when they are sitting at the table with you. If you know what to look for you can spot them a mile away. Online you can have several friends playing together at the same table from their homes with different IP addresses, they all have chat sessions up sharing what they have in their hands with each other. You are kidding yourself if you think shady stuff doesn't happen on FullTilt.

I found that doyles room was the best when I played online. I have a regular group of people and we play live every weekend so that takes care of my poker addiction so I just stopped playing online. Way too many ridiculous bad beats for me. Flop trips and someone calls you with nothing and they end up with runners to get a flush. That kind of crap happens way too often online.

reply to post by jrod


Washington State is run by the tribes, who essentially control the entire political machine. The tribes have been working on the gambling issue for decades. The tribes have casinos throughout the state and they want you playing there not on-line. Zoning laws are frequently over-turned under pressure from the tribes, environmental impact ignored while a tribe adds another 200 rooms to an existing hotel. For years private citizens have fought to open casinos and card rooms throughout Western Washington to no avail. The way the reservation land is configured you can literally have a casino on a piece of land (typically in a high traffic area) where there is a full blown casino. Want to open a casino across the street? No can do. The 2 acres of land in the middle of that commercial part of town is the only reservation land in the town. How did that small plot gain reservation status? By the tribes spiffing off the pols.

You can also smoke in a tribal casino, but not a private card room. The tribes pay no taxes on liquor hence the drinks are significantly cheaper. The advantage the tribes have on that side of the entertainment equation is massive.

You can argue the pros and cons of native land rights - thats another thread. This thread is about gambling in Washington and gambling in Washington is run by the tribes.

Originally posted by Erasurehead
reply to post by BigTimeCheater

 

Sure play collusion happens in live games but it is much easier to spot when they are sitting at the table with you. If you know what to look for you can spot them a mile away. Online you can have several friends playing together at the same table from their homes with different IP addresses, they all have chat sessions up sharing what they have in their hands with each other. You are kidding yourself if you think shady stuff doesn't happen on FullTilt.

I found that doyles room was the best when I played online. I have a regular group of people and we play live every weekend so that takes care of my poker addiction so I just stopped playing online. Way too many ridiculous bad beats for me. Flop trips and someone calls you with nothing and they end up with runners to get a flush. That kind of crap happens way too often online.

'
It's called variance, and it seems to happen more online because you see exponentially more hands online than you do live. Personally, I play 12 tables at a time and I see more hands in an hour than I would at multiple live sessions.

Sure collusion happens online, its unavoidable, but its very easy to spot if you are a player worth your salt who can detect patterns.