Posted in Poker September 15th, 2009
Poker Players: Society’s New Celebrities
According to the new Celebrity Apprentice Joan Rivers, poker players are “beyond white trash.” But I think there are millions of people who would beg to differ. As a matter of fact, poker is incredibly popular at the moment and so are those who play it professionally.
This is evidenced by the fact that poker players like the rightful Celebrity Apprentice Annie Duke, Phil Gordon, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and many others have become famous beyond anyone’s expectations in the last decade.
This surge in popularity has caused many to try their hand, so to speak, at making a living playing on on-line poker sites. The results have been good for some and because of this many more people have become Internet poker millionaires. These poker successes are not always who you would expect them to be, because there are almost as many teenagers and people in their early-twenties as there are seasoned professionals. But for every group of successful poker players, there are also those who have been victims of online gambling scams. These scams befall mostly new players, because they don’t know how to check a online poker site’s bona fides.
To make sure you don’t fall into this same trap, the following tips can help you assess whether a site has the potential to be a scam:
- If the site doesn’t look professional, don’t play there. Sub-standard construction could be an indicator of the work of a quick-buck artist or a cash-strapped owner who may go belly-up and take your money with him.
- Determine whether the site is a member of the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC). IGC members agree to adhere to a code of ethics.
- Don’t register with a site that doesn’t have 24-hour support with both a toll-free phone number and e-mail addresses.
- If a site passes the first three requirements, do several small test transactions before you put up any major money. These will reveal a lot about the quality of the site.
Every poker player got his or her start somewhere, so there’s no reason why with a little luck and a lot of practice you couldn’t become one of online poker’s stars. Just be sure to do your due diligence first, so your success won’t be tainted by regret.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 at 9:01 am and is filed under Poker. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
