Focus on the Family's Chad Hills wrote an incendiary column on June 7th entitled, "Don’t Cry When Your Illegal Activity Is Shut Down." Not content with that, he has now posted responses to a few questions that further attack our game: http://www.citizenlink.com/2011/06/0...y-is-shutdown/

I hope that we'll all respond by telling our elected representatives that we demand our rights via the Fight for Poker Rights actions.

A supposition Fox News denies, of course

Wouldn't hurt to send a little love Fox's way, their support is sadly crucial.

I had forgotten all about this.

Sadly, you cannot post on his FB page. What a morally and intellectually bankrupt jackass this guy is.

so how do we take this ****er down a notch?

Porno email bomb?

While I may not be as eloquent as some on this site at presenting online poker to the public, I decided to send a response to the people at Focus on the Family. I highly doubt they show it to the public, but I thought it needed to be said.

The first portion is from one of their quotes:

"Professional sports – or any sports for that matter – are partially entertainment, but they are largely personal success stories through hard work, discipline and some inherent talents. Very little is given to “chance,” as in cards. It’s something we honor in our country and something we are proud to support, because the talent and training these athletes endure is truly admirable (some sports are less dependent on physical fitness, but they still require a lot of practice and physical and mental discipline). And, yes, they are fun to watch as a spectator – for entertainment."

This quote from you essentially sums up a professional poker player to the T. There is a ton of study and hard work put into honing your skills (yes skills) at the poker table. The "sport" of poker is also very entertaining to watch, which is why its on at least one of the ESPN networks nearly every day. There is also an element of chance to all pro sports, as the best team doesn't always win (and many professional leagues fail as a whole). Intelligence and disciple are staples of great poker players, and both are required for a player to profit.

If you are going to trash poker, and those who play, at least make an argument that doesn't contradict your point.

Great post and great name

Aha, you can post but only by commenting on one of their original posts. Have at 'em!!!
http://www.facebook.com/citizenlink


Wow, this is one is only for super-religious-dictate-our-morality scary people.

I'll be sure to celebrate in his face as much as possible as soon as he loses his job as a self-righteous prick parading as a professional writer

That's rich coming from a tax-exempt institution. Stop taking breaks from us taxpayers and then you can preach to me about how I spend my money.

I'd like the PPA's thoughts on this, but based on the way things are going for us now and how loud and intelligent our voice is, is not ignoring him not the proper and most +EV move here? Firing them up, I doubt, would do much good.

Nothing new in his comments. It's the same old tired and fallacious arguments.

And is it just me or does that river-flows-through-it analogy in his first reply make him sound like a ghey hippie?

And Chad, since you claim to lurk on poker boards, I did indeed mean that gay hippie part to be taken literally.

Is this the same guy that was on Stossel?

Oh neat, he did post my comment (June 13). I guess I'll respond.
I'm happy to answer your questions:

1) The legality of Mogelefsky's play does not depend on whether or not these sites have U.S. licenses.

2) Why would you assume that Mogelefsky evades his taxes? I don't think many tax evaders would agree to have such a mainstream news article drawing attention to them. All income earned by Americans is taxable, regardless of whether or not taxes are withheld or records are given to the IRS. Mogelefsky almost certainly has his own personal records for his poker winnings, which is the full extent that the IRS requires for all self-employed individuals.

3) You are right to observe that there is no law that clearly states this. That is the reason why Barney Frank is "parading" through Congress. Our gambling laws are outdated and incredibly vague, and there are plenty of legitimately obvious reasons why they may not have been intended to apply to competitive multiplayer strategy games. Regardless of one's opinion on poker, one should want laws to be clear. As far as Mogelefsky is concerned, it is clear that no law makes playing online poker illegal for the player. I assure you that no legal entity contends otherwise.

4) We don't know Mogelefsky's personal situation. You assume that he would be better off in a traditional career. It is certainly possible that he is better able to provide through his family through poker. Maybe he can't even find a traditional job in this economy. Maybe a self-managed investment career allows him more time to spend with his children. As for stability, you might be surprised to learn that most poker players are taking on much *less* financial risk in their poker careers than the typical American does in a conservative investment portfolio.