Quote:
Originally Posted by shoemaker
To the posters who would like to represent the players at the Isle of Man,
Outline your goals and views, everyone who agrees and would want that person to represent them can "+1" it to give their vote. As simple as that.
I saw my name mentioned a few times (which humbles me greatly), so I'll respond to this.
My view on this situation is that Pokerstars is a business. They want to make money, they need to make money to survive, and it is very likely that the vast majority of their gross revenue goes to business expenses like support, advertising, and software development, not to greedy pockets. I believe stars puts a lot of effort into a high quality product, and I appreciate that.
On the other side though, are the players. Professional players need income to survive and play, and non-professional players would like to be able to win at the game, or, at the very least, go longer between deposits and get more "bang for their buck."
Games have gotten tough. Gaps between player skill have closed significantly, and rake always puts a significant amount of pressure on players. We are at a point in online poker where even very strong players stand to make 1 or 2bb/100, and many games/stakes flirt with playability, because the closing of skill gaps mixed with the rake threatens to create games where an unrealistically small number of players (if any at all) can win.
As a result, players feel they need to cling to what little win rate or rewards they have.
I believe the day our games have no long term winners is the end of poker, effectively turning poker into a casino table game offering with little difference between poker and craps or baccarat.
I want poker to survive, so I believe it is a players responsibility to fight for a sustainable poker ecosystem. One where tenacious professionals can squeeze out a living, amateurs can test their mettle while working to become a long term winner, and gamblers can have a great time, splash around, and just maybe strike it rich.
I believe that it is the players responsibility to make sure that ecosystem stays intact, and then it is on the poker site to figure out how to give us that opportunity while executing a successful business model. I hope there's room in the poker world for all of us, grinder, amateur, gambler, and room owner alike.
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Some extra information and disclosure.
I play mostly 1/2 and 2/4 CAP games. I believe all players should have sustainable games that they enjoy. However, I am far more qualified to speak about the specifics of what that looks like in cap games than in other forms of poker. I seek to understand the table climate in all games, but my personal experience is lacking in some cases.
I don't mass table, but I am a Supernova. My preference is usually to play around six tables, moving up as high as nine when I feel like I can handle it. I plan to attempt Supernova Elite in 2012, but I am not sure if it is a realistic goal for me (if I had been playing full time throughout all of 2011, I would have made about 600-700K VPPs).
I am a 29 year old American who worked in South Korea as an English teacher, then decided to start playing poker professionally and move to Canada (rather than back to the USA) in light of the events of Black Friday.
If I was in fact invited to the Isle of Man, I'm not sure how I would travel. I'm not sure if it's industry standard to have expenses paid for or not, but the $1600 airfare plus food and lodging would not be an insignificant sum to me and I would have to examine my finances before committing to the trip. If those expenses were covered I would participate without hesitation. However, in either case, I will totally buy a new shirt for the occasion, as showing up in the Pokerstars.com sweatshirt that I like wearing most is a bit too fanboy for me.
In the event that anyone from Pokerstars would like my input but travel could not be arranged, I am reachable by e-mail, telephone, or Skype as well as my presence on 2+2, and I am happy to assist in any way possible.
Last edited by starvingwriter82; 12-30-2011 at 05:28 PM.