Looking Up

The week has certainly ended more agreeably than it began. Full Tilt Poker sent us all a message reassuring us (1) the Internet Gambling Enforcement Act does not criminalize playing poker online (knew that) and (2) that FTP plans to remain up and running regardless of when or whether the Act is finally signed by President Bush (didn't know that). As the folks at FTP “firmly believe that online poker is not encompassed by this new legislation,” they plan to continue to provide us American players (and everyone else) a place to play our favorite game.

I promptly pumped a small amount back over into FTP in order to continue playing on the site. Meanwhile, I continue to build my (now short) stack over in Stars as well. (Not gonna go back to Party, as they’ve made clear their plans for us Yanks once the shoe drops.) As long as sites are not shutting us out, I’ll keep playing. Every day, if I can.

The rollercoaster of a week got me thinking about how we all reacted to the news over the past few days. For me, Party Poker’s announcement was the most grievous to hear. Given their status as the most popular site, I mistakenly assumed most if not all other sites would follow their lead. Now I’ve become slightly less ignorant about the difference between publicly- and privately-owned companies (and the distinct pressures each face). Party, as a publicly-traded entity (its shares are exchanged on the LSE), has worries that privately-run sites (e.g., Full Tilt) does not. Not fretting over weak-kneed shareholders who might pull their moneys at a moment’s notice can embolden one, I imagine.

How we each individually responded probably says at least something about how each of us plays the game, actually. I imagine tighter players who disdain risk were more apt to respond with pessimism, whereas the looser, gambling types were more willing to shrug off the news as an easily-negotiable bump in the road.

Now I can get aggressive in a 6-max low limit game, but as I’ve established here before, I tend to avoid the big risks if I can. Thus when I heard the news about the sneaky dealings in the Senate on Friday, my instinct was to envision a worst case scenario. The various site announcements on Monday did nothing but fuel my feelings of gloom. A bit like limping into a family pot with , then seeing a flop of . Horrendous. Can’t wait for the action to get to me so I can let it go.

But it got checked around. And now the turn is a . And suddenly I’m interested again . . . .

But like the pessimist who looks both ways before crossing the one-way street, I’m proceeding with caution.