If you have knowledge of a congressman, senator, candidate, or staffer who has played poker, e-mail me the details: [email protected]. I'll make sure that the info gets in the right hands.
Tight-aggressive play gets the money. Pick your spots, and push them relentlessly. Don't fritter away your stack on long shots. It's true of poker, and it's true of politics. In both games, if you're on the rail, you can't win. You have to be in the game. In the last issue I wrote generally about politics and poker. I noted that we need to identify our adversaries, that we must overcome political and personal inertia, and that there is a long history of politicians who play or played poker, which can aid us.
The political case for legalized poker is pretty easy. Millions of Americans play, and most who don't couldn't care less if we do. A legal game is a regulated game that is more likely to be an honest game - and a taxed game - and a game in which bad guys can be kept away by licensing standards. Presidents, senators, and Supreme Court justices play poker, as do our troops under fire in Iraq. Prohibition never works; it just drives people underground, and invites the criminal element.
Unfortunately, just because the political case is easy, turning that case into a change in governmental regulation of the game is not so easy. Here are some specific steps that will get us closer to widespread governmental acceptance of poker. (Due to space limitations, this is a partial summary.)
We need a uniform definition of poker that emphasizes its differentiation from games in which chance outweighs skill. The goal of such a definition would be inclusion in legislation, legal briefs, articles, and so on. My
Card Player colleague Bob Ciaffone has addressed this in his columns. Those who have written poker rulebooks - as Bob and I have - might contribute to such an effort. But it is principally a job for lawyers with experience drafting legislation. A uniform definition of poker will aid at all levels of this battle: legislative, judicial, political.The definition could serve as the foundation of a Model Uniform Poker Act.
Distinguishing poker from other gambling is important. Poker players understand intuitively how poker differs from games in which the house has the edge and chance dominates. (See my column from
Card Player, Vol. 17/No. 5: http://www.CardPlayer.com/author/article/all/19/6174.) Consider that almost all sites that have left the U.S. market had some other gambling element associated with them: sports, blackjack, bingo, and even slots. Those that didn't were often part of networks in which other participants did. Most of the big players still in the market don't have gambling associations. (The others are 100 percent offshore, with close to zero U.S. contact.) The industry needs to commission statisticians and game theorists to conduct studies and analyses, and must have reports and articles written on the subject from the most prestigious sources possible. The good news is that some such work has been commissioned by advocates of our cause. But we need more, sooner rather than later. The political reality is that poker separated from gambling has a better shot than poker associated with gambling.
A powerful part of poker's case is the extent to which it is woven into the fabric of America - FDR's regular games with his war cabinet, Truman's "The Buck Stops Here," referring to a dealer button (they used a buck knife), and so on. We must shout from the mountaintops how American poker is. Author James McManus (of
Positively Fifth Street fame) is writing a history of poker that will be published in 2009 - excerpts of which are currently featured in
Card Player. Writer Byron Liggett often addresses famous American players in historical vignettes. We need more such efforts that identify prominent American poker players, from Mark Twain to Bill Gates.
In past columns, I suggested a model for poker's growth into the mainstream - the PGA (Professional Golfers Association). That didn't happen. Instead, the PPA (Poker Players Alliance) has evolved to take a leadership role, primarily on the political front. I suggest for its model, the National Rifle Association. With a membership of 4.3 million, the NRA is perhaps the most effective special-interest lobbying group in the U.S. It delivers its votes, its message, and its campaign contributions. Its power comes from organization. It excels at database management, public relations, and lobbying. Poker needs to examine how the NRA does it, and emulate that.
The industry needs to develop a "Political Action Kit," and get it into the hands of poker players. It should contain zip-code-based info on elected state and federal representatives (phone number, address, e-mail address), sample letters, talking points, and so on. It should be mailed and e-mailed, and be downloadable from all poker-related web outlets.
We also need a top-notch PR firm carrying our message to the mainstream media.
What You Can Do
Poker players tend to be individualist mavericks, relying on our skills and instincts. On average, we're not joiners, and are often suspicious of the system and large groups. My apocryphal observation is that we are registered to vote in smaller numbers than the population at large.
I hate to admit that I registered late in life. Like many players, I considered government irrelevant, and even an adversary. Distrustful of politicians, I believed the system narrowed choices to lesser-of-evils options. And I didn't think my vote mattered.
I was wrong. I have registered to vote. If you're not a voter, your interests are irrelevant to those who rely on voters for their power. But if you are registered, they want you - and need you. Collectively, we can wield power - as the NRA does - to achieve political goals that matter to us.
The other political power is money. The PPA needs your help to make your case. It has a free introductory membership, but basic membership is only $20. You can give more. If you haven't, you need to go to http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/ right now and join. Get your credit card out. What are you waiting for? Do it - right now! Really!
You and every other poker player are in a put-up-or-shut-up position. Individually, our votes and small contributions don't mean much. But, together we can be a force to be reckoned with - like the NRA. It's time to get aggressive and try to run over this game.
I'll be writing a poker strategy column in the next issue, and several thereafter, as I know readers like them. But I will also be addressing politics and poker again - specifically, the errors that the industry has made and how they must be corrected, and a legislative strategy aimed at the states. I'll also parse the case against poker - an essential step in strategizing. There is much more to say, and the issue isn't disappearing soon. Meanwhile, if you haven't done so already, get off your butt and register to vote, and send your 20 bucks to the PPA!
Roy Cooke has played more than 60,000 hours of pro poker and has been part of the I-poker industry since its beginnings. His longtime collaborator, John Bond, is a freelance writer in South Florida.
