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Don't Play Poker Online While People Are Shooting At Your DSL
from the no,-seriously dept
I think we have a winner, already, for most bizarre story of the month. Yesterday, Broadband Reports had a random story about DSL service going down in New Mexico due to "random gunfire", which seems odd enough. However, the impact of that loss of DSL was beyond what many could imagine. That's because one local resident, just as the random gunfire erupted, happened to be playing poker online, and just happened to have pocket aces (the best hand) in the middle of a round with a lot of money at stake. He claims that just as the DSL service went down (yes, remember, due to random gunfire), he clicked to go "all in." However, service dropped, and by the time it came back, the game was over. Apparently, the system folded his pocket aces, since he wasn't responding -- but when the service came back, it remembered the "all in" click -- dumping all his money in on a hand where he had nothing. The guy, needless to say, is a bit pissed off. He wants to blame someone, but Qwest, the DSL provider isn't taking responsibility (can you believe them?). The online poker site also said too bad. Obviously, he's going after the wrong people. The person to blame is the "random" shooter who took out DSL in New Mexico. So, remember kids, when trying to raise tuition money or seed funding while playing poker online, it's best to do so on a connection you know is secure where there's no random gunfire shooting out DSL lines... or, maybe go wireless, since that's much tougher to take out with a gunfire.
Reader Comments
(Flattened / Threaded)
The obvious target to sue...
The gun manufacturer! (Perhaps the ammo company too.)
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Re: The obvious target to sue...
I work for qwest dsl and there was no dslam down due to being hit by gun fire. load of bullshit.
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Re: The obvious target to sue...
I work for qwest dsl and there was no dslam down due to being hit by gun fire. load of bullshit.
Well, most of us agree with you that it's likely to be a load of bullshit, but if you do work for Qwest, you might want to inform "Qwest spokesman Vince Hancock" as he's the one quoted in the article as saying that service was down as a result of random gun fire.
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No Subject Given
Goddamn americans and their random gunfire - it's a shithole.
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No way
The guy is either full of shite or is playing at a really shady poker site. Any decent poker site handles this situation the same .... When a player in a hand loses his connection mid-hand, he is treated as "all in" and his hand is live for what currently is in the pot. Since this player was actually all in for all his chips, the situation is much simplified: he is eligible to win the pot whether or not he has a connection to the site.
What probably happened was that he went all in, was called by one or more players, and lost the hand. I am 99% sure that is what actually happened. No good poker site would register an all in bet and then forfeit a player's interest in the pot for disconnecting. The big sites, Pokerstars, Party, Pacific, Paradise, Bodog, UB, Pokerroom, Full Tilt, etc, all have all in protection unless you abuse it.
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Re: No way
You're absolutely correct.
My guess is that he just didn't realize that whoever called him had pocket K's and the board ended up as 2*6*10*10*K.
Sorry buddy, you straight up lost, fair and square. Don't like the river? Stop playing poker. Pocket Aces is NEVER a guaranteed win.
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Re: No way
It certainly is possible - remember, it was the client that remebered the click and not the server. The server behaved normally (it did treat him as all in for that hand), its their client software is where the screwup happened.
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Re: No way
But that simply doesn't happen with any of the main online holdem sites. If he clicked 'All In' (as was stated in the original post), then he made the final decision himself, and even if he lost connection, the server had received this request to go all in.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have lost all the money to an all in bet and his hand would have just been folded for not responding in time.
And if the poker site had a policy to put people all in when they lose their connection, they warn you of this BEFORE you join the table. It's all in plain site with warnings to let you know. If he ignored this, it's, once again, his own fault.
But more likely, all that happened was he was beat. He just didn't get to see the bad beat with his own eyes and therefore I am sure it was rather frustrating to regain a connection and see that he lost everything.
Even if he hadn't lost the connection, he would have still been all in on pocket aces and lost.
I'm not understanding why there is confusion with this. He simply didn't understand what was happening at the time and was upset about losing his money. But it was his own bad decision making that did it.
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Re: No way
An all-in-on-disconnect policy actually just treats you as if you were all-in: any bets after that point go to a side pot, and you can win whatever was in the pot when you disconnected if you end up with the best hand. Whatever money you had at the table that you didn't bet doesn't get automatically bet for you; it ends up in your account if you don't come back.
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Re: No way
Nope, sorry, that's not how it goes. Most places do NOT give "all-in" protection, anymore.
Apparently you didn't read the article, though, as you'd know that he likely supposedly was at pre-flop, and probably didn't have any money in, and even then sites that do have all-in protection would fold the hand if you disconnected, and didn't come back within a min or two.
There's no site that would forfeit after it took the all-in request (except for when poker.com was broken after their last major upgrade, but that's fixed).
I do agree more with your theory on what -actually- happened. There's no way the client would save the "All In" click and transmit it when the connection is back up. It probably went through, then he got disconnected, and came back after losing. Either that or he just sat there and clicked the button the whole time :D
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Wait a min!
Isn't playing poker in the US online still illegal? Or is online poker legal in some states? I know online gambling laws aren't very well enforced, but last time I checked it was still illegal to gamble online. So how can he hold someone responsible? He certainly can’t sue anyone over this.
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Re: Wait a min!
It's not illegal to PLAY online poker... only illegal to RUN an online poker site in the U.S.
Like all gambling laws in the U.S., the focus is on the operator, the house... not the players.
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Re: Wait a min!
US Dept of Justice seems to say it's illegal to play...
http://www.latimes.com/business/careers/work/la-na-cards27nov27,1,2368814.story?coll=la-headl ines-business-careers&ctrack=1&cset=true
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Re: Wait a min!
The Bush administration also seems to think it is Constitutional to torture "enemy combatants" and detain suspects indefinitely without charging them. I wouldnt put much stock into what they seem to think.
Specifically regarding online poker, it is probably legal for two reasons:
1. Most laws dealing with gambling are so illegal casinos don't spring up and take bets without a license.
2. Poker is not like other casino games... it is more like chess or a sport, on which it is perfectly legal to make a private bet.
3. The most important reason. All of the "action" takes place on foreign servers in the islands and in Canada or the UK where online poker is legal to operate. Therefore the action is on their side of "the pond" and in their jurisdiction.
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Re: Wait a min!
Actually some random reporter for the LA Times seems to say it's illegal to PLAY. The actual law is that it is illegal to run an online casino in the US, and the laws are not currently CLEAR on the individual play.
I live in an area of the US where I can drive 15 minutes and LEGALLY gamble at a real casino. Plus there are all the arguments of holdem not being a casino game. You play the players with skill to win and not the odds nearly as much as typical casino games.
Making "sidebets" while playing holdem with people is no different to me than, say, betting $20 bucks on who wins the Superbowl. You research and determine who you think is the best using your own sources and following the players' abilities and then you place a wager on it. I don't see the government cracking down on these types of bets.
As far as I'm concerned, when I play online, I am playing ONLY the people sitting at my table and the money exchanged is a PRIVATE bet just as betting on a sporting event with friends is PRIVATE. The online programs are just a place to meet people who enjoy the same entertainment as me. Kind of like logging onto Yahoo to play some chess. If I wanted, I could place a private bet on who wins the chess games. This is MY DECISION and it's MY MONEY.
What's with all the control issues in the world these days? If something doesn't affect or hurt people, what gives them the right to rain on everyone else's parade?
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Guess that's one way to win.
Just play and then know someone with a gun after using Localization.
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On-Line Poker for Money is Illegal in the United S
The guy deserves nothing but some time in the slammer. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kimkomando/2005-04-25-online-gambling_x.htm
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Re: On-Line Poker for Money is Illegal in the Unit
For choosing to spend his money in a way that harms nobody but himself when losing? Or just because of some stupid ass article that even STATES that the laws are not clear enough to prosecute individual poker players?
You're an idiot and NO he doesn't deserve "time in the slammer" for law related reasons AS WELL AS for MORAL reasons?
Where the hell do you get off deciding someone who has done nothing to harm others be put in prison? You fucking Nazi. Keep you lame ass comments to yourself TROLL, no one cares.
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Re: On-Line Poker for Money is Illegal in the Unit
Hey Tom,
I'm sure you have friends or family that play poker at home with REAL money. Maybe even you do. That's illegal also.
Do you think they should go to the slammer or you?
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Re: On-Line Poker for Money is Illegal in the Unit
It's only illegal if the house is taking a rake, or if there is booze being sold.
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Re: On-Line Poker for Money is Illegal in the Unit
This link is from Kim Komando, the same person who says "downloading music is illegal"...
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Re: On-Line Poker for Money is Illegal in the United S
Tom you are an idiot. You have probably done something much worse in your pathetic life than play online poker. Maybe you should have gone to prison.
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No Subject Given
In most states, it is illegal to play any card game where there is a rake so online gambling would be illegal. Most states also put dollar limits even on unraked pots. Your Wednesday night home game is illegal because the "house" is not taking a rake and the pot is usually under a couple hundred bucks.
Always cracks me up when people convince themselves that they are doing something legal when they damn well know it isn't. That doesn't stop me from downloading, gambling, speeding, or making rolling right turns but I'm not stupid enough to delude myself that is "legal".
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Re: No Subject Given
But you're not even acknowledging what you just stated in plain English.
IN MOST STATES
Yeah, that's right, NOT ALL STATES.
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Re: No Subject Given
Don't be a pedantic asshole...
http://www.gambling-law-us.com/State-Laws/
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Re: No Subject Given
Grow up. No need to start flame wars with name calling. Are you 12?
I was proving a point and I AM correct when I say the law is unclear on a national level. Some states say it's illegal, some say it's not, and some simply don't care.
Even the random (most likely unreliable) website you posted proves my point. Why don't you actually try reading it.
And what makes you think you can trust some random .com website with the address "http://www.gambling-law-us.com/State-Laws/" Do you also get your credit report from "http://www.get-your-free-credit-report-here-this-isnt-a-ploy-to-steal-your-personal-info-i-promise. com"?
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Re: No Subject Given
I always try to find .gov sites to back up legal or medical issues.
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No Subject Given
[EDIT]Your Wednesday night home game is LEGAL because the "house" is not taking a rake and the pot is usually under a couple hundred bucks.
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News Headlines
Police arrest poker addict for using open Wi-fi
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Isn't online poker easy to scam?
what would stop 7 buddies from sitting in one room and using proxies, or even spread across the us and using a conference call to scam player # 8?
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