While there is probably a great deal that can be written for this month’s Publisher’s Note, probably more than any other Note, my decision is to keep this fairly short. The reason for this is simply everything is already much better covered on our website than I would be able to do here. But there are still a couple of points to make.
First, all of us need to realize that poker is an individual right. If two or more consenting adults want to play poker somewhere on the Internet, it’s our position at Two Plus Two that they should be able to do so without any interference from an outside source, including our government.
As most of you (who live in the United States) know, presidential politics is beginning. There should be many candidates on the Republican side, and the Democratic candidate is of course already known. So, my recommendation when considering who to vote for is to think about how each candidate stands on the subject of individual rights. As the great Milton Friedman once said, we should be “Free to Choose.”
My second point is something that I said on our PokerCast, Episode 168. I believe that the perception of Internet poker by many people who don’t know much about it, and this includes many important people in our government, is that it’s a clash of Titans where huge sums of money constantly change hands.
It should also be obvious why this perception persists. As stated on the show, it’s much more interesting knowing who won or lost $1 million last night than who won or lost $1.50. But the fact of the matter is that the large majority of games are for small stakes, and not for huge amounts. Put another way, the vast majority of players are playing for recreation, and the cost (assuming they lose) is closer to going to a movie than a house.
So, I believe a better job needs to be done in getting this information out. Once more people understand this, the number of people who perceive poker as some sort of evil should be reduced.
Speaking of our PokerCast, I want to commend Mike and Adam for getting the information out. As of this writing (April 28) we have had 291,707 downloads of PokerCast Episode 168 - Black Friday Special; Aftermath of the Online Poker Indictments, an amazing number.
Finally, changing the subject, there will be a sale for some of our lesser selling books in our Two Plus Two Poker Book Store. For those of you who like to read poker books, this will be a great opportunity to pick up a few of our titles at a significantly reduced price. There will be announcements on the website.
