Never Cheat In Online Poker A Moral Story

It’s quite a while ago (2001) back in the day when internet Poker was still relatively new, a buddy of mine came over for the usual poker game and some bruskies – he made a rather disturbing revelation.  For the sake of confidentiality I’m not going to mention his name, let’s just call him “Jed”. Jed found a unique way to cheat at online poker, to top it all as time progressed he became very good at it by using a rather crude system.

Although I never tried Jed’s system, my career was on the up and success was knocking at my door, to be honest the online poker bug had not bitten me as yet.  I did spend a lot of time with Jed in those days. Over the next couple of years, I observed how Jed’s life panned out.

To start off, Jed was living the American dream. Playing online poker every day and his bankroll was growing at an unbelievable rate.

As the years gone by, Jed made no secret in how his cash was spent-he bought the best money could buy a 4-bedroom house showcased on an acre and a half near a lake, two Jaguars. Persuaded his dream woman he loved to marry him, and he threw a very lavish wedding. (I was there.) During the early days of their marriage, Jed and his wife travelled the world visiting exotic destinations like Thailand and Bali. The man has a good heart and even purchased his brother a plot of land on which to build his own house. Jed epitomized success, life couldn’t be better.  He was blessed in an evil kinda way and showered with good fortune it seemed there was no end in sight to the dream life he was living…or was it?

Let’s turn the clock four years into the future, the first cracks in his lavish lifestyle first started to appear in the fall of 2005.  Jed still had money coming in thanks to his online gambling endeavours, but the thrill wasn’t there anymore. He still had his beautiful home, even more beautiful than before, since he had revamped it twice. He was still married to his beautiful wife, pregnant with their second child, still had his two Jags.  On the face of things he had it all. On the contrary my buddy Jed was not the same man he used to be.

I knew Jed well; I could see things that others missed: His personality changed from a chirpy to a miserable fellow. The question is, how could this be, one might ask? With all the money and excitement in his life, as well as all the satisfaction of winning at online poker, how could he be unhappy? Truth be told I had many long talks with Jed, long into the nights during those days. In my opinion, what had a dramatic effect on him was the devastating nature of cheating itself. What I was witnessing was the inevitable result of a life based on (and dependent on) defrauding others.

In order to lead a truthful, purposeful and peaceful life one needs contentment and self-esteem – there are no exceptions. Every individual requires a sense of self-worth, unfortunately Jed had lost his. He felt worthless. He felt he was contributing zilch to the betterment of society in truth his assessment was spot on!

In the early days, Jed accepted the fact that he was a cheater. The immediate rewards of his lifestyle were so new and so overwhelming that he was able to justify his actions. Money and the admiration of others made it possible for him to tweak his mind in such a way that he ignored his conscious mind of self-loathing.  Cheating at online poker enabled to obtain all the wonderful assets he always yearned for-so be it.

But as time went moved on, the deep-seated realization of what he was doing and the type of person he had evolved into had finally caught up with Jed. He could no longer deny that he was morally inept and bankrupt.  Irrespective of all the beautiful things he surrounded himself with at centre of his being he was nothing more than a lousy cheat. Just by recognition it had a devastating effect on Jed’s peace of mind.

At one point, Jed confided in me that he wanted to stop his cheating and found it impossible-he was hooked line and sinker.  The money was too good, the lifestyle phenomenal. In essence he became the master of his own destruction.

People wonder how Jed is today.  Not good. He is getting divorced, suffers from depression and grappling with his sanity. I won’t share with you all the gory details of exactly how his life degenerated during the past two years; he was recently committed to a mental institution. The Jaguars are gone. The beautiful house stands empty. And Jed is not even a shadow of his former self.

I wish I saw the light at the end of the tunnel for Jed, who is fundamentally an intelligent and kind-hearted guy, truth be told I don’t. They say that a person has to hit rock bottom before he or she can turn things around and climb back to a meaningful life.

The reason I’m telling you this story of Jed always evaluate any potential behaviour you might be considering this may indefinitely alter the course of your life To make a fast buck is thrilling and a sure way to get the adrenaline pumping.  If you win money by cheating, the cons far outweigh the pros in any event.  Most people are of the opinion that if they can get rich cheating and then later need to deal with some mental conflict as a result, that’s actually a pretty good trade-off. They will just handle those negative feelings when they come up.

An erroneous error! Cheating is a crime it may seem attractive in the beginning don’t be deceived behind all the glitz and glamour is a gory life of quiet discontent.

Humans find happiness by achieving a purposeful life from working hard and honest and in turn they contribute to society. What has a poker cheater contributed- absolutely zero? What has a poker cheater achieved? Nothing. The sad part is he has stolen a portion of other people’s livelihood by illicit ways. The cheater never learns to become a good poker player.  As a result he never receives any form of recognition for his playing skill, since all he knows is how to cheat. He is unable to succeed at high-profile tournaments, since his cheating skills offer cannot be utilised to good effect- cheating is harsh and the cheater at his core, is a depressed and sad human being.

It’s possible to cheat at online poker. (There are ways, even today, to accomplish this.) And one can make money at the expense of honest good-to-do individuals.  In the beginning the rewards are always inviting, do not be dragged in my friend. Like Satan’s apple, it is a trick. Be wise and resist the temptation. The price you pay for cheating is never worth its weight in gold, what goes around comes around!  A life of misery, low self-esteem and despair is inevitable. As one who has witnessed his good friend go down that ill-fated path, I urge you not to fall for the false promises of cheating.

In a sense, this article is ironic. In recent years, I have perfected a particular way to cheat at online poker, and I am now making the system available to those who want it. (I believe in freedom of speech, and I believe in people’s right to information.) And yet, while I am making this cheating information available, at the same token I want discourage you from using it. Weird, huh?

The aim of this article is simple: do not cheat. In the long run, cheating is not worth the heartche it brings. Nothing beats the satisfaction of playing poker well and winning fair and square — not any form of materialistic gain… nothing. You pay a dear price when you cheat. The devil will always collect what is owed to him-sooner or later.

Poker is a unique and fantastic game. Be it online or in-person, it is the most perfect expression of competition ever devised. I implore you to play within the ambit of the rules. Play the game as it was intended to be played, fairly. Play with honour and dignity. Appreciate the precious game of poker for the incredible blessing that it is. Love it, do not defile it.

I have revised this article somewhat and the gist of it remains the intellectual property of the article writer. Cassaon-casino wishes to give the author full credit for writing it. It’s written with insight and a keen understanding and an in-depth knowledge of what can happen when one tends to take the easiest and shortest route available, by means of enriching oneself to the detriment of others in the wonderful game of Poker.  I’m sure this rule is not only limited to cheating in Poker but to life in general as well. Always treat others the way you’d like to be treated.

Reference

Timmor L. White is the founder and president of Online Poker Systems and the OPS Group. With a background in Internet technology, he is active in the study and reporting of online-poker playing strategies.