Online Poker Player Arrested

When the stakes are high in poker this can have an impact on a player’s emotions. The majority of poker players handle their emotions pretty well but not Mesbah Khaffaji.

Khaffaji who was gambling at the Bicycle Casino in Bell gardens was arrested by the Bell Gardens Police Department due to misconduct on Sunday evening. He allegedly spat in the face of a dealer at the Casino. His bad behaviour could be attributed to the way the game was developing.

Police official Sergeant Brendan Kirkpatrick reckons the incident worsened after Khaffaji lost a hand at the No-Limit poker table he was playing at.  The question one has to ask: Does it happen often?  Yes, according to Kirkpatrick as reported by The Los Angeles Times. “People get heated when large sums of money are at stake and lost, as a result people can’t control their emotions.”

It’s most likely that gamblers have seen this type of aggressive behavior on television from top poker professionals such as Phil Hellmuth and Mike Matusow. Unfortunately this type of bahaviour is emulated and could be tarnish the face of poker in the long run. They have reputations for slating fellow players when they lose a controversial hand.

Hellmuth is notorious for lambasting fellow poker players for poor play. He once commented that if everyone played the way they were supposed to play on a poker table, Hellmuth would never lose.  Talk about being full of himself. Poker is fast becoming the most popular gambling game in the world. The World Series of Poker is broadcasted on ESPN for the last couple of years now and even casual fans are tuning in to watch the best in the world slug- it-out for millions of dollars.

Phil Ivey considered by many as one of the top poker players in the world, made it all the way to the final table of the WSOP Main Event. Sparking yet another round of new participants through the beginning of 2010. The WSOP that was held in May through July had the second most players that participated ever at this event. Apart from the millions of dollars involved at the WSOP, this further contributes to the popularity of this event and many young poker stars are coming to the fore now.