Talk:Online poker

message: Please, let's evaluate if this phrase 
"In 2005, revenues from online poker were estimated at US$ 200 million per month.[1]"
should be removed. The proposed link is broken too.
I have just added a Financial time link with authoritative figures about actual revenues,
this estimate of $200mn seems widely underestimated.
Thanks, regards.
--Ugopanco (talk) 08:37, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Source for Online POker revenues figures 

message: What is the "disparate" locations supposed to mean? How about something like "inconvenient"? Or should we really regard that as additional evidence that the entire article is just another free advertising scam, with someone trying to make it sound like an encyclopedia. (Several other likely examples elsewhere.) Shanen 08:24, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Yeah, NPOV is really an issue there. It has a strong bias towards online poker.Tyharvey313 03:44, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  History 

message: The text mistakenly claims that 'The_V0id' was disqualified from the World Championship of Online Poker for having multiple accounts - the linked article (source) makes no such claim and merely says that he was disqualified for a breach of the terms of service. I think this should be corrected. 125.255.113.222 (talk) 05:26, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: The article already covers online-specific cheating, and detection methods. 2005 22:48, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

text: Additionally the infomation you have tried to include is both inaccurate and quite strange.  Card counting in poker?  Cheating "debateable"?  It seems you are unfamilar with how poker is played, so I'd suggest you refrain from adding details to the article.  If you have questions about things or suggestion for formatting information, you could comment here, but obviously we can not have confusing/inaccurate statements in the article. 2005 22:33, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: "Card counting" in online poker? That seems like a bizarre statement to me. Card counting almost always refers to a specific advantage play technique used in blackjack, not poker, and it's not really cheating, even though it might or might not get you thrown out of a casino. At any rate, it's certainly not a subject that has anything to do with online poker.Rray 23:49, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  Actually card counting is semi-relevant to online poker but it is not considered cheating by anybody.  Yes you could use sophisticated methods to track information about cards played during a hand -- and use that information.  And yes that would get you thrown out of a casino.  But no it is not cheating in online poker.  More importantly for this section, there needs to be something said about the huge Absolute Poker scandal, which I realize is still ongoing as of October 22, 2007.  This scandal will change the landscape of online poker and shows that cheating is perhaps not as rare as some like to believe (or advertise).  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.114.135.84 (talk) 14:14, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

text: You cannot use a computer device at the poker table.  You could use one online -- input what cards burned, what cards folded (in a 7-stud game), etc.  Then it might calculate your odds, etc.  That would not be legal in a casino game.  I am not even sure they would let you keep track with pen and paper.  Obviously we are talking about stud games, no HE.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Masonuc (talk • contribs) 02:37, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cheating in online poker 

message: List of online poker sites redirects to this page, despite the fact that there is not such list here.  I think a list of online poker sites would be useful as a separate page.  Does anyone object? And does anyone want to help? Be so empty without me (talk) 06:04, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: This is an encyclopedia, not a shopping guide.  This was discussed previously at WP:POKER.  If you want to try to influence a new consensus, go ahead and start a discussion there. 2005 (talk) 06:38, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I didn't realize that the page :Category:Poker companies existed, that was basically what i was going for Be so empty without me (talk) 20:49, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  List of Online Poker Sites 

message: There doesn't appear to be much info here on the early history of online poker (the first few years).  I've built a short section which outlines some of the problems the early operators faced as well as a "timeline" showing the expansion of online poker.  
Is this something that would be useful?  Admittedly my "encyclopedic" writing skills still need some work but I think many people would find the early history of online poker pretty interesting.  I could add a section similar to that below or create a new page (whichever seems reasonable).
Potential content follows:
Creating a real money online poker room involved many technical and logistical challenges.  The internet had not matured to the point where most users had confidence that their funds were safe and wagers were not at risk due to technical shortcomings.  For a quality online poker experience, the game software had to be able to handle real time communications between the servers and the clients over connections ranging from 2400 Baud modems to T1 connections and satellite communications.  E-commerce to address the money aspects was still in its infancy.  Reliable methods of communicating between servers on the internet and banking systems (which were still largely limited to phone communications between their systems) needed to be created. In short, players needed to be convinced that it was safe to send money to an online cardroom, games would play reliably and they would be able to cash out their winnings.  
In August 1997, Planet Poker launched the first online poker site.  The site operated as a free cardroom for the remainder of 1997 to enable the developers to mature the software to meet basic player expectations.  Methods to deal with internet communication problems were built into the software and practical methods to fund player accounts were created.
On January 1, 1998 the first real money online poker hand was dealt and by February, 1998 games were running around the clock.  Real money online poker had arrived,  sparking a multi-billion dollar industry.
Timeline:
August, 1988   	IRC (Internet Relay Chat) created by Jarkko Oikarinen
1996           	IRC poker starts
August 1997    	Planet Poker opens its doors
January 1, 1998	Planet Poker deals the first real money online poker game
February 1999  	Paradise Poker starts up
1999           	Delta Casino starts up (no longer operating)
2000           	Highlands Poker starts up (no longer operating)
May 2000       	Pokerspot starts up
October 1999   	Mike Caro and Roy Cooke join Planet Poker giving online poker real legitimacy.
2001           	Party Poker starts up
2001           	Ultimate Bet starts up
September 2001 	PokerStars starts up
Burkr (talk) 16:26, 22 August 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Some more on the early history seems fine, but I think the timeline is not a good idea. 2005 (talk) 01:21, 23 August 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Why not?  It would seem (to me) that it would give a real feel for the way things evolved in the early days.  Burkr (talk) 14:54, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Wikipedia discourages their use, and what you wrote above is entirely redundant to the text.  We don't need to say things twice.  A good paragraphph is all that is needed. 2005 (talk) 00:02, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Early History of online poker 

message: Per WP:V, WP:RS, WP:OR, WP:NPOV (especially WP:UNDUE) and thus WP:BLP, the paragraph about D'Amato sourced entirely from PPA is inappropriate.  The text can of course go back in if sourced to a reliable independent source which establishes its significance in context. Guy (Help!) 18:04, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I could perhaps see your point concerning WP:V and WP:RS, if you consider the PPA to be an unreliable source.  In this case, however, there's nothing egregious.  If you want better sourcing, please consider a "cite needed" tag.  I see nothing wrong with the paragraph in line with WP:OR, WP:NPOV, WP:UNDUE, or WP:BLP (and yes, I've read those policies).  It seems to me that you're just throwing out acronyms.  Can you explain specifically how you think the paragraph violates those particular policies ?? Plvekamp (talk) 20:32, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  The problem is that we are relying on PPA as the source for both the fact and its significance. In order to establish the significance of the fact, you need to show that other sources discussing online poker (and not the PPA) consider this significant. And the best way to ensure that this is not a problem is to source the text fomr somthing other than PPA itsef; as an advocacy organisation it has an undisguised agenda, and is not an appropriate source in an article on a subject where it has a strong advocacy agenda. Guy (Help!) 12:22, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: No one is doing that.  The article says the PPA claims one million members.  This supported by the linked page, and fits in with the pro and con nature of the section.  If you want another source to mention that claim, that seems is redundant but fine, however there is no doubt that the PPA is the best source for it's own claim.  WP:V is policy and can't be ignored.  A link to the PPA's own website is the best way to verify the claim.  The article does not state the claim is true or not. 2005 (talk) 21:28, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

text: Here's a reference for D'Amato's lobbying from the New York Times:  *** Crotalus *** 00:39, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  D'Amato 

message: Could we get a little more info regarding the legality of online poker in countries other than the US, UK, and the Caribbean? I'm especially interested in Canada and Europe. Deepfryer99 (talk) 21:21, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Legality 

message: Anyone know anything about taxation? I heard something about EU players having to declare any earnings from non EU sites. Bjorn I. Clever (talk) 06:26, 28 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Taxation 

message: As I understand it, the picture in the United States is as follows:
1. Several states ban internet poker within their jurisdictions.
2. The federal government claims that the Wire Act bans online poker, and has claimed this for some time. However, there's only one case that squarely deals with the issue and it held that the Wire Act only banned sports betting, not poker. Still, the DOJ's position carries some weight with banks, state legislators, and other actors and another court might adopt it.
3. The UIGEA didn't specifically ban online poker, but it said that if internet gambling was made unlawful (presumably under state or federal law, including the Wire Act if that statute is interpreted to ban online poker), it's illegal for a bank to process deposits.
4. The federal government has now issued banking regulations requiring banks to decline deposits to online poker sites.
So why doesn't this page say this? It reads like someone who is trying to obfuscate the issue, not explain it. 75.83.62.201 (talk) 03:16, 20 June 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: I was under the impression that directors of UK gaming sites had been arrested in the US, under the Wire Act. Rich Farmbrough, 17:51, 15 December 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Legality Section Needs Rework 

message: Is this just someone's COI or is there third party coverage? Rich Farmbrough, 17:43, 15 December 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: HSO/DCC

message: This article was marked for a proposed deletion because it was "promoting PokerStars." I removed the PROD and the image of PokerStars, but if anyone wants to discuss, here's a section of the talk page where you can now do so. Rray (talk) 14:34, 24 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: PROD and PokerStars Image