Poker World Tweets: Scared, Bored & Snarky

What a day last Friday was for the poker world! As you probably already know, the online poker realm was rocked when the FBI suddenly seized popular .com sites PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker in a crackdown of what they feel are “illegal gambling rings.” Although there is no shortage of people who disagree with that assessment, the Department of Justice is nevertheless pursuing charges of fraud against the owners of the sites.

The poker world reacted the the news on Friday with a mix of shock, fear and snarkiness. Many poker pros lamented the move as bad for the game of poker while others took the opportunity to rib online players for never anteing up at a real table. As the Twitterverse filled up with chatter, a few hashtags became popular : #blackfriday #pokerpanic #pokerpocalypse

In the early moments of the breaking news, some players tried to settle the masses by reminding them that freaking out was probably not the best response:

@PhilGalfond
Phil GalfondI don’t know any more than you guys do. I suggest following people like @ESPN_Poker and @GaryWise1 for news updates. Try not to freak out.. 2 days ago via web · powered by @socialditto

Pro Vanessa Selbst suggested an alternative to freaking out…activism. She tweeted a link to Tweet For Poker, an initiative from the Poker Players Alliance that asks people to tweet their support for online poker to their representatives in Congress. On the site you can also see tweets rolling in on a real-time map from around the country.

@VanessaSelbst
Vanessa SelbstFreaking out will not help!We need2get online poker legalized NOW.The past is the past,let’s look to the future http://www.tweetforpoker.com 2 days ago via web · powered by @socialditto

Support for the online poker community came in heartfelt, genuine statements as well as more humorous ones:

@Pamela_Brunson
Pamela BrunsonCan’t seem to get rid of the pit in my stomach. My ♥ goes out to all the online pros…… 14 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

@thehitwoman
Erica SchoenbergIt’s my right 2 smoke a blunt, abort a baby, marry a girl & play online poker. Quit telling me what 2 do with my $ or body. FU 2 days ago via web · powered by @socialditto

@pokerkat
Kathy Liebertif the owners of Tilt go to prison, they should be able to beat the poker games. They’ll all clean up. 2 days ago via web · powered by @socialditto

Of course, some poker pros have always looked on online players with derision because many of them fail to have live poker experience. The Twitter response included plenty of these types of comments, coming from lesser known pros as well as Big Papa Mr. 10-2 himself, Doyle Brunson:

@Roothlus
Adam Levyit appears that most former online pros have been forced into finding a new profession, drinking. 2 days ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

@TexDolly
Doyle BrunsonNow maybe we will see if these online “superstars” can play real poker. Ante up suckers! 2 days ago via web · powered by @socialditto

@NormanChad
Norman ChadA bunch of unabashed, unshaven, unkempt, undateable 22-year-olds who haven’t been outside in 4½ years just showed up at my local poker room. 22 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

On Saturday, the official PokerStars Twitter account attempted to reassure players that their money was both still present and safe:

@PokerStars
PokerStars2) Please be assured, players balances are safe, there is no cause for concern 2 days ago via HootSuite · powered by @socialditto

@PokerStars
PokerStars3) For players outside the US, its business as usual 2 days ago via HootSuite · powered by @socialditto

Finally, perhaps my favorite Black Friday Poker Apocalypse tweet comes from the purveyor of many of my favorite tweets, Steve Martin:

@SteveMartinToGo
Steve MartinIllegal online tweet Poker: I have a King, a Six, an Ace, a Club and a Jack of deuces. I bet a dollar. 21 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

How do you feel about “Poker’s Black Friday?” What were some of your favorite reactions? Let us know

There are 5 Comments. Add Yours.

Larry Landgraf
April 18, 2011 at 12:17 pm

We claim to live in a democracy, a country where we own property, a country where what is ours is ours. That is bullshit. We own nothing and not even our money is ours. Everything that we think we own and have belongs to our socialist, hypocratic, lying, thieving bureaucrats. We own nothing. We are nothing. Worse than pond scum to our government. We are only a source of blood for the mosquitos in every facet of American government. I play online poker for practice. I play real poker too and am not afraid to play toe to toe with any pro. I play in the WSOP every year and will again this year. I am not just an online player, and again I play online for practice. I would not need to play online, but in Texas it is just too far to drive to a casino thanks to your government. I say “your” goverment because I have already disowned them; all of them. They do NOT represent me and they do not represent you, they represent themselves.
- Edmund
  April 18, 2011 at 6:16 pm
  
  I expect the gov. just wants to control and tax. They will probably first say that they are protecting the poor who can’t resist the temptation and then will legalize because they can’t resist the temptation of taxing and spending.
Robert Oayda
April 18, 2011 at 9:20 pm

We need the help of all Poker players. There is now a facebook page that has been started to deal solely with this seriously impacting latest poker issue. It is to be the players voice where they will receive ALL available information and contribute their views. It is committed to firstly retrieving all monies owed and then the long term stability of the game. We care about the players not the owners of the sites or Government. Please support by joining the page and tell others. Once we get the numbers on the page we have ideas to share.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/USA-online-poker-forum/123902074354258
Ray
April 22, 2011 at 5:11 pm

Many of these poker zealots can’t seem to distinguish between the game they love and the racketeers who break laws to give them their poker fix.
sheriff arpaio
May 8, 2011 at 7:02 am

Hey! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing several weeks of hard work due to no data backup. Do you have any methods to prevent hackers?