Poker Players: Society’s New Celebrities

If you believe what Celebrity Apprentice Joan Rivers says, poker players are “beyond white trash.” But I think there are millions of people who would beg to differ. As a matter of fact, poker is incredibly popular at the moment and so are its practitioners. This is evidenced by the fact that poker players like Phil Hellmuth, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Phil Gordon and many others have achieved huge celebrity status in recent years.

Poker’s star-making ability has inspired many to try to make a living on online poker websites. The results have been good for some and because of this many more people have become Internet poker millionaires. These poker successes are not always who you would expect them to be, because they’re often quite young and not seasoned professionals. But for every group of successful poker players, there are also plenty of people who are victims of online poker scams. These scams befall mostly new players, because they don’t know how to check a gambling site’s bona fides.

To make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to you, the following tips can help you assess whether a site has the potential to be a scam:

• If the site doesn’t look professional, don’t even register there. Sub-standard construction could be an indicator of the work of a quick-buck artist or a cash-strapped owner who may go belly-up and take your winnings with him.
• Check if the site or its owners are members of the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC). IGC members pledge to follow a code of ethics.
• Make sure the site has 24-hour support with a toll-free phone number and e-mail.
• If a site passes the first three requirements, do several small test transactions before you do any major gambling. These should tell you a lot about the integrity of the site.

Everyone has to start somewhere, so there’s no reason why with a little luck and a lot of practice you couldn’t become one of online poker’s stars. Just make sure to do your homework first, so any success you achieve won’t be spoiled by regret.