The Quest Goes On

When we first started searching for poker forums that could stand alone as good sources of information we thought we might be seeking something akin to the Holy Grail of poker particulars. The trek began because the standard for newsgroup discussions, rec.gambling.poker, had become overburdened with silly junior-high type nonsense‹name-calling, back stabbing, wisecracking, even malicious posts, in our opinion.

Within a very short time we discovered some very good sites, either individually owned and or cyber casino sponsored. And we're finding still more as we continue seeking additional pages that will provide solid stuff for the serious student of the game.

The quest has proven quite interesting. But what it hasn't been is totally free of sponsorship advertising and this raises questions about objectivity.

We understand that building and maintaining any web site can get expensive, especially if it involved any kind of interactive forum.

As most of us know, all poker rooms (and probably all full-fledged web casinos and sports books) offer rewards to people who refer players to them. Let's say, for example, you want to make a little money to bankroll your poker play on www.redwhiteandbluepokerclub.com. You know a little about poker, a little about designing a web page, and you know what RWB sill pay you fifty bucks for every player who clicks on their banner they've given you for your site and then opens an account for $300.

And this is fine. After all, you drive a pickup that splashes the Ford label on the hubcaps, the grille, the tailgate and somewhere along the side of the vehicle and they don't pay you a cent for advertising so why not extract a few dollars from the place you frequent for a good game of poker?

This affiliation (and it is called an affiliate program) begs the question, then: Can this particular forum or site be unbiased. After all, like the popular trade magazine that can't say anything negative about a paying advertiser for fear of losing revenue, the owner of a site that is an active participant might not want to lose potential income by creating friction.

We can't be entirely certain but we're guessing these cyber rooms don't police their affiliates and don't impose censorship on them but still Š

And if the forum comes from someone who has an even greater vested interest, can the novice who isn't fully aware of who's who in the poker world know the difference between promotion and information?

The question of impartiality brings us back full circle then to rec.gambling.poker, which is unmoderated and unaffiliated. In fact, hyperbole rarely survives the first response so if you were to jump in and report that www.redwhiteandbluepokerclub.com. is the greatest in the world because the games are soft and you won a small fortune you might find yourself being stuck with any number of labels (shill is a good clean start). Even if you post the stone cold truth you can expect someone to disagree!

Overall then, as a player looking for information, we suggest you be alert. Just as you look for tells in your opposition, look for tells in your forums. Examine posts for negativity, mockery, and disrespect. The more you lurk the more you'll recognize the helpful posters and the more you'll learn how to skip over the scalawags, the trouble makers and the blowhards who like to see their useless drivel in print.