So, we have another online poker boycott announced.

This time, it’s the Portuguese players, angry at being ring-fenced by the regulations, which – deja vu – came as a surprise announcement a bit over a month ago.

What happened, in a nutshell, is the Portuguese government announced new gaming laws almost a year ago, requiring poker rooms to get licenses from the government, which – I’m going to make a wild guess here – will in one way or another nicely fill the pockets of certain government officials.

It’s just my guess, I didn’t actually research where the money will go or how much the new license would cost certain rooms, because… Well, because there is no need for it. It’s just common sense, really.

But the interesting part, and the part that reminded me to the recent Pokerstars changes is the “small” addition that came out last month. 

You see, originally the Portuguese government said that there will be no ring-fencing.

“Thank god!”, probably thought all the poker players in Portugal, “We dodged the bullet on this one…”

And, since governments are institutions one can always trust and have faith in… Oh, wait.

In December the Portuguese government, with the new laws now around the corner, had another announcement, saying:

“Hi, as you know, soon the announced changes take place, and by the way, the part about not ring-fencing players, well… We lied. We totally WILL ring-fence everybody. Thanks, and bye-bye.”

 

And the explanation for this was something along the lines of:

Shared liquidity was the ultimate goal, but as a first step, Portugal would adopt the French ‘semi-open’ model where foreign players can play on poker sites licensed in Portugal, but Portuguese players are restricted to SRIJ licensed sites. (Pokerfuse)

 

 

So, as a first step to having a free market, we are going to have a closed market. 😀

That’s like saying, ok, I will quit smoking, and my first step is going to be to smoke a cigarette.

Beyond this point, there’s no point listening to what they say. The Portuguese players realized that, and so are announcing a boycott of whatever rooms will get the license to operate in Portugal.

We have seen this just recently with the Pokerstars boycott. 

 

But what fascinates me the most, is the amount of spin stories and BS that goes on in these situations. From all sides.

Take a look, for example, of Lee Jones spitting BS on his Pokernews interview, and observe how sympathetic and understanding the journalist is to his story. Lot’s of smiling and nodding, as fitting to somebody getting nicely paid to tell a nice story from the sponsor, of course.

 

Lee here explains how the whole Pokerstars issue was just a matter of bad communication, and how the poker ecosystem will now be taken care of, and blablabla.

As if the players were unhappy about the way they got screwed, and not about the fact that they got screwed. 

It was not a matter of bad communication at all. It was perfectly done. If you tell the players sooner, well, they won’t grind their asses off for 1 year to get to Supernova Elite. And you don’t get the rake.

So, what you have to do, you wait until the last moment, when it’s no longer profitable for the SNE chasers to quit the hunt, despite the changes. They had too much invested already. Pokerstars pulled it off perfectly.

Lee would tell a different story to his buddies, and it would be more like this guy told it…

 

It’s a fight for resources.

And, as they say, all is fair in love and war.

Does Pokerstars have the right to screw their customers? Think about it.

If you answered NO, you are wrong.

If you answered YES, you are also wrong.

The correct answer is – who cares! They do it because they CAN. It’s not about who is right or wrong. It’s about what they can do, and still get away with it, and make more MONEY for themselves.

And part of getting away with it is to distract the community with smoke and mirrors.

They are in the same game as poker players. However, they are, the “big boys”. Same as the Portuguese government. 

Did the government do the “right” thing? Will that make any difference to the outcome? 

But people, of course, get upset. It’s wrong! Bastards! Liars!

Don’t fall for the bullshit. It’s a fight for resources, nothing else. It’s not a moral debate, it’s not about who has the right to do what. It’s about understanding what things change and adapt to it.

 

Now the Portuguese players are organizing a boycott. So that’s their adaptation. Is it the correct one? I don’t know, who does? 

Some guys would prefer to move to a more poker-friendly environment (BPC organizes Poker houses for CFP members, don’t forget).

Some may find a “normal” job.

And the world will keep on spinning. And people of the world will fight for resources.

 

My advice is, don’t lose sleep over it. Things always change. BPC is positive about the future of online poker, in fact very positive. Check out the video below to understand why.

 

Yes, there will always be changes and fluctuations, and sometimes they benefit you, and other times they don’t. But as long as you are not the shark in this game – and you are not unless you are the boss of Lee Jones – you will just have to adapt to their rhythm.

The faster you are able to do it, with the better.

Money is plentiful for those who understand the laws of its acquisition, said George Clason.

 

Know yourself, know your place in the poker economy, and make rational, not emotion-based decisions, when it comes to money.