This post combined with Burtman's article on Pokerpages last month really frames a good morality sort of issue for those of us who play poker. (Burtman's article, for those who didn't see it, dealt with an individual who routinely dropped thousands in a local country club game and who ultimately committed suicide) Do we as poker players have any sort of moral obligation (either as players or as human beings) to others who choose to participate in our game/hobby/interest?

Speaking from a poker-as-business mentality (as opposed to poker as recreation done "for fun"), I don't think it qualifies me as a scumbag if I take, through skill, that which is offered to me. Am I a scumbag if I notice that you're selling a $300 comic book for 10 cents at your rummage sale and quickly hand you a dime?

One of the first "lessons" -- actually it was closer to a scolding -- that I received at a poker table came after I held back a bet on a guy who was down on his luck that night. I had the nut hand...I could've raised him and grabbed a few more bucks, but I opted not to because he was clearly down and he'd been one of the more pleasant conversationalists at the table that night. Later, a friend pulled me aside to say that you never, ever hold back at the table. No softplaying. You play your A-game and take every dime you can get when you get it, because there's a table full of people who damn sure are looking to do the same to you. I often think back to that scene when I hear that poker quote where someone says not only would they bleed their mother if she sat down at the table, but he'd check-raise her as well.

When I sit at a table with strangers, I assume that, like me, they all made the conscious decision to go there and accept the risks which that decision entails. If they fill up at the ATM during the course of play, who am I to invade their personal life and question if that's discretionary income or next month's mortgage payment -- they've made the decision.

If its a friend and I notice they're running down, I might grab them on the aside and ask if now's the best time to get back in or suggest they call it a night. If they choose to listen, great. If not, they've made a conscious choice. If I'm running the game, I can intercede and refuse to buy him in, but if I'm a patron at the casino, I don't even have that option.

And, really, that's not so different from any other addictive action either. Am I a scumbag because I allow my friend to purchase cigarettes? No. I can warn him about smoking. I can point out the freaking label that lists all the nasty stuff that smoking causes, but if he chooses to do it...his choice, his personal decision. The fact that I'm "taking" his money (via the sin tax on cigs, which then gets spent on state projects that non-smokers like myself benefit from) isn't my issue.

Burtman's article gets into a grayer area because there, they were all friends, or at the least acquaintances, who knew, to some degree, the habits of the eventual suicide victim. But, still...if a junkie wants a fix, they're going to find a fix.

Bottom line...I might have a moral obligation out of friendship to those I know to intercede on their behalf if I notice dangerous behavior. To the total stranger though, who am I to question where the money comes from that he's laying on the table? I'm at my place of "business" and knew the risks when I sat down and bought in. I trust he did to, because he made the same conscious decision that I did.

Just my two cents.

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To be successful in business, surround yourself with professionals. To be successful in poker, surround yourself with idiots.