Is it Morally Wrong to Win?
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010When talking about online poker, some people out there inevitably bring out the morals card. This is kind of their ace up their sleeve that supposedly trumps any argument you could dream up about the education or otherwise beneficial aspects of poker online. The bottom line, according to these moral pundits, is that poker is a morally corrupt game because it relied on a bigger and stronger player trying to take advantage of a weaker player. The whole system, according to these people, is set up as an unequal power dynamic.
If you spend too much time listening to these armchair moral commentators you may find yourself asking whether it is indeed morally wrong to win poker online games. Let me give you the final answer on this long ranging debate. There is absolutely nothing morally wrong with winning poker games. Everyone at the table goes in to the game fully informed about the expectations. Everyone knows what will happen. Everyone knows that there will be one winner at the end and a whole lot of losers. You can’t be accused of taking advantage of someone who willingly puts themselves in a situation where they can be taken advantage of. It is not morally corrupt to win.