I think after last Friday there are a lot of questions and not a lot of answers. As expected, there has been a lot of panic from, it seems, just about everyone but me.
I wrote a personal journal with my thoughts on Friday. No matter what the future holds, that will have an impact on all of our lives. I'm interested in chronicling my thoughts on days that are important in my life in hopes of learning from those days in the future. Writing things down in hopes of teaching something to future Aaron sounds peachy, I just hope that future Aaron uses the information!
I have set myself up for a day like this to happen. I've always been a guy who believes in backup plans, so I never wanted to have too much money online. I guess I get that from my father-- I like tangible things. I had been playing a fair bit of poker (for me, anyway), but I'm sure I'll find projects to fill my free time. I don't feel bad for guys like me or high stakes players who didn't have the foresight to cash out a good amount of money, but I do feel bad for guys who are midstakes players who had a bright future. Still, I think everyone has options-- some people within the poker community (which, still exists in the form of Live Tournaments and whatnot), and some in the stock market or business. Some people will be able to get a VPN, some will turn to live poker. Most people have a lot of options, I urge everyone to take some time to think about how this will effect their lives.
Still, I don't think we should panic. A lot of people smarter than me seem to think that our money is pretty safe. I have absolutely no basis for this argument, but I see no reason not to be optimistic. My gut is that the DOJ has seized enough money from FTP/PS to not want to deal with people's funds. It'll be interesting to see how things shake out, and the entire situation is a big sweat for all players who have a future in online poker. It seems likely that poker will come back regulated in some way, but I don't think online poker as we knew it 5 days ago will ever exist again. Maybe it's the best for the future, only time will tell.
As far as Leggo goes, I expect a few small changes: We will probably lose a few US players who elect not to explore other online sites or play live poker. We're in the process of strengthening our tournament team, so I'm hopeful that everyone who is interested in playing live (or online) tournaments will stick around for a while and check that out. Our US-based choices won't be able to make live recorded videos, but many of them have pre-recorded sessions (as I do). We'll continue to produce power point, hand history review, and directed learning videos. It's nearly business as usual, and we plan on continuing to serve anyone who is interested in learning how to play poker.
In even sadder news, I sprained my ankle playing basketball. So, after taking online poker away, I'm going to be without the ~15 hours a week I spend working out and playing basketball. Man, I hate sports injuries. It tilts me so hard and I know that my ankles are only going to get worse as I get older. I guess I'm going to be that old guy with braces and splints on every part of my body. Fuck it, as long as my right elbow and wrist are good, pass me the ball.
