Online Poker Requires Less Ethics According To Poll

Updated On Nov 14, 2018 by Natalie Whitehead

A Twitter poll conducted by UK poker player Patrick Leonard reveals the vast majority of poker players are unethical. While the Twitter poll is by no means scientific or highly accurate, it does provide an interesting insight as to how most online poker players would respond to different scenarios.

The first question in the poll asked players what they would do if their opponent disconnected from an online game.

The two response choices were (a) to sit out and wait or (b) steal the blinds. An incredible 83% of the 7,531 responses said they would consider stealing the blinds. Only 17% would opt to wait for their opponent to return.

Other players justified their answers, with one person saying it is part of the game, while another said it is okay to rob the blinds because it is an online game.


Surprising Results

The second question asked players what their reaction would be if their favourite poker site encountered a manual error that paid them an additional 25% rakeback. There were three responses to choose from – (a) to tell the website something went wrong, (b) to continue playing normally, or (c)to rake in as much as possible. Out of 1,148 respondents, 56% chose the third option, 32% would continue to play normally, while only 12% felt morally compelled to tell the site about the error.


For the third scenario, players were asked if they would take advantage in the event that their opponent disconnected from a heads-up sit-and-go game (HUSNG), leaving 4 other games open. Players could respond through a YES or a NO. A total of 2, 517 players responded and the majority (56%) said YES, though a backup connection would come in handy when playing online poker.


Online Poker Has Changed Player Ethics

To sum it up, majority of the respondents to Leonard’s Twitter poll admitted to unethical behaviours. The results greatly surprised a number of prominent poker players, including American poker pro Mike Matusow. The four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner said it was pretty disgrace to see that there are so many unethical players in the game today.

The ethical level of today’s generation of players is comparably lower than those of the past. One of the reasons for that is a decade or so ago, most online players played for fun and recreation. But things are different today – online poker has become an opportunity for players to win massive sums of money.

While a certain lack of ethics is normal in any environment, polls like this put the game of poker into question and prove that some players are willing to lower their moral standards as long as they can win.

If there is one topic that really gets Natalie excited it has to be the mathematics of gambling, having worked for a major gaming company in the audit department she loves nothing more than revealing all manner of facts and figures. Many of her news stories relate to both online and bricks and mortar gaming and are always worth...

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