Daniel to Daniel –
Make A Choice, Don’t Compromise Moral Code For Money
Negreanu reaches out to Colman in Full Contact Poker blog post.
No doubt you know two things about 24-year old poker professional Daniel Colman. He is the 2014 Big One For One Drop Champion and after his victory he set off the poker industry by not granting a victory interview to the ESPN TV crew or World Series of Poker media partner PokerNews.
If that is all news to you, read this first: Daniel “mrgr33n13” Colman – Wizard Wins One Drop, Declines To Do Media, Sets off Media Firestorm
Colman’s decision divided the poker industry as to whether he snubbed his peers to a certain degree by exercising his right to remain silent or if he missed an opportunity to get his message, whatever that may be, across to the poker playing public. It actually spawned some really good reading like these posts from WickedChops Poker, Pokerjunkie and poker pro Tristan Wade.
But perhaps now the loudest voice chiming in on the actions of Daniel Colman is from the man he defeated heads-up to win the tournament, Daniel Negreanu. Negreanu took to his blog over at Full Contact Poker to voice his opinion and offer a public message to Colman which perhaps puts to rest the fervor over the 2014 One Drop Champ.
Read: My Two Cents On Daniel Colman 'Controversy’
I have read his statement, and he makes some valid points in it. I think (and he acknowledges this) that it’s difficult to take the position he does, and actually still profit from the game, and the weaker players he exploits. I’m assuming when he plays heads up sit n’ gos online, he doesn’t inform his opponent that he is a professional and they are likely to lose the match.
Daniel provides a thoughtful, candid reply to Colman sympathizing with his published statement but providing the insight that while, yes, people are likely to lose playing poker it’s not necessarily inherently evil just because people enjoy trying. Negreanu does acknowledges Colman’s concern about the ugly underside of poker and the gaming industry.
I have seen the other side of poker. I don’t deny the dangers for those with addictive personalities, those that put their well being in jeopardy because they overextend themselves. Having said that, studies show that typically people with gambling addictions are drawn to more instant gratification games like slot machines rather than a game of wits like poker.
But for Negreanu, he’s not really writing this to debate the good-and-evil of poker, it’s more to reach out to Colman person to person, player to player.
Whatever it is you choose to do in your life, make sure INTEGRITY is at the core of it. If you are genuinely having an issue with the morality of playing poker for a living, make a choice. Don’t compromise your own moral code for money. If you truly believe in your heart that what you are doing hurts people, and you don’t want to hurt people, you need to make a choice.
We fully realize that by this point you should have stopped reading this post and have clicked over to Daniel’s blog and if, by chance, you haven’t yet – we think you’ll find it to be a compelling read so feel free to do that now.
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