Honest Answer Pls

[hotdog da 2rd]

If you were given the opportunity to cheat at high stakes poker with potential earnings at 5 figures weekly. honestly, would you take it?

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
If you were given the opportunity to cheat at high stakes poker with potential earnings at 5 figures weekly. honestly, would you take it?

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's my honest answer:

I believe there are two sorts of people: those who would even consider cheating, and those who would not.

I am happy to announce that I fall into the latter category.

I'm not making a lofty proclamation here, but I think it's safe to say that one's perspective on this might be a pretty good starting barometer of that person's general character.

I just figure hey--life's too short to be a total scumbag.

So I suppose the complete answer is that I would not even consider it, but for utterly selfish reasons.

[hotdog da 2rd]

one's persceptive will detour given certain circumstances. it's very hard to walk a straight line through success.

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
one's persceptive will detour given certain circumstances. it's very hard to walk a straight line through success.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why ask for an "honest answer," then question the veracity and accuracy of the answer given?

[hotdog da 2rd]

i'm just trying give people more view to look at things. i'm here for answers people, not to answer questions. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[trying2learn]

once you reach a certain level, you realize you don't need to cheat to beat the game. then it becomes a matter of whether or not the amount you beat it for is enough for you. i think some people cheat because they're action junkies and they don't have the discipline to beat the game straight up.

my answer is no - however, in my younger days i'm afraid i would have considered it at the very least.

[Godfather80]

I'd consider it and then decide against it. Not for love of the game or because I'd be villified if caught, but because that kinda [censored] seeps into you blood when you do it. It would make me hate both a game I enjoy and my self. Very -EV.

[Autocratic]

I don't see how you can risk getting caught. Stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars is no small thing.

[NorCalJosh]

no risk of getting caught?

sure i would. thats a minimum of half a mill a year, do that for a couple years and invest wisely and your set. i'd feel bad for cheating people however. really.

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
sure i would. thats a minimum of half a mill a year, do that for a couple years and invest wisely and your set. i'd feel bad for cheating people however. really.

[/ QUOTE ]

So, you'd feel bad? Oh, ok, then.

Would you hit an old lady over the head for $500K? No chance of getting caught. Would you?

Durr, well, I'd do it, but I'd feel bad about it. really.

Predicted response to this post:

[ QUOTE ]
Rushmore, I did not say that I would hit old ladies. I said that I would cheat my fellow poker players at poker, essentially stealing their money. Yes, I realize that there is at least some expectation of integrity and honesty one might logically expect from his fellow human beings, but I have decided that although I call these people my peers, and I pretend to actually care about everything from humanity to my own personal dignity and integrity, I cannot help but realize that ultimately, I am nothing but a steaming pile of monkey chit.

But I feel bad about it, OK?

[/ QUOTE ]

[CieloAzor]

I'd hit my grandmother over the head for 500K. Sorry grandma, but it's true.

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd hit my grandmother over the head for 500K. Sorry grandma, but it's true.

[/ QUOTE ]

This would be (yet another) one of those moments where I realize that even with all of my misanthropy and fatalism and hopelessness and skepticism, I have STILL managed to give people way too much credit.

Let me just say that anyone who would actually hit their grandmother over the head for money need not respond.

Just go out and kill yourself instead, please. Believe me, God will love you more if you do.

[M.B.E.]

[ QUOTE ]
I believe there are two sorts of people: those who would even consider cheating, and those who would not.

[/ QUOTE ]
What about people who would consider cheating, think it over for a few minutes, and then decide against it. Do you think they are scumbags?

[cwsiggy]

What if I hit my Grandma over the nead with a nerf baseball bat? That might only be worth 10k though. For 500k would it have to be a hard object????

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
What about people who would consider cheating, think it over for a few minutes, and then decide against it. Do you think they are scumbags?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I do not believe they are scumbags, merely susceptible to the lesser aspirations of human nature.

Your question does not diminish the fact that what I said is true--that there are TWO types of people; those who would consider it, and those who would not. I must admit to having a much higher regard for the latter species, but that is not to say that the former are "scumbags."

As for the actual cheating, yes, anyone who cheats at poker is a f*cking scumbag.

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
What if I hit my Grandma over the nead with a nerf baseball bat? That might only be worth 10k though. For 500k would it have to be a hard object????

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a very good question, and one that I had not considered before going on my rant.

Ok, uh, here goes:

You should not ever hit your grandma (or anyone's grandma) with anything, ever. It is inexcusable.

However, if you WERE to hit your grandma, it should definitely be with a nerf bat, and you should definitely videotape it, just for the priceless look on her face.

Make sure she doesn't see it coming!!

Good times, good times.

[M.B.E.]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
What about people who would consider cheating, think it over for a few minutes, and then decide against it. Do you think they are scumbags?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I do not believe they are scumbags, merely susceptible to the lesser aspirations of human nature.

[/ QUOTE ]
Why do you believe they are susceptible, even though they didn't succumb?

[trying2learn]

if someone could seriously club their grandmother in the head for 500k...then they surely could do it to a perfect stranger...this is much more scary than the "death threat" vince claims he fears in another thread here in WPT.

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
Why do you believe they are susceptible, even though they didn't succumb?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think one can be susceptible to temptation, yet not susceptible to giving in to temptation.

Are you just messing with me, or what?

[Vincent Lepore]

[ QUOTE ]
If you were given the opportunity to cheat at high stakes poker

[/ QUOTE ]

No.

Vince

[Joseph Busti]

With a 0% chance of getting cought or anyone finding out, I would do it.

[vindikation]

[ QUOTE ]
If you were given the opportunity to cheat at high stakes poker with potential earnings at 5 figures weekly. honestly, would you take it?

[/ QUOTE ]

Nope.

Poker is a +EV hobby to me, cheating defeats the entire purpose of playing. It would be very sad if I needed to cheat to win money playing poker. No I can't even sit in with the $50 SnG's, but at least I feel good beating the $11 SnG's and $25NL ring games using my own skills.

Yes earning 5 figures a week would make me more money than I make now as an electrical enginerr...but...I could also make more money now if I sold drugs. I worked too hard to get where I am now in life, shortcuts seem to get people nowhere. To each his own, it's just not my thing.

[hotdog da 2rd]

bump.....

[flair1239]

[ QUOTE ]
If you were given the opportunity to cheat at high stakes poker with potential earnings at 5 figures weekly. honestly, would you take it?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I am no saint. I have done some pretty shitty things to people in the past. But at some point you have to be able to live with yourself.

I would derive no satisfaction from being a poker cheat. I would put them in the same category as welfare and disability abusers.

[sammy_g]

[ QUOTE ]
If you were given the opportunity to cheat at high stakes poker with potential earnings at 5 figures weekly. honestly, would you take it?

[/ QUOTE ]
Been watching Tilt reruns?

Moral questions aside, the risk of getting caught is too great.

[Paluka]

This thread is basically asking if you would like to be a professional thief if you wouldn't get caught. Anyone who says yes to this is basically a scumbag.

[maryfield48]

[ QUOTE ]
Honest Answer Pls

[/ QUOTE ]

Wrong forum.

[NorCalJosh]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
sure i would. thats a minimum of half a mill a year, do that for a couple years and invest wisely and your set. i'd feel bad for cheating people however. really.

[/ QUOTE ]

So, you'd feel bad? Oh, ok, then.

Would you hit an old lady over the head for $500K? No chance of getting caught. Would you?

Durr, well, I'd do it, but I'd feel bad about it. really.

Predicted response to this post:

[ QUOTE ]
Rushmore, I did not say that I would hit old ladies. I said that I would cheat my fellow poker players at poker, essentially stealing their money. Yes, I realize that there is at least some expectation of integrity and honesty one might logically expect from his fellow human beings, but I have decided that although I call these people my peers, and I pretend to actually care about everything from humanity to my own personal dignity and integrity, I cannot help but realize that ultimately, I am nothing but a steaming pile of monkey chit.

But I feel bad about it, OK?

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]



haha nice post. and good prediction. sorry about giving you an aneurysm however.

now to be really honest with my answer.

i was raised in a moral home, and i think that all human beings have an inborn sense of morality within them. i was taught that if i felt badly about something, i probably shouldnt be doing it. cheating someone out of money falls into that category. as does hitting old ladies over the head. so no, i obviously would not do such a thing. it would take much more than 500k a year to get me to sell my soul.

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
i was raised in a moral home, and i think that all human beings have an inborn sense of morality within them. i was taught that if i felt badly about something, i probably shouldnt be doing it. cheating someone out of money falls into that category. as does hitting old ladies over the head. so no, i obviously would not do such a thing. it would take much more than 500k a year to get me to sell my soul.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am happy to hear it, man.

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
This thread is basically asking if you would like to be a professional thief if you wouldn't get caught. Anyone who says yes to this is basically a scumbag.

[/ QUOTE ]

That was basically my response, and it was met with disdain.

It's a damn shame.

People, that is.

[toots]

[ QUOTE ]
This thread is basically asking if you would like to be a professional thief if you wouldn't get caught. Anyone who says yes to this is basically a scumbag.

[/ QUOTE ]

Amen, bro.

I'm amazed that anyone would admit to disagreeing with this basic concept. I mean yeah, we know that there are some scumbags among us, but I'd generally give them credit for knowing better than to publicly reveal their scumbaggitude.

[MrMon]

Aren't the people who do this normally called "casino owners"? /images/graemlins/grin.gif

We now take you back to your regularly scheduled discussion.

[M.B.E.]

[ QUOTE ]
I think one can be susceptible to temptation, yet not susceptible to giving in to temptation.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't understand what you mean by that.

Also, just because you "consider" something doesn't mean you were tempted by it.

[ QUOTE ]
Are you just messing with me, or what?

[/ QUOTE ]
No, I just found it curious that you divided people into those who would consider cheating and those who wouldn't. (Rather than those who would cheat and those who wouldn't.)

In my view, you can't tell anything about a person's integrity or moral fibre or whatever just based on the fact that they would consider an opportunity to cheat. It all depends on the substance of that consideration, doesn't it? Some people don't do anything without considering it first, and similarly don't reject doing anything without considering it first. That doesn't mean they are "tempted" by it or "susceptible to temptation" or whatever.

[Rushmore]

We might need to agree to disagree on the semantics.

I believe a person must be tempted before he can give in to temptation, and that the mere fact that some will be tempted to cheat while others will not be tempted to cheat makes those in the former group (obviously) more likely to actually cheat. Therefore, I think it is not unreasonable to ascribe the value judgement upon their susceptibility to temptation (if you will).

I suppose one could make the argument that a person who is able to resist temptation is an even more moral subject than the person not tempted at all. We would need to consult Augustine on this, or maybe Schopenhauer.

Anyway, I'll give you some extremes: I have an aunt who is a nun. I am not a fan of the church at all, by the way.

Anyway, she is a truly Christian woman, and I can assure you, she would not consider cheating, ever. That's just her way, and I'm sure it fits into anyone's definition of "moral."

On the other hand, I had a acquaintence back in the day who seemed to have Ratso Rizzo as his role model. From the moment he woke up til the moment he went to sleep, he was hustling and angling. He was just hardwired that way. He once stole my leather jacket.

What can be said of this character, even if he had never acted on any of his angles?

By the way, he ended up beaten to death on the sidewalk. Nobody's really sure why, but the general consensus was that he "probably deserved it."

Anyway, there's that.