[Cptkernow]

Having become a poker player, I now know what is like to face prejudice based on ignorance.

In most peoples minds poker=gambling=bad/very bad.

You can try to explain the things that make poker unique amongst gambling activites, mainly that because you are not playing against the house/bookie there is a level playing field and therefore correct decisons and skill give you the edge and hence gaurentee profit over time.

Why bother, they dont believe you. Its only after a year of consistently winning that friends and family et al are begining to get there heads around the idea.

This is because the human mind is much more convinced by experiencing/witnessing a phenomenon than having said same phenomonen mearly explained.

So how to change the false erronious recieved ideas about poker and give the average joe a much more correct idea about poker.

This is my plan. (Not one I'll proabaly ever execute but its a thought.)

Go India (sub in any thirld world country) where the average wage is 1$ a day.

Find bright but impoverished kids living in impoverished village. Using money donated by Party Poker marketing department (One is wisely making a documentary about the whole process, to be sold onto the worlds media), biuld poker academy and teach said kids to earn say a modest 20$ a day. They now have more money and are relatively wealthy by Indian standards.

Take star pupils and get them onto an expectation of say 20$ an hour. Let them keep 80% or whatever but the rest goes back into the village to improve its schools water supply etc. This is important for media impact.

So as a result of poker charity you have improved dramaticaly the living standards of a whole village. You have given otherwise destitute individuals living of 1$ a day to earn a wage comprable with any thing in the west.

All things that conventional aid programmes have failed completly to achieve.

You now (You have been filming this whole process) push this amazing story on the worlds media.

If poker=bad how come poker = rich indians living in nice village not starving to death anymore in droughts, also check there excellent health care etc etc etc.

end of poker prejudice.

The only down side is that the idea of poker as gambling and pure luck is quite beneficial when it comes to making fish fishlike.