Certainly not. Any player found begging others for play chips or UltimatePoints will have their chat suspended, or may lose playing privileges permanently. --- from the FAQ for BenefitPoker, a charitable offshoot of the folks at UB.
Poker and charity aren't necessarily two words that go together for a lot of players, early mnetions of Barry Greenstein notwithstanding. So we're going to use this week's space to feature the marked growth in the charity-poker area, headlined by the recent launching of the first website dedicated to charity-tournament purposes, BenefitPoker.
BenefitPoker is part of the Excapsa Poker Network, which counts UltimateBet as its largest entity. A closer look suggests that BenefitPoker really is just UltimateBet in makeup and a new dress, but that's okay --- the purpose served by the new site is well worth duplicating the UB software onto another server, which is what seems to be have been done. UB is keeping its own face at a low profile, too, for which they deserve additional high marks. Especially in this time of legislative unrest --- a topic we'll return to in the very near future --- a site such as BenefitPoker is an idea whose time has definitely come. I'm a realist, after all; I say these things because they are true, not because they're necessarily pleasing to hear.The tourneys at BenefitPoker run similar to the formats used for other charity tourneys to date --- a portion of the fee goes to the prize fund, and the remainder goes as a direct donation to the charity of choice for that tourney. This is similar to the "semi-postal" stamp that was a staple of European markets for decade, and only caught on here in the States in the last decade or so. The principle is the same: In the case of a first-class semi-postal stamp (such as the "Breast cancer Research" stamp, the first such U.S. issue, pictured below), all revenue collected over the first-class rate is sent on to the charity depicted on the stamp; the stamp itself is still worth whatever the first-class rate was at the time of purchase.
And unlike governments, BenefitPoker doesn't take out any fees, according to its web site. Everything paid in by participants goes either to the prize fund or the selected charity. In a tourney that ran earlier today, for instance, benefitting the American Stroke Association, the $25 dollar entry fee consisted of a $15 donation to the prize pool and a $10 donation to the ASA. Here are the other fine charities who have already benefitted from a BenefitPoker event:- Operation OZ Kids USA
- The Rotary Club of Brampton-Heart Lake
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Diabetes Association
- Junior Achievement
- The Arthritis Society
- Halton Woman’s Place
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
- Hunter’s Fund
- Make-A-Wish Foundation
- The Minneapolis Foundation
From small starts greater things are built. BenefitPoker even includes a play-game area, again mirroring the UB/Excapsa software and play. This is a great way for a small benefit to experiment to the site to make sure it works "as advertised," and to ensure its suitability for the event. And while the site's other promotional offerings are still thin, it's nice to see the UB stable of stars --- David "Devilfish" Ulliott, James "KrazyKanuck" Worth, Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke and Antonio Esfandiari --- pitching for the cause, at least for the duration of a photo. (As an aside, I never realized just how... distinctive... UB's "celebrity" lineup was until I saw it here, in a non-UB setting. More fodder for the future-post file.)
As expected, players who already have a UB account will have the easiest time in starting play at Benefit. While a separate download/install of the poker client is still required, the player's original UB player information as the player signs up and begins play within the Benefit system. This may preclude the player from participating in other UB or Excapsa tourneys on the main system at the same time; the BenefitPoker site, as of yet, doesn't address the issue. So while the support site still needs a little more work and a little less copying over of text from UB that can take on another meaning (top), this is still something nice to see.
I hope it does well, and I hope it gains a high enough profile to be of greater good to the larger poker community.
Same general topic, different points. Charity poker tourneys are nothing new; Phil Gordon's "Put a Bad Beat on Cancer" tournament, which also featured NASCAR star Jeff Gordon as a high-profile spokesman, is a prominent example; Barry Greenstein's largess with his tournament winnings, alluded to above, is another outpost on the mountain. These events occur all the time, serve to do wonderful work, and are a welcome addition to the modern poker landscape. BenefitPoker gets the press here because it's a distinctive idea --- having a site dedicated just for this purpose --- but whether it turns into a long-term, high-profile success is anything but sure.
Charity is one of those things that this blogger believes to be a very personal endeavor, and this is why the aforementioned site comes with the recommendation of something you can do, not something you should do. Same thing with poker, actually. I was recently asked to participate in a charity tournament by someone who felt that by playing in a charity-poker event, the player could somehow make his or her playing poker seem more "legitimate" to a relative, a great-aunt or something who believed that poker was a vile, indulgent pastime. (I'm playing loose with the wordage here, too, just to create the example.) But I don't buy the principle --- one should give to charity because one wants to, and one should play poker because one wants to, as well. Trying to justify the playing of poker in this manner is akin to admitting that playing poker is a form of unsavory behavior in the first place.
I'll find a better reason, for poker and for charity. I bring this up here, because it's also relevant to the poker-legislation issues just hinted at up at the top, a topic which we'll have to return to next week. Trying to justify the playing of poker in the example cited above puts the poker player on the defensive, and that's the last thing that needs to be done when dealing with self-righteous folks such as His Virginian Eminence, Bob Goodlatte. (No slap at Virginia, by the way --- the phrase just sounded neat.) I'll be damned if I'm going to grant the moral high ground to Goodlatte and his ilk, particularly when their U.S.-centric crap is the type of nonsense that contributes to America's bad image around the globe. But, lest I wander off into a rantfest, it's time to bid these hole cards adieu.
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