USPF and USMSA aim to bring poker into new realms; German poker player installs Trogan virus to win

USPF

USPFThe United States Poker Federation (USPF) and the United States Mind Sports Association (USMSA) have announced that they aim to bring poker into new realms. Which new “realms” are these, we ask with curiosity? Well, according to Bleacher Report, USPF believe Poker is a mindsport game of skill and want to bring it into a new field, with professional sports organisations like the US Golf Association and FIFA as models.

President of the USPF, Peter Alson, said: “USPF members love poker, we love the possibilities of the game, the way it can be used to hone one’s mental muscle, and how it can be applied as a teaching tool.  The idea is that we are going to be a sports federation…we will sanction events, rank players, organize our own events.”

To back this up, there is also academic support for the poker-as-mind-game movement from Hardvard. Exective Director of the USPF and USMSA, Amy Handelsman, said “A law professor at Harvard, Charles Nesson, who is interested in poker as a strategic skill, is on both boards.

“He has set up an affiliation with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard, which deals with the cyber issue, and a research fellowship to be able to propose studies to look at mindsports as a skill: what is the nature of the strategic thinking and how can it apply to a number of different disciplines.”

It’s only right that poker receives universal recognition as a game of skill, not just luck – like some silly Swiss court like to think.

However, there some people who dismiss this mindsport notion in poker all together, and think they can win by breaking the rules. Take for instance how today it was reported that a greedy German online poker player is accused of installing a Trojan virus on at least two computers of fellow players to win. The unlucky souls consisted of one Swiss and one Austrian player in a bid to see their hole cards during a nosebleed session and snatch the prize fund.

According to reports, the Swiss player had lost $350,000 and the Austrian $40,000 to the German trickster who is now living in England. All three parties have been present in the Poker EM which is currently being played in Austria, Baden. According to German poker news site, Hochgepokert.com, the two victims managed to make their way into the German’s hotel room, where they pressured him to confess. Wish we had CCTV footage of this moment!

Apparently, the German player later recanted his confession when police arrived at the hotel room. Coward. Someone get the lie detector out!