Why 2+2 drives me nuts as a poker player
The 2+2 poker forum is considered by many to be the voice of the poker community, and rightly so considering it is not only one of the largest poker forums on the Internet but also one of the largest forums of any kind on the Internet. Unfortunately, like most things Internet, there is a certain amount of fakeness to the 2+2 poker forums, with users having multiple “dupe” accounts and the user-bases’ way of usurping any breaking news and claiming it as 2+2 driven. A common refrain on the forum is that “without the 2+2 forums this never would have come to light.”
The truth of the matter is that the 2+2 poker forums are a heavily censored, entirely for-profit enterprise masquerading as a place to exchange ideas and express opinions. As many scandals as the 2+2 poker forum has broken or advanced over the years there have been just as many that have been swept under the rug, (later reopened), or determined to be “rigtards” before any of the details were known. The real truth is that if the conversation didn’t occur on 2+2 it would have simply ended up at PocketFives or PokerForums.org, or some other forum. 2+2 is not the only forum where these things are posted, and sometimes they are not even the first, what 2+2 is, is simply the most well-known forum in poker, which currently gives them the upper-hand as players go there first. But make no mistake about it, without 2+2 the poker community would simply discuss these things elsewhere, they wouldn’t stop being discussed.
2+2 could be the biggest beneficiary of the poker boom, being in the right place at the right time when poker exploded. With their only serious competition at that time being the rec.gambling.poker forums (which turned into an uncensored mess when the poker boom brought in a slew of new posters) 2+2 quickly ascended to the mountaintop of forums, where it has managed to keep all other forums at bay.
So why does 2+2 drive me nuts? The answer has to do with the way we present poker to the masses. New posters at the 2+2 poker forum are simply overwhelmed and often ridiculed by the entrenched masses there. The forum basically puts forth the idea that poker players are self-absorbed know-it-alls, quick to pass judgment, and quick to point out their superiority over others. While this is the case at other forums as well, what makes 2+2 standout is the size and scope of the forum, and the heavy-handed moderators (not all, just a few) that patrol the boards.
The problems at 2+2 can be seen in the many public fallouts the site has had with big-names in poker, most recently Daniel Negreanu, and even extending to poker media types like Gary Wise and Haley Hintze.
What I would like to see the 2+2 poker forums turn into is a welcoming place, and not some secret society of the poker world, where you have to know the secret handshakes to be accepted (In the case of 2+2 the secret handshake would be the parlance used at the forum). A place where poker can grow organically, and not be shaped by the ownership and moderators at the site to make sure that 2+2 is benefitting financially.
