Bad Players with Money Feeding the Game, Whales
Recreational online poker players with lots of money have always kept regular casino online games going. Some people have so much money that the concept of a bankroll is non-existent. They are playing the game to have fun, but the money is not that big of an issue to them. So, when they win, it doesn’t affect them much, and if they lose, it also doesn’t affect them much (monetarily). But, their wins and losses affect the other players in the game, as well as the game itself. We call these big money players whales.
In the highest online poker NL Holdem Ring games, Guy Laliberte was such a whale. His riches stem from the Cirqu de Soleil acrobatic art troupe. When he decided to play poker, it was obvious that he had to play at the highest stakes possible, because any less would be utterly meaningless. To the other players in the game, this was a godsend. Here comes a recreational player with loads of money ready to spew chips with top pair and leave happy, ready to play another day. This is not to say that Guy did not have winning days, weeks, maybe even months in poker. But, in the long run, he left a good chunk of money in the game and stopped playing so frequently.
Some people postulate that the money he lost is the only reason that the other players can keep playing at the limits they are. They think that they do not have the bankroll to be playing at this level, but can do so only because of the surplus that has been endowed to them via players like Guy. Now that Guy is gone, however, are they just trading this surplus back and forth? If no one is bringing any new money to the game, and the websites are raking 50 cents a hand, who is the real winner?
Converse to this, players cannot wait around for a weak player and then just start up a game, taking exception to the great Andy Beal story. Even rich players are not totally unassuming. If there is a game going on, and they want to play, they will sit in, perhaps make a call and lock up a seat. If there is not a game going on, there is little to entice the whale. Whales are not organizers, they are voyeurs. They want to come and go as they please, and if a game is not already going on, they are very unlikely to come.
