标签归档:Gaming

Research: China Online Poker Glimpse

Short brief about the law against online poker in China, how does it work?

Online gambling is illegal in China, making online poker games essentially dead in the country. There are no Chinese legally owned or operated poker sites. As far as the players go, they aren’t breaking the law because it’s not against the law to gamble online, but this still doesn’t mean the government wishes people to play. China is well known for its censoring of the internet and can and will block any websites it does not feel to be appropriate for its people, and this includes gambling and online poker websites.

Despite this, players have found ways and means to play online. And online operators are becoming more innovative in their offerings by not having “real money” transactions but instead use alternatives that can be converted to cash. Officials here do realize that given that there are no Chinese online poker sites, no one is breaking the law as far as far as operating these sites, as the Chinese recognize that these sites are outside their jurisdiction, something that not all countries properly admit to. But once again, in China, Mah-jong and poker games are taken off the approval list following a wave of earlier government crackdowns over concerns that such titles may connected to illegal gambling.

Can people download poker apps?

June 2018, a major crackdown, known as Chinese Black Friday, occurred in China. The government banned all online poker applications, removing them from App Stores, and going as far as forbidding the promotion of Poker on any Social Media. It’s not that they always block poker websites, but this can certainly happen here, although the first thing you need to know is that this blocking is limited to the online poker website itself. People aren’t blocked from playing there, the most they can be blocked from is downloading the software, and once they do that, they are in the clear.

The Chinese have been well accustomed to getting around censorship, and the use of virtual private networks (VPN) to access the internet is very popular in general because of the Great wall firewall, and this is the tool that online poker players use to get around these poker related restrictions.

So, all you do is log on to the network and then you can travel to any site you wish without government detection, Android APK and IOS “Enterprise” workaround solves the problem. So there are now a lot of online poker players living in China and while there is still a lot of room for growth, as not everyone is aware of this means of playing, the market here is expected to continue to grow.

Can people pay for the online apps? How online payment works for those apps?

Yes, they can, but not through an official way. We all understand the APP is totally free but for playing games need real money. Taking example of Poker Master, which is not a cash deposit site, player can do an in-app purchase for getting some virtual items, but for playing in the games their funds will flow to home game host or the agent who raises the game with gateway/mobile payment methods. Taking example of Poker King, which is a cash deposit site, they have payment service provider to allow players directly deposit/withdrawal with both gateway/mobile payment methods.

Information about prices of poker apps and prices of all features inside poker apps.

Note: *   screenshots attached, ** means in-app best seller

Poker Master Store/Mall

Red Dragon Poker Store/Mall

How player pays in Poker King Club?

How player pays in Red Dragon Poker?

Download for the whole document.

Research: Asian Sportsbooks

Legal Landscape of the Region

JURISDICTIONSLEGALITY OF ONLINE SPORTS BETTINGDO ANY ONLINE BETTING SITES ALLOW PLAYERS FROM HERE?
China*Illegal, except via state-run sitesYes
IndiaProbably legalYes
Hong Kong SARIllegal, except via state-run sitesYes
Macau SARLegalYes
MalaysiaProbably legalYes
PhilippinesIllegal, except via state-run sitesYes
SingaporeIllegal, except via state-run sitesYes, but very few
South KoreaProbably legalYes
ThailandIllegal, except via state-run sitesYes

* The laws of mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) prohibit almost all forms of gambling, including online sports betting. The only exceptions are government-run gambling terminals and lotteries. The Chinese government has taken steps to restrict access to online betting sites, though many residents have found ways around this (usually by purchasing a VPN) and many online sportsbooks hosted in foreign countries offer their services to people in China.

Key Factors in Asians Choosing a Sportsbook

Safety/Anonymity: Since so many countries in Asia render it illegal to use offshore sportsbooks, finding a site that will keep personal information secure and can process transactions in a way that doesn’t hand over banking details to third parties is often a big concern.

Accessibility: Accessibility is about more than just bare access. Users want to be able to log-in from anywhere these days, no matter the time of day or the platform. It’s becoming increasingly common for bettors to make wagers on their mobile devices anytime in a day.

Ease of Use: Does the sportsbook have a user-friendly look? Does it offer support services in users’ preferred language? Is it clear how to deposit and withdraw? All above will affect how enjoyable their experience is.

How Do Chinese Residents Deposit & Withdraw?

The authorities strictly regulate and block financial transactions with online sportsbooks. As with many countries in Asia, the best option for Asian bettors is likely an e-wallet such as 「Neteller」 or 「Skrill」. And for Chinese bettors, the option is likely the two dominated online payments, 「WeChat Pay」 and 「AliPay」 (China version of 「Paypal」 or 「Square」).

Asian Sportsbook Business Model Landscape

In Asia, the betting market is quite large but uncoordinated. However, in early 2017, the Asian sector has become a leader in the field of global betting, and it continues to hold the leading positions. According to statistics, 40% of bets in the world are placed in Asia. The bookmaker’s list in the Asian betting market is growing every year, and so far, the players’ demand outpaces supply.

Asian bookmakers, like their colleagues from other regions of the world, mostly work under offshore licenses from the Philippines, the Isle of Man, Macau, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

The policy of the Eastern bookmaker’s offices is different from the Western, so they have gained a certain reputation that allows them to attract professional betters from all over the world. For example, in Asia, they do not have limits of bets for experienced players who carry out their analysis.

European Bookmakers | 1X2 Bets | Fixed Odds

This is the oldest model. These bookmakers simply offer odds on matches and customers can bet on these events. This model is more profitable for European bookmakers and crush 98%+ of the people who are using them not only because this is not a fair model (they take huge margins on the odds) but also only allow small or losing players to bet with them. Winners are not welcome, specially not if they bet big and understand how to exploit their entire model.

Here is an example of a 1X2 bet on a Champions League math from Bet365. FC Barcelona wins @ 1.16 / Draw @ 7.00 / Boavista FC wins @ 20.00, we can figure out the margin, (1/1.16)+(1/7.00) + (1/20.00) = 1.0549 (The 5.49% is the margin).

The reason they are also called 1×2 or Fixed odds bookmakers is because they mainly focus on Win-Draw-Lose outcomes and the odds are not directly affected by money that is being bet. They also offer a very big variety of special bets like over-under, correct score, both teams to score, goalscorers and so on. These types of bets are charged with bigger profit margin. Bookmakers in this category are nearly all the bookmakers the big betting public know. Some of the European 1×2 bookmakers are Unibet, Bet365, Ladbrokes, William Hill, bwin. Since these bookmakers allow no big winning players, they don’t have to fear huge losses. This is their weak point as odds adjustment often is slow and can be exploited.

Exchanges

These types of bookmakers directly link players and charge a commission for their services and do not risk losing money in the process. Betfair™ and Matchbook are the biggest examples. Exchanges like Betfair™ are mostly used for sports trading since the commission fee only is charged on the net winnings.

Though exchanges are getting popular globally, Asian players still love fixed odds plus Asian handicap which will be explained as below.

Asian Bookmakers | Asian Handicap | Dynamic Odds

These types of bookmakers offer a newer model that is much fairer overall. Unlike 1×2 bookmakers, they focus on Asian handicaps to offer 50%-50% type bets on a football match which allows then to offer dynamic lines that move directly based on the money that comes in. For example, if 50%-50% odds are Home 1.952 – Away 1.952 and I bet let’s say 1000€ on the home side the odds will instantly change to 1.892-2.01. This way they created a self-regulating system where the market sets the price. They allow for bigger bets and winning players are welcome as they help them set the lines correct. The way they make profit is by having huge turnovers which allows them to only changer small margins compared to the European business model. A side effect is that most of the times the odds are set very tight. Another important to know is that big money always comes into the Asian market first and the European market adjust their odds based on the this a tiny bit later. The most used Asian bookmakers are Pinnacle, SBOBET, ISN, 188Bet

How Asian Handicaps work? Asian handicaps work like handicaps in NBA or NFL with the only difference that sometimes there is a “half win” or a “half loss” where part of the stake is returned. The over / under lines work in a similar way. It might be confusing at first, but it will become clear and easy to understand as the picture below.

7 differences about the Asian Sportsbook (compares to European)

  1. Their traders take positions in games and keep the prices. Others just follow the market. This also means that most of these Asian sportsbooks attract many arbitrage activities, they do not block professional gamblers who place only bets without risks.
  2. Websites are simple, user friendly and usually available in more Asian languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and sometimes Japanese even.
  3. Have more focus on the Asian Handicap market.
  4. Lower margin (maybe lowest) and average odds are much higher than traditional books.
  5. Football odds are extremely competitive, they offer high limits and allow the duplication of the selected outcomes. However, the prices for the other sports are not the best.
  6. 24-hour customer support via email, telephone and Live Chat in Chinese.
  7. They never bar from the withdrawal of winnings, no matter how large they may be.

Asian Sportsbook Types

Landed Shops: Asian Bookmakers such as Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), Macau Jockey Club (MJC) or Macau Slot, have dozens landed shops in Hong Kong and Macau. There are also thousands landed shops in China which they all belong to the state-owned 「China Sport Lottery」.

Cash Site: Players can bet with the exact amount of their deposits only, no credits allowed. These types of bookmakers values chances of sponsoring a well-known European football club because they will need to strength their credibility in order to build bettors’ trust for more deposits.

Credit Site: Players can bet within a certain amount of credits; this usually go with high-stake bettors and the credits are authorized by their affiliates.

Affiliate Attitude

Affiliates may be the most important key element to a bookmaker’s success in Asia. The affiliate offerings can be very aggressive among different competitors. Bookmakers never set limits on how much money affiliates can make with them, they all share the same consensus: whoever get more affiliates’ help wins.

Common affiliate offerings are revenue shares, acquisition bonus, referral commission of affiliates (possible pyramid affiliate structure), deposit commission and so on.

Speaking of which, Singbet, one of the biggest private bookmakers in Asia offers the most football leagues and events both pre-match and in-play and it operate a 「shareholder」 business model, which pays-out lucrative commissions and rewards to agents. Minimum 45% position taking for the agents, i.e. only 45% of the bet staked is valid.

You can enter the Asian sports betting market if you have a partner that is worth to be trusted, and who understands the specifics of the region. You also need to understand the features of the promotion, the needs of the audience, deal with financial issues very carefully and avoid all the pitfalls.

十年难圆扑克梦

打开笔电,完全不知道自己该说些什么,似乎有一肚子的话,又似乎没有一句说得出来。于是思来想去,按正路,还是决定从我对扑克的回忆开始。回忆开始,像劈里啪啦的大火一样明晃晃又热辣辣,收拾不了。

从我接触扑克开始,已经十年了。一切好像都还没变。

恍惚能回忆起来的是,一如圈中乌泱乌泱的善男信女,我对扑克最初的了解全部来自于1998年那部马克达蒙和爱德华诺顿主演的《Rounders》。这部扑克题材的电影讲述了一个法律系学生如何在扑克桌上与自己理想博弈浮沉的故事,虽然现在看来,这里面有关扑克的内容大部分都显得有些幼稚,但其中所描绘的美国扑克丰富的历史底蕴和游戏本身夸张的戏剧冲突就足以让每个因戯入局的牌迷们永远为之津津乐道并奉为经典了。

于是在2010年一个百无聊赖的夏天,我在宿舍点开校内网博雅互动的网页版扑克游戏,算是正式开启了我与扑克的第一次亲密接触。像往常一样,在自诩习得游戏窍门掌握一定优势后,我毫不犹豫地向每一个曾经、正在,或我认为将来身负赌博恶习的小伙伴们安利起这项全新的西洋赌戏。在介绍完易学难精的游戏规则后,我向众人推心置腹地说,真的男人,就要像周润发一样戴着墨镜梳起油头,嚼着巧克力微笑着向对手说梭哈。当宿舍攒动的人头开始推搡着向桌前涌动,人群中不时传出一声声操你妈比,这时我知道,那些港台赌片在这一刻像虚拟实境般在众人脑中开始集体泛滥具象。接下来的一个星期,小卖部的巧克力销量突然激增,长头发的男生开始几天几夜的不洗头。自此,惯蛋迷靠边滚蛋,斗地主黯然神伤,UNO被充当带色的筹码,扎金花沦为土炮的消遣,三国杀降级下放成了流入三流宿舍的标配,连国粹麻将也因未能及时完成各舍规则统一而被众人借机搁置。天下大势合久必分分久必合,于是就这样尘埃落定尽归扑克。2010年7月11日,伴随着世界杯决赛终场哨声在约翰内斯堡的夜空吹响,余音绕梁,斗转星移,影响一整个时代的大赌局悄无声息又轰轰烈烈地在地球另一端那个昏暗的宿舍里开始了。

在这个过程中,每个人都仿佛在牌桌上重新演绎了人生。

于给力总是双唇微张呆滞地坐着,然后在众人的提醒下回神向前方的加注回应,他看一眼手牌,一边大喊一声哎呀这么好的牌不玩可惜了,一边又双唇微张着呆滞地将牌扔向牌堆。我曾偷看过他扔掉的那些所谓好牌,委实烂牌。但这又着实令我对他大智若愚的造型肃然起敬,原来这,就是Poker Face。

刘开开由于仍未脱离扎金花经年累月的青春孟浪而不断试图将扑克玩成另一个游戏。在这个过程中他永远只有两种状态,一本正经地诈唬和虎视眈眈的抓鸡。刘开开所有的疑惑只在于选择处于何种状态,而无论他怎么选都足以令牌局以他为中心迅速形成局点,等于说他不是每局牌的起点便是终点。大起大落间,刘开开享受着重复买入的青春孟浪,这多少透着他和他扎金花最后的倔强。

Once Upon a Time in #426 (刘开开/于给力/汪若海/陆太远 – 2010)

当然,这里面最难缠的哥们儿还是汪若海。说他难缠并不因为他打牌难缠,而是因为他活着的目的便是为了与我战斗,他存在的意义便是为了成为我的羁绊,他为喝大本身而喝大,也为难缠本身而难缠。任何一场牌局在他眼中都只是与我的单挑,任何一种成功他都在谋求以我的失败作为基石。汪若海挺起肚腩吸上一口金南京,对着我犬牙交错面目狰狞地说,「老子专注干你(南京话此处念lǐ)二十年」。虽然直到今天,我依然不清楚我的哥们儿这么做的好处何在,但只要有他这种惺惺相惜又稳若磐石的干扰因素,就足够令我感到无比难缠又伤透脑筋了。

在那一场场战斗中,我们急了,tilt了,疲了,死了。顺应时代的改变看那些拙劣的表演,反复上映一遍又一遍捶与被捶的人生。没错,我第一次感受到,玩扑克,仿佛经历了整个人生。

这样的各种牌局在众人毕业四散东西后也旋即宣告终场,但我没打算抛弃它。在这之后大部分的时间里,扑克成了我在世俗泥沼中迷途忘返的精神寄托。在2011-2012年,我曾参加过两场野鸡比赛并交了些古怪好玩的牌友,但扑克仍未成为流行消遣的现实让我觉得不甚满足,于是我注册网络扑克室成了扑克之星的会员。在这个过程中,这个连结全世界扑克玩家的网络断断续续地陪我度过了好几年无比安静的时光,我开始了解扑克真正的魅力,开始了解扑克是一项心智运动。更为疗愈的是,它能让你了解最真实的自我,它能让你学会资金管理的真谛,也能训练你I/O信息的能力。突然间人生中所有的套路都在方寸间淋漓尽致,这让我愈发觉得真是个好游戏。要是能让更多华人了解它,接受它,那就太好了。

当然,我也不曾忘记鏖战在Venetian那些25/50桌旁历历在目不眠不休的夜晚,有的人慢条斯理假装成弱不禁风,有的人巧舌如簧永远在滔滔不绝,有的人壁虎漫步只为了等待戈多,也有人心浮气躁偏执般疯狂操作,等等等等,不再赘述。无论男女老少高肥秃瘦还是来自天南海北世界何方,所有人都只因一个共同目的而聚首牌桌,那就是没完没了的拙劣表演和捶与被锤。如果把我的现金局战绩刻画成一条盈利曲线,那会是如汪若海般的犬牙交错与面目狰狞,这证明大多数时间我是被锤的那一个。突然间人生中所有的得失都在方寸间淋漓尽致,这再次让我愈发觉得真是个好游戏。要是能慢慢习惯捶与被捶,战胜它,那就太好了。

2015年我加入了扑克之星现场赛事团队,扑克在我的生命中开始以另一种形式共振,这种共振产生了许多微妙的化学反应。我开始以从业人员的身份系统地去了解它的历史和发展轨迹,也学习到许多作为业余玩家未曾染指过的专业知识。当然,你可以说作为一名扑克玩家我仍然相当的业余。但在我怀着一股为世间万物寻找意义的热情,一厢情愿地在每一场比赛留下我一个个任劳任怨的背影,这多少还是为我实现了另一种形式的经验积累的,即便至今我仍无法与一名优秀的业余玩家划上等号。突然间人生中所有的辛酸都在方寸间淋漓尽致,不用问,这让我愈发对这个游戏爱个没完,要是能由此成长为一名优秀的玩家,纵然业余,那也太好了。

因为工作的关系,我常常要与这些衷于锦标赛的职业和业余的牌手们打交道。规律上,首先那些年纪大些的相应经验和水平也高些,且对牌桌上的人情世故通晓自如;岁数小的年轻小伙子们永远是焦点,充沛体力与先进打法是所有人的天敌;然后漂亮姑娘们也还不错,由于比赛是一个比谁犯错少的游戏故而气势上的差距完全可以用高冷激将或魅惑诱敌而弥补过来。唯一让我头痛万分的是那些年龄在二十五到三十五左右的男同胞们。他们对演技和牌技都不甚钻研,却总爱在受挫后振振有词又强词夺理,俨然一副汪若海般吊儿郎当的样子。与之相对应的,我对他们却从来都是特别以礼相待,这不光因为我有我异于常人的职业素养,还因为我根本也是他们中的一员。

在这段不长不短没日没夜的日子里,我也迅速结识了形形色色的扑克玩家并成为朋友,有的爱发牢骚、有的恬静文雅、有的活泼乖张、有的猥琐闷骚、也有人大名鼎鼎、还有人深藏不露、更有人义薄云天、又有人风流倜傥,林林总总,不胜枚举。即便我已能够接受其中大多数人应该不再能记起我的事实,但还是不得不说我为曾对某一撮玩家团体保有持续的影响力而倍感自豪。这种持续的影响力以一种相当经济的形式具象化,临床上表现为,当那些富贵的玩家们需要解决生理需求时我总能适时地陪伴左右。不要误会,我指的是蹭饭。也可以误会,因为主赛时玩家派对那些声色犬马的放纵与充满酒精味儿的social,一直是我们作为组织方大方展示资本主义优良传统的约定俗成。

由此导致的结果是,在没完没了的工作十几个小时后是紧接着没完没了的觥筹交错与大快朵颐,所有人回巢休息三四个小时后,继续十几个小时的比赛和紧接着没完没了的觥筹交错与大快朵颐,直到比赛整个结束,这也从侧面证明了找红牛做赞助商得有多么靠谱。由此扑克之星永动机式的比赛体验很快在扑克圈中享负盛名,尤其是那些初次外出比赛的国内新手玩家们,归国发出「这帮人都是嗑着药在搞比赛」诸如此类传谣式的感叹,就愈发吸引更多不明真相又鬼知道是否心怀鬼胎的新手玩家们跃跃欲试心向往之。我对这种蝴蝶效应报以理解,也不忘提醒这帮不安好心的傢伙扑克女玩家的比例还是真的有点少的。

未等如火如荼的线下比赛遭遇牌照续约的铁锤,中国的线上扑克也迅速随着约局模式的擦边球创新粉墨登场,互联网能量井喷式爆发,线上约局一时蔚然成风。然而这并没有给我们的线上业务送来任何一丝温暖的东风,旷日持久的合规问题除了能令我们在道德高度上自我标榜与不断完善,根本无法允许我们在事实层面上推动中国内地市场任何形式的推广,等于只给挖战壕却不给开枪或白刃战。我们唯一能做的,就是把合规的线下比赛办的如火如荼来增加自然曝光。你要问这是为什么?我只能告诉你俺们只靠品牌就能实现nature growth。但如果你还要再追问这是为什么?全公司都他妈是在为法务那帮讼棍打工这事儿,打死我也不说。

这种自上而下的掣肘令我在2018年专攻线上业务时心生不快步步维艰,心中有谱,却手上没劲,做少了总觉得欠缺打磨,做多了又实在味同嚼蜡。但除了能够延续贯彻龟缩蛰伏和稳如老狗的市场策略,我又委实对这个宁可满目疮痍逼良为娼却不愿为监管出任何一分力气的中国市场难以抱持任何期望,这我老早就明白透了。然而在这一点上,公司对中国市场的期望之大显然无法与自身实际能力圈之小相形契合继而做出明智决断。他们无法相信,无法相信中国这个世界第二大经济体不能像其他辖域一样被一视同仁,无法想象非常市场唯有非常能耐与非常手段者方可取之。总之,只要沾上中国,再有能耐的鬼佬也顿时阳痿踟蹰,变得像左胶民主党一样显得十足外行。若非如此,我也不用一遍遍不厌其烦却又完全无效地在公司的官僚推搡中浪费生命了。这除了让我明白自己有多么人微言轻,还让我更加坚信,全球化,果然不靠谱。

在这个时段中,我唯有闲庭信步般地穿梭在借着东风异常成功的中国同业中拜学求经,不厌其烦地吸收他们一波波自大偏狂的变现故事和没皮没脸的暴富生活。于是在这无穷无尽的研讨中,我开始学会了归纳和总结。首先是数量不多但实力极好的几家老牌华人博彩公司,从整体上看总像肩负着替中国输出价值观的责任;其次是一些坐标零散鲜少出镜侨居海外的华裔博彩个体户,他们通常好为人师又爱故弄玄虚;然后是数量众多自认中流砥柱三十上下的互联网转业者,除了擅长夸大空谈还颇具野心,因为他们普遍坚信自己可以颠覆产业然后反向洗白;最后还有那些个四十开外的组头式人物,在经历了岁月的洗礼后崇尚跟对老板不劳而获的伟大思想。总之,他们深处中国互联网黑产最核心的漩涡,也因此更加为富不仁并期待在人间扬名立万。这一切,似乎离扑克遥远起来。

然而这一切又能远离多少呢?科技的进步除了让线上扑克成为伙牌与机器人的天堂,还让黑吃黑形成了一条条常人无从窥探的产业链。冲破技术的牢笼,打碎道德的枷锁,线上扑克无可避免地被肆意荼毒和丢在地上任人蹂躏,一个充满竞技精神的智慧游戏,变成了一场场纯粹的赌博和一个个十足的骗局。林林总总,不再赘述,以免老泪纵横痛心疾首。这一切,当真离扑克遥远起来。

当文化和旅游部的红头文件飘然落下,当扫黑除恶专项斗争的横幅传单开满山冈。我闲庭信步般地穿梭在曾借东风异常成功的中国同业中提醒他们,华人的德扑梦很快就要被铁锤砸地稀烂了,下车步行吧。首先是老牌华人博彩公司,言之凿凿地认为在中国梦没有实现前德扑梦不会覆灭;其次是侨居海外的华裔博彩个体户,神色慌张地坚称自己今天看见了中国外派的便衣国安;然后是三十上下的互联网转业者,正在忙着订往回国的机票,他们坚信自己在国内找到了新的业内商机并审时度势地向我顺势发出合伙邀请;而那些个四十开外的组头式人物,草草收起沧桑转而语带真诚又略显诧异地对我说,咦你的看法跟我老板一样哎。雄关漫道真如铁,而今迈步从头越。现如今,无论是博彩公司华裔个体还是中年组头们,无论是赚的盆满钵满还是小富即安,都已早早埋单离场继续隐姓埋名的生活,徒留三十上下的年轻劳动力们继续在江湖谱写那些似是而非的惨烈传闻,与自己脆弱不堪的钱包和肉体相比,他们的灵魂显然无坚不摧。

2019年10月2日,扑克之星的母公司TSG卖给了帕迪鲍尔必发的母公司Flutter,虽然从行为上不露一丝端倪,但我知道法务的讼棍们一定会告诉新的董事会,在这个风云诡谲的当口千万别站在那些即将陷入疯狂的监管机构对立面,当然这也能让他们永远有事可做。

2020年9月1日,扑克之星正式退出中国内地。但从现实角度出发我又异常支持这个决定,承认这点我也不会感到丝毫的羞耻,相反我非常的坦然。这话听起来可能没有那么点儿担当,但我总觉得,比起起身说不扭头转身坚决离开,无力改变现况软弱无力地跪着才叫没有担当。但令人感到抱歉的是,受地缘政治风险加剧的影响台湾市场竟也不可避免地跟着一起陪葬了。对此我向台湾牌友安慰道,不用担心,只是扑克之星结束了,而扑克从来就不曾离开过台湾。

从我接触扑克开始,竟已十年了。一切好像又全都变了。

十年也好,二十年也罢,结束了就是结束了,没开始就是没开始。我突然想起公司的Slogan,「We Are Poker」,扑克之星也许是一代扑克人共同的回忆,但人们早就对它不再保有人生若只如初见。一家公司从来就不是扑克的全部,它只是包含与被包含捶与被捶的关系,它完整了扑克,扑克完整了我们。但我还是相信,随着扑克之星的离开华人玩家中仍然有人不免如我这般抚今追昔,即便这样的人已经不多。当我们回头重新品味定义自己曾经走过的扑克之路,除了那些丰碑礼赞经验教训外,对于时代的回忆至多也不过令你我在记忆深处得到些许牛逼哄哄的顾影自怜和不为人知的伤感与美好罢了。于是我开始本能地有点相信,扑克并不是选择离开了我们,而是选择存在于它应该存在的地方。继续向前追寻,你的真诚就躺在梦开始的地方。十年,回忆起来似乎还很近,又实实在在的遥远了,我甚至没有什么像样的经历能把这十年时间填满,逝者如斯。

开着笔电,完全不知道自己说了些什么,似乎有一肚子的话,又似乎没有一句说了出来。于是思来想去,很矫情,还是决定将我对扑克的回忆封存。回忆封存,像水底下拍的照片一样有泡沫也有虚影,渐渐下沉。

很多年前我问汪若海专注干我二十年的意义何在。他说,「专注,就是一日,接着一日」。我喜欢这个回答,它包含着汪若海对我尤其是对扑克一切的揶揄和真诚。那么未尽的梦,就让一个十年,接着一个十年吧。