- Joined
- 1/9/11
- Messages
- 28
- Points
- 13
I'm looking for some feedback on this essay, it's interesting and not too long ^_^
I did it in sort of a narrative style, should I make a note that this conversation is paraphrased or is that so obvious it doesn't need a note?
the exact question is
"Identify an ethical dilemma you have faced and explain how you resolved it. "
“Dude, we’d never get caught.” he said, gesturing towards the convention center visible from the hotel room. The convention center of the Rio in Las Vegas held the single table satellites at the World Series of Poker. These were tournaments that cost between $65 and $1,050 to enter. Ten entrants would play Texas Hold ‘em until only one remained. The winner would receive about 9 times their original investment after the house fees and dealer tip were applied. It was also possible to make a deal with one or two players and split the prize money, not playing out the entire tournament. My friend and I were experienced players with an already significant edge over the other casual-gambler entrants in the tournament. A few barely knew strategy, only some rudimentary principles of the game.
“All we have to do is walk into the room separately and make sure we get into the same tournament. Afterward we split the winnings”
I knew what he was thinking. We could work together to take advantage of the table in a few ways. One strategy was “soft play,” which is to avoid playing in big pots with each other in order to avoid elimination. This involves folding big hands against each other. To avoid capture, we could easily make sure our cards stayed concealed while folding. Another strategy was equally diabolical: card sharing. With a few planned signs, we could signal each other what cards we had. This would make soft playing easier, and would help in situations where we could adjust the odds of completing a straight or flush.
“Don’t you think that’s kind of…wrong?” I countered.
“They’re just going to lose their money anyway, it might as well be to us.” I considered his proposition, looking at the small pile of $5 chips I shuffled on the table, imagining a towering stack by dinner that night.
“Even if we did this,” I said, searching for a reason, “we could get banned from the Rio for life. No more World Series of Poker.”
He laughed. “How are they going to prove it? The only way is if our signals are obvious to the cameras AND someone brings our signs to their attention. We have hours to plan different mixes of signals if need be.”
I knew he was right. The casino would be incapable of proving we were cheating, even if they reviewed the recordings in detail. Furthermore, this would require someone at the table bringing this to the casino’s attention, which was virtually impossible in and of itself.
“Yeah I guess…”
“Sweet! Lets go!” He jumped to his feet and headed towards the door, counting the hundreds in his hands.
“But…” I continued, “I can’t do it anyway. These people are coming here to gamble but we shouldn’t stack the deck against them. We’re already massively favored to win anyway. Lets just play on separate tables.”
“Oh, come on. I can’t do it without you.”
“You’re going to have to. Come on, let’s head down.”
We ended up playing at the tables separately, and I was close to break-even after playing all of them out. Though I’m sure I could have won if I had used the techniques my friend suggested, I would not have felt right about it. In the end, I am happy with my decision and plan on continuing to play legitimately throughout the rest of my poker endeavors. I always strive to operate in an ethical manner in all aspects of life, so turning down this opportunity wasn’t much of a decision; it was just doing what came naturally to me.
I did it in sort of a narrative style, should I make a note that this conversation is paraphrased or is that so obvious it doesn't need a note?
the exact question is
"Identify an ethical dilemma you have faced and explain how you resolved it. "
“Dude, we’d never get caught.” he said, gesturing towards the convention center visible from the hotel room. The convention center of the Rio in Las Vegas held the single table satellites at the World Series of Poker. These were tournaments that cost between $65 and $1,050 to enter. Ten entrants would play Texas Hold ‘em until only one remained. The winner would receive about 9 times their original investment after the house fees and dealer tip were applied. It was also possible to make a deal with one or two players and split the prize money, not playing out the entire tournament. My friend and I were experienced players with an already significant edge over the other casual-gambler entrants in the tournament. A few barely knew strategy, only some rudimentary principles of the game.
“All we have to do is walk into the room separately and make sure we get into the same tournament. Afterward we split the winnings”
I knew what he was thinking. We could work together to take advantage of the table in a few ways. One strategy was “soft play,” which is to avoid playing in big pots with each other in order to avoid elimination. This involves folding big hands against each other. To avoid capture, we could easily make sure our cards stayed concealed while folding. Another strategy was equally diabolical: card sharing. With a few planned signs, we could signal each other what cards we had. This would make soft playing easier, and would help in situations where we could adjust the odds of completing a straight or flush.
“Don’t you think that’s kind of…wrong?” I countered.
“They’re just going to lose their money anyway, it might as well be to us.” I considered his proposition, looking at the small pile of $5 chips I shuffled on the table, imagining a towering stack by dinner that night.
“Even if we did this,” I said, searching for a reason, “we could get banned from the Rio for life. No more World Series of Poker.”
He laughed. “How are they going to prove it? The only way is if our signals are obvious to the cameras AND someone brings our signs to their attention. We have hours to plan different mixes of signals if need be.”
I knew he was right. The casino would be incapable of proving we were cheating, even if they reviewed the recordings in detail. Furthermore, this would require someone at the table bringing this to the casino’s attention, which was virtually impossible in and of itself.
“Yeah I guess…”
“Sweet! Lets go!” He jumped to his feet and headed towards the door, counting the hundreds in his hands.
“But…” I continued, “I can’t do it anyway. These people are coming here to gamble but we shouldn’t stack the deck against them. We’re already massively favored to win anyway. Lets just play on separate tables.”
“Oh, come on. I can’t do it without you.”
“You’re going to have to. Come on, let’s head down.”
We ended up playing at the tables separately, and I was close to break-even after playing all of them out. Though I’m sure I could have won if I had used the techniques my friend suggested, I would not have felt right about it. In the end, I am happy with my decision and plan on continuing to play legitimately throughout the rest of my poker endeavors. I always strive to operate in an ethical manner in all aspects of life, so turning down this opportunity wasn’t much of a decision; it was just doing what came naturally to me.
