Since my teens I've waged a war versus perception. Because I am generally cracking jokes, smiling a lot, and in trying to be the life of the party, it is assumed that I am unable to be serious or am somehow an immature or irresponsible person. This actually cost me a job about 6 or 7 years ago when the GM of the car dealership I worked at was unable to understand that being fun and responsible were not mutually exclusive abilities. I've paid the price for who I am.

When I was younger I acted that way as a defense mechanism. I was lacking in self confidence and found my ability to entertain made me feel better. Now that I am into my 30's, I continue on because it feels good to have people laugh at something you said. It is no longer something I do because I have to, but something I do because I want to - it is good for my soul. Along the way I've come to realize that if anything, my insistence on being this way has made me a more mature individual. I am able to realize what I am doing and how it impacts people's perception of me. Beyond that, I have gotten to the point where I don't care if it impacts me in a negative fashion. Having to overcome this perception has made me a stronger, more confident person. Show me somebody who insists on suppressing who they are in order to impress people, and I'll show you somebody with a shattered ego.

What does any of this have to do with the most recent online poker hullabaloo?

Plenty.

For some reason the perception of poker players, especially high stakes regs, is that they are somehow wise and intelligent beyond their years. If you go back and read any amount of the comments to Haseeb's blog from the past couple of years and you will see a reverence generally reserved for historical figures like Lincoln or Churchill. For the same reason people see me as a 32-year-old 13-year-old, people saw Haseeb as though he was a 21-year-old 50-year old. His age has been completely ignored, when it is actually the clear answer to, "Why, Haseeb, why?"

While I am no wise old owl, the fact that I am some 8-10 years older than the average online poker aficionado, defined here as those who are regulars on 2+2 and other training sites, gives me at least some ability to look at this situation and say, "If Haseeb was 32, he'd not have allowed this to happen." This is true for those who choose to believe both main sides of this discussion:

As a former 20-something, I am well aware that everybody thinks they are WAY more with-it than they are - people who are successful young, even more so. Let's be honest for a moment. If you are 22, rich, and able to basically print money because of your ability to play poker, you are almost guaranteed to have a warped view of reality. Because you worked hard to achieve what you did, you are granted a high level of self-worth, making you apt to have an even more messed up sense of things. The fact is that in a maturity contest, education and family history being equal, I'd take a down-and-out 22-year-old over a very successful 28-year-old any day of the week, and it aint even close.

Men and women are shaped by their past - the tougher the decisions, the more difficult the path, the more life experience. I can name a number of people I know who range from their early 20's to late 40's who have an incredibly inflated notion of their own wisdom and maturity yet would laugh hysterically at the assertion that I trump them in this very category. They've been fortunate to have things go their way, making bereft of the hardships that a "normal" person has endured. Show me a millionaire that has never worked an $8/hr job, and I will show you a person with a warped sense of self and a distorted view of the real world and how it works.

I am certainly not suggesting that there are not exceptions to any of what I've said. And please keep in mind this is all based on assumption of the health of individual's surroundings and overall mental state from the time they are born until present day (I am not talking about the children of an abusive father here). I am speaking in strong generalities based on years of self reflection and the societal analysis of a thoughtful and introspective person. These words have been my opinion presented as fact, because to me, they are.

The moral of the story is that all three principals in this scandal are 21 or younger. They have all been rich beyond dreams since before they were old enough to graduate college. The fact that more of our young poker hero's haven't done something that ranks 100/100 on the retarded scale is an absolute fucking miracle. Considering how we glorify insane, ridiculous, and irresponsible actions like prop bets that threaten the health of friends, it is pretty lol when we get upset because some young kid acted like a kid often does. That there are legions of 20-somethings decrying the actions of DIH and JM when they would have acted the exact same way if they had been in that situation is probably the biggest single source of outrage that I have over all of this.

I know that a lot of you are rolling your eyes thinking I am crazy.

"If I was young and wealthy I'd be different"

"I would never let this happen"

"I am too responsible to go busto, especially if I had that kind of money"

"I would think it through more"

I hate to break it to you, but you are probably not that one guy who at 23 has the wisdom of a man at the top of the mountain. And if you think that you are, all I can say is that your belief is proof that I am right.

-Jeff