Made with GPT-4 Turbo
In 2025, nearly everything has moved online—jobs, relationships, therapy, even poker night. But despite the convenience, the digital card table just doesn’t cut it for me. Here’s why:
1. Lack of Human Presence
There’s something irreplaceable about reading a real opponent’s face, sensing their tension, catching a glance or a twitch. Online? It’s just avatars, emojis, and dead air. Bluffing loses its soul when there’s no one to bluff to.
2. Bots and Cheaters Are Smarter Now
AI has come a long way, and not all of it is used for good. In 2025, online games are flooded with bots that play perfectly or with human-assisted cheating. When you’re playing for money or pride, it’s maddening to suspect you’re just feeding someone’s script.
3. No Trust in RNG
Random Number Generators (RNGs) are supposed to simulate fairness. But after watching ten suspicious hands in a row, you start to wonder: is this truly random or algorithmically rigged to keep me “engaged”? Casinos used to be shady—now they have JavaScript.
4. Paywalls and Microtransactions
You used to just play. Now, it’s “buy more chips,” “unlock premium features,” or “wait 4 hours to draw a card unless you pay.” Even casual games are designed like slot machines. What happened to just shuffling a deck and dealing?
5. No Ritual, No Atmosphere
Real card games have weight: the shuffle, the snap of a dealt card, the clink of coins or chips, the friendly (or hostile) banter. Online cards are sterile. You don’t smell cigars. You don’t sip coffee while someone counts chips. You don’t feel anything.
6. Addiction Algorithms
The platforms know how to hook you. They track your habits, trigger your dopamine with “almost wins,” and push notifications like a digital dealer whispering, “just one more hand.” It’s not a game anymore—it’s engineered compulsion.
7. Internet Lag and App Glitches
You’re on a winning hand—and the app crashes. Or someone rage-quits and you wait for a timer to run out. Or worse, the server decides you folded because your ping spiked. In real life, the only crash is when someone knocks over the chips.
Conclusion
For me, cards are about people, presence, and unpredictability—not pixels, algorithms, and pre-programmed thrills. So in 2025, I’ll keep a deck in my bag and look for a real table, with real people, who know the value of the game.