The world has divided into two groups on the subject of online socializing. Some say that Facebook and Twitter have killed conversation, replacing it with an ersatz and unsatisfying stream of typed nonsense.
Others say that the world has been connected in a way that it never was before, boosting warmth and fellow feeling around the globe.
I used to have those first-category worries about online poker; last Sunday, I suddenly and happily shifted group.
Fears that the internet would kill live poker were proved wrong years ago: online satellites created vast live fields and triggered a poker revolution.
Nevertheless, I grumpily thought, online poker lacked the social aspect that first attracted me to the game. "It's all very well," I grumbled, "playing convenient one-tables without leaving the house. But it's going to be anonymous and lonely."
Sunday used to be the night that The Sweep, JQ and I would always meet at the casino. It was like dropping into the Cheers bar: familiar faces and catch-up chat, alongside the game, is what poker was all about, for me.
Last Sunday, it was too cold and rainy (and I was too depressed) to go out. So I went online, and what do you know? Every player I knew seemed to be there. Full Tilt was running a special series, and PokerStars had its regular Sunday Million. Search functions allow you to find players you know and speak to them through the chat box. Suddenly, "watching" friends' games and typing congratulations (or sarcastic remarks) felt like real social interaction.
Online poker offers more than just money and convenience. Maybe I've been ruined by Twitter like everyone else, but this felt exactly the same as our old Sunday nights at the Vic. It was a very happy epiphany. And the food's better at my house.
