Column: WSOP Twitter Wars

Barry Carter reflects on some of the high profile feuds we are seeing take place on social media during the World Series of Poker this year.

One of the more memorable parts of the WSOP this year has been the abundance of mud throwing that has taken place on social media between high profile players. Not a week has gone by without a "twitter war" between two players, and in many cases it has been in the form of one player "naming and shaming" another for disreputable behaviour.

Brad Booth, who has himself been exposed as a scammer during the WSOP, has apparently exposed Phil Hellmuth for receiving a cheque from UB recently. Sam Trickett (and his girlfriend) have used twitter and Facebook to expose fellow UK pro Andrew Feldman for not paying back a €25,000 loan.

Elsewhere, Chad Batista used Facebook to launch an angry foul-mouthed tirade against Jason Mercier, and Brian Hastings showed JP Kelly his disapproval over the Brit's loud rail.

Much more surprisingly, the WSOP itself has been caught up in the twitter wars. Last week, for example, tournament director Jack Effel and player Corey Burbick fell out following a disagreement over a refund policy. Most controversial, however, was the instance of Seth Palansky using the WSOP twitter account to retweet a derogatory comment about player Jon Aguiar.

There have been too many cases of twitter-based feuds to count this year, and I expect this trend to continue throughout the series and beyond. So why are we seeing more and more twitter wars in poker?

Best behaviour

Probably the biggest reason I can suggest is that this year there are less sponsored players today thanwe have seen for years, and less hope for up-and-coming players to sign an endorsement deal. As a direct result, everyone feels a lot less compelled to act on their best behaviour.

Causing controversy on twitter or calling out a player who is sponsored by a room they would like to be sponsored by would likely hamper a player's chances of getting, or keeping, a lucrative sponsorship deal. That is not really a problem any more, so there is no reason to remain tight-lipped and keep your opinions to yourself.

I think another big reason why we are all of a sudden seeing a more confrontational culture on twitter this year is down to one man, who has actually been relatively quiet this series - Daniel Negreanu. His "Weekly Rant" videos captured the imagination of a lot of players this year, where he called out a string of high profile figures in the game (mainly Annie Duke, of course).

The reception he received was largely positive, and I think this told the rest of the poker community it was OK to speak your mind.

You only need to see this rant from William Reynolds to see what I mean. I'm not saying that William wasn't outspoken before, and he clearly is an intelligent, articulate, opinionated player, but doesn't it seem very much influenced by Kid Poker's rants?

The illusion of anonymity

Finally, we are simply at a point where it is hard not to have a public voice on the internet. It is easier than ever before to get your opinion heard, and there are more channels with which we can hear people calling each other out. As a result, you get people who normally would never have even joined in the social media conversation (and probably shouldn't) all of a sudden having an audience of thousands.

There is also an illusion of anonymity on social media, which makes a lot of people act in a way that they never would in real life. Unlike an online poker room or poker forum, most of the time you are not hiding behind a screen name and avatar on social media, and the name on your account is your real one - but a lot of people still conduct themselves as if they an anonymous screen name.

The twitter war is here to stay in poker, as social media is becoming more popular and powerful with every day that passes. I am not sure whether or not it is a good thing for poker that our players are trading insults in 140 characters or less, but it certainly has made the WSOP a lot more interesting to write about this year.

By Barry Carter (@barry_carter on twitter if you want to call him a punk).