Does online poker need the chatbox?
With the news that KKPoker are automatically translating chat at their tables, we look at whether the game even needs it anymore.
This week our partner room KKPoker announced an interesting new chat feature - translation. Now when you type something into the KKPoker chat box, it will be translated into the native language of your opponents.
In hindsight it seems obvious, but what a great idea. As AI continues to grow and grow, automatic translation is relatively easy these days. Now everyone can converse at the tables and it also removes a light collusion risk when two people chat in a different language.
The only issue is whether chat itself is redundant these days in online poker?
Fun, but also toxic
In the early days of online poker chat was vibrant. Back in the day it was not unlike the early days of the internet itself, where one of the great joys was conversing with people from different parts of the world. Online poker used to be truly global and it was a key feature of the game.
Chat then fell out of favour a little. Mostly because players started to multi-table and chat was a distraction to putting in volume. The chat itself also got toxic, as most discourse does online. There was also an unusual trend of observers begging people for money in the chatbox.
Operators started to curb chat online. Certain words got banned and in some cases would get your chat privileges revoked for a while. Some sites would put chat in the background so it wasn't as prevalent as it was. Other operators, like Unibet, got rid of it completely.
We meme instead of chat now
While I love the translation idea from KKPoker, I think a better alternative exists already. Most sites have a form of 'meme chat' using emojis, throwables, and GIFs. There is now a funny cartoon we can now send to other players that communicate things about the game, with no language barriers, and it is quicker than typing.
I barely use the chat feature, I'll give people a 'GG' emoji if I make a final table or get heads-up, but that is about it. The only time I want to use chat when it is not available, ie. when I play on Unibet, is when I make a misclick and want to explain why I made a horrible call against somebody.
Poker chat is a lot like social media. It's a great feature and can be a lot of fun, but it also invites toxicity. I personally think poker has found the happy medium with the way we can meme messages to each other. Having said that, instant chat translation is a no-brainer that those sites with chat should all adopt.
Do you use the chat feature at online poker sites? Let us know in the comments:
