This isn’t the case of a casino tagging cards without the players knowing it’s happening. RFID’d cards are used because these are publicly streamed games. To provide a high-quality experience for the viewer requires someone (or something, in the case of a piece of software) to know the table state to build display graphics and compute in-hand odds.

I haven’t seen a copy of the video and audio usage release form _Stones Live_ uses but I find it extremely unlikely a player would be unaware their game is being streamed.

A properly locked down network vastly reduces the potential for external actors using the game state information maliciously. It does not prevent insiders from abusing their legitimately granted credentials but that’s a separate consideration.

I don't care. The games can be streamed without the cards data also being public.

No self respecting player should agree to that. There is no real security that way. Everybody knows that. What we can get is good, but never perfect.

Poker has been plagued by bots already. Prior to that, a family member, who can play at top ranks, made insane money online. Bill Frist made that difficult where I live, so we transitioned to table play. Medical issues made that tough...

I put that there because we have played this game. (I am solid, by their teaching and do play on occasion today)

There is the player choice to tell. Sometimes it makes sense not to, and nobody else needs to know.

Publishing card data devalues the game. Makes it less.

A game streamed old school tells anyone watching all they really need to know. From there, start to play. That tells them more.

I do not like the card data being published. Yes, players consent. They shouldn't, but their call.

Same as I get to talk it down. I wonder what Brunson would think about this. I bet not much.

We all have our reasons.

In theory there is a thirty minute delay between live play and streamed play...except in cases of manipulation and an insider shares the information in real-time.

Edit: Ah, missed the comment about not liking sharing of cards in any case. I will need to think about it more but it’s an interesting position if you want purity in the game.

It is about our agency as players. Being forced to show all bluffs and or body language as cards received, depending, means being more transparent than likely intended.

There are things a player would rather others have to work for, or at best, infer at a coarse level, that RFID card play make known.

And that data is out there for future players to benefit from too.

This may impact you as a player.

After thinking some, I realize streaming card data actually forces a player to share high value information whether they like it or not.

That is definitely not poker.

Bluff data is extremely high value! It is common to see a killer bluff shared as a sign of respect, for example. But, not sharing it is also common.

Others can profile a successful player and reduce the advantage they have in future games. Doing this old school, by reading people and deduction from known card data is an important skill.

Those who can do that, sans card data, are very potent players.

By streaming card data, players are forced to allow profiling with a precision and accessibility well beyond what would otherwise be possible, and all of it is accessible to any interested player! And archived (you all know it will be) for all time!

All of this not only devalues the game, makes it something not POKER in the most basic sense, even though the mechanics are the same, but devalues players too!

Just putting this here to augment my earlier comment.

And none of it is a slam against the tech. I do not mean that.

But, like bots, this is definitely one of those "just because we can, does not mean we should" type innovations.