diff -r e2fc3ae07582 -r 9548c8a58103 src/events/SDL_events.c
--- a/src/events/SDL_events.c	Mon Nov 26 14:59:07 2012 -0800
+++ b/src/events/SDL_events.c	Mon Nov 26 16:37:54 2012 -0800
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@
 SDL_ShouldPollJoystick()
 {
 #if !SDL_JOYSTICK_DISABLED
-    if (SDL_numjoysticks &&
+    if (SDL_PrivateJoystickNeedsPolling() &&
         (!SDL_disabled_events[SDL_JOYAXISMOTION >> 8] ||
          SDL_JoystickEventState(SDL_QUERY))) {
         return SDL_TRUE;