why the poker boom is bad for society

[happyjuggler0 0]

Poker. Slots. Craps. The State Lottery. Pool (for money). Backgammon (for money). Golf (for money). Tobacco. Alcohol. Drugs...which is to say recreational drugs...which is to say recreational drugs other than alcohol or tobacco...which is to say illegal drugs unless you are in at least half a dozen European countries. McDonald's. Russian Roulette. Crossing the street. Driving a car faster than 30 mph. Having sex with a stranger. A little knowledge. Having sex with your unfaithful spouse. Extramarital sex. Getting a blood transfusion. Entering a famous tall building, especially in NYC.What do all of the above have in common? They are things that are potentially dangerous. (Yes Virginia, even Russian Roulette is not guaranteed to be harmful :roll: ). This is not grounds for making them illegal, although I think you can make a very good case for two of them being illegal, namely Russian Roulette and State lotteries. (Another name for state lotteries with their 50+% rakes is "the idiot tax").So what exactly should be illegal and what should be allowed? The only way to really answer that is to ask: who should choose what a person is allowed to do? If your action harms another who does not agree to your behavior then the state has a role in trying to ban such behavior. But if the actions involved are between one (or more) consenting adults then the government has no right to interfere.Disagree? Then ban blood transfusions. Ban sex with a spouse who you can't be 100% sure has not had sex with someone else, which is to say sex with your spouse. Ban anyone from having a little knowledge, because as we all know a little knowledge is a dangerous thing....Banning any activity which a minority does not deal well with is a path to banning everything. There are those who would tell you that some self-destructful behaviors for a tiny monority should obviously be banned and others not banned even though they may be harmful to an even larger group of people, but it is not obvious as the rules for such "obviousness" are arbitrary. Although it is obvious to some of us that anything that does not harm another adult should be allowed. Or which another adult in question agrees to the potential harm should obviously be allowed (e.g. sex with a stranger). All. The. Time.

[realdeal515 0]

Individual sports like golf and bowling ARE games of skill.If you do the same things in the same way every time you get the same outcome every time. Manipulate your body and a golf club in the same way and at the same speed every time and the ball will fly the same distance and direction every time. The player directly controls his own outcomes.Skill is the ability to produce such repeating results. Poker is an activity where you can do the same things in the same way every time and get a different outcome every time. Gambling is an activity that involves the attempt to forecast results when the outcome is uncertain.In fact, one of the first precepts of Poker is to ignore your results. Instead, concentrate on making good decisions and after you have played "enough" hands perfectly, the laws of probability are supposed to produce a positive outcome, provided all bets were of equal value.One problem is that not all bets are of equal value. Another problem is that even if y0u make perfect decisions, you still don't control the outcome of any hand. The other player may Call when he should Fold and the random distribution of the deck may reward his mistake rather than your perfect play.The object of golf is to move a specific ball a certain distance and have it arrive at a specified location in the fewest number of strokes.The object of Poker is to take the greatest amount of the other guy's money in the least time.Golf is a skill. Poker is a gamble.

While i agree there is alot of skill in golf. Even if u hit that ball perfect everytime there is things that can cause that ball to alter the path that ITS SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW wind, birds, hell what was that a dam ladybug that landed rite in front of tigers woods ball as it was about to go in the hole in a major championship. Maybe im being to picky but there is uncertainies.

[Dixie Wrecked 0]

Theory versus reality. Your analogy regarding the possibility of a high school team having a .1% chance of beating a NFL team is absurd. THERE IS ZERO CHANCE. Unlike the NBA, high school football players are not physically mature enough to play in the NFL. On the greatest college teams like Miami and Ohio State, in a great year, perhaps 6 to 10 players make the NFL. On the greatest high school teams in history, perhaps 3 to 4 players, in 6 YEARS made the NFL.

Not even the very best college team could stand the remotest chance of beating even the very worst NFL team.One real life example, even though its a different sport, is a exhibition game of baseball here in my city. The local AAA MINOR league baseball team played the local division 1 college team beating them 17 - 4. Although the college team isnt one of the best in the nation it illustrates that a high school team having any chance to beat a professional team is absurd.Regarding kids playing poker, if a kid loses all his money playing poker and learns that there's no such thing as a quick, easy dollar and thus turns to a conventional career then I dont feel that's bad for society.True, some may become degenerative gamblers and become a burden on society but this will be the vast minority of these kids. And, these kids would probably have become a burden whether through poker or drugs or some other method. But, the vast majority will learn from their experiences and value education, hard work, etc.

[TejasPoker 0]

I was gonna say, ya better bulldoze Wall St. 8) suitedinc beat me to it though.Poker has done nothing but positive things to me!I have a fun new hobby as close as my 'puter, making a few $$$'s & it has improved my patience tenfold, in all aspects of my life.As for the problem gamblers? suitedinc nailed it there too!Life isn't safe or fair, get used to it!

Addiction is not a problem of source, it is a charater flaw of the obsessive compulsive. In other words, a person who will become addicted to gambling could very well become addicted to something else if gambling were not the vice. Again, it is the person, not the source...If "gambling" is the problem, should we eliminate the stock market? Should we make it illegal to become self employed? These are gambles that people take every day and yet it is not a problem?? Everyone gambles...in some form. If my real estate appraisal business goes under, i've lost everything...this is a bigger gamble then any pot i've ever played for.That being said, I do believe that poker is more skill than gamble. They are not exclusive of each other though. There are just to many variables in a hand of poker, including how much you put out there. This is an important point. Sports bets are all or nothing, and there is nothing you can personally do to control the outcome or change your odds. That is gambling. This is where the line is different in poker.Just my thoughts...

[Socrates 0]

This thread is back?Okay, about the college vs. pro thing. What about the 1980 US Mens Hockey Team? US College kids vs. professional russian players.