Daniel's Poker Journal - My Take On Poker And Gambling

[FCP Bob 1,311]

http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-journal.php?subaction=showfull&id=1417239608&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&

 

My Take On Poker And Gambling

 

28 Nov 2014

When I started out my career as a professional poker player it required me to answer a few questions:

 

Am I OK with making a living that requires me to take money from people who are less skilled?

 

Am I OK with the fact that some of those people are making very bad decisions for themselves and possibly their family?

 

Am I OK with taking advantage of the fact that those people don’t know the odds are stacked against them?

 

Am I OK with playing poker in a casino that offers games of chance to people where the house holds an edge big enough to make sure they could never be long term winners?

 

Am I OK with eating dinner, or seeing a show in a casino where some problem gamblers are ruining their lives?

 

Well, the simple fact that I chose poker as a career and have been doing so for 20 years is answer enough. I’m aware of the dangers that exist for people when it comes to gambling. Whether it’s poker where the professionals fleece the novice players, or the casinos offering “fun games” that are unbeatable.

CONTINUED AT LINK ABOVE

[Vegas Knights 54]

Personally, I'm of the belief that if a person with a gambling problem wasn't ruining their lives gambling, they'd be ruining their lives doing something else like excessive drugs and alcohol. Taking gambling away from that person is not going to cure the root cause of their condition...

 

I remember reading about a pro from the 1980's who said getting into poker actually helped him with his depression. Gambling provides millions of people with an enjoyable diversion from their mundane lives. Sure it can be dangerous but swimming is dangerous. When I moved to Oregon I couldn't believe all the people who drown in the rivers up here. But nobody is going around saying let's ban swimming in the rivers and save people from their own dangerous behavior.

 

I think you have to look at the pluses and the minuses of gambling. Yes, there is a small percentage who have a problem but you deal with that with constant education about problem gambling... Smoking can kill you but we don't make it illegal. We inform people of the dangers on the cigarette package and then respect people's freedom and intelligence enough to let them make their own choices about their own lives.

 

Personally I think a lot of the opposition to internet poker has little to do with protecting people and more to do with people and states protecting their own monetary and business interests. But I think it's just a matter of time before internet poker is legalized in the US. It might take 5 years or 10 years or 20 years, but I think it will eventually happen--- most likely state by state.

[aucu 3]

Back in the early 90s when I was playing live full time in the small clubs, you coundn't help but know who the problem gamblers were and it did bother me to see then self destruct.

It was one of the factors why I left the game until the boom.

[Vegas Knights 54]

Back in the early 90s when I was playing live full time in the small clubs, you coundn't help but know who the problem gamblers were and it did bother me to see then self destruct.

It was one of the factors why I left the game until the boom.

I don't understand why the boom should make you come back if it bothered you that there were problem gamblers out there.

[coug2828 8]

someone could probably write a book, perhaps a screen play, on things you don't understand.

[aucu 3]

I don't understand why the boom should make you come back if it bothered you that there were problem gamblers out there.

 

It was online so you don't get to know the other players and work was very slow and needed the money as well as I enjoy the play.

[opie 0]

I had concerns about the morality of poker when I took it up, so I looked to my own particular faith (Catholic) to see what they had to say about it. The official teaching is

 

"Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant."

 

I'm just providing one point of view. Other views are acceptable based on your own personal set of morals.