This article was downloaded by: [servane barrault] On: 07 November 2014, At: 12:16 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
International Gambling Studies Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rigs20
Special features of poker a
a
Servane Barrault , Aurélie Untas & Isabelle Varescon
a
a
Laboratory of Psychopathology and Health Processes, Université Paris Descartes, Boulogne-Billancourt, France Published online: 05 Nov 2014.
To cite this article: Servane Barrault, Aurélie Untas & Isabelle Varescon (2014): Special features of poker, International Gambling Studies, DOI: 10.1080/14459795.2014.968184 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2014.968184
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/termsand-conditions
International Gambling Studies, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2014.968184
Special features of poker Servane Barrault*, Aure´lie Untas and Isabelle Varescon Laboratory of Psychopathology and Health Processes, Universite´ Paris Descartes, BoulogneBillancourt, France
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
(Received 8 April 2014; accepted 18 September 2014) Poker is now one of the most popular types of online gambling, mostly because of its particular structural characteristics. This study aims to investigate the representations of regular poker players of the game’s special features, along with their probable links with tilt (i.e. loss of control during the game) and problem gambling. Twenty-three regular poker players recruited online took part in a research interview. All interviews were recorded and fully transcribed. A quantitative lexical analysis was performed using the software Alcestew. Six classes were identified, encompassing 73% of the whole corpus. The main themes were chance vs. skill, sensations and emotions linked to poker, discovery of poker, tilt, differences between live and online gambling, and risks of excessive poker involvement. The experience of tilt appears to be an important feature of poker. Poker players also tended to report more emotional and social aspects of problem gambling than financial consequences. The results underline the structural specificities of poker through the player’s representations. The role of emotions and sensations in poker, as they are both sought by the players and involved in the loss of control, may have an influence on the development and maintenance of problem gambling. Keywords: poker; problem gambling; tilt; qualitative analysis; representations
Introduction Among types of online gambling, poker is now one of the most popular games. The involvement of celebrities in poker playing, the broadcast of poker TV shows and the possibility of playing for free or for very small amounts of money may influence people’s interest in poker (Wood, Griffiths, & Parke, 2007). Structural characteristics are all the elements leading to the reinforcement of gambling involvement and to the gambler’s satisfaction, potentially contributing to the onset of excessive gambling. In online poker, several characteristics may facilitate the pursuit of gambling: ease of access, financial affordability (including the possibility of playing for free), anonymity, comfort, interactivity, disinhibition and event frequency. Furthermore, the component of skill involved in long-term success may also explain poker’s popularity (Will Shead, Hodgins, & Scharf, 2008). Although the influence of skill on poker outcomes has been debated, studies using experimental poker tasks showed that experienced poker players perform better than inexperienced ones (Liley & Rakow, 2010; Paloma¨ki, Laakasuo, & Salmela, 2013a). However, another study suggests that, even though experience has an influence on the outcome, especially by enabling experienced players to minimize their losses when the card dealing is not favourable, the card dealing is a decisive factor in the player’s success (Meyer, Von Meduna, Brosowski, & Hayer, 2013).
*Corresponding author. Email:
[email protected] q 2014 Taylor & Francis
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
2
S. Barrault et al.
Among regular online poker players, the prevalence of problem gambling is estimated, depending on the study, at between 9% (Hopley & Nicki, 2010) and 18% (Barrault & Varescon, 2013a; Wood et al., 2007). Quantitative research has revealed several factors involved in pathological gambling poker playing, especially cognitive distortions (Barrault & Varescon, 2013a; Linnet et al., 2012), impulsivity (Barrault & Varescon, 2013b; Hopley & Nicki, 2010) and negative mood states (i.e. anxiety and depression) (Barrault & Varescon, 2013a; Hopley & Nicki, 2010; Wood et al., 2007). These variables may also have an influence on the propensity of poker players to go on tilt, a concept defined by Browne (1989) as the process of losing control during poker playing. In fact, Paloma¨ki, Laakasuo, and Salmela (2014) showed that the occurrence of negative emotions during playing predicts tilt severity. In a qualitative study, Paloma¨ki, Laakasuo, and Salmela (2013b) showed that experienced poker players, as compared to inexperienced ones, displayed better emotion regulation abilities in ‘bad luck’ or losing situations, raising the hypothesis that, at least for some players, playing poker may involve a form of ‘emotional learning’. Being on tilt leads to a deterioration of the decisionmaking process and therefore of the player’s game. According to Browne (1989), tilt and problem gambling are closely linked. However, as tilt involves a change in the player’s emotional state during the game, it is difficult to assess it through quantitative methodologies. Qualitative studies may thus help to understand better the special features of poker practice. To date, only a few studies have used qualitative methods to study poker playing. Wood and Griffiths (2008), using a methodology based on group interview sessions, showed that regular non-professional poker players play for the overall experience (easy to learn online, low stake size, convenience, reducing boredom, and getting excitement and social interactions) whereas professional poker players are more motivated by financial winning. McCormack and Griffiths (2012) showed that professional players were more involved in poker playing (longer gambling sessions and ‘multi-tabling’) and were more disciplined in their gambling behaviour (especially by being more likely to be logical, taking fewer risks and being less likely to chase losses and show signs of lack of control) than non-professional players. These studies provide interesting information about poker playing. However, they did not explore problem gambling, and its representations, among poker players. To our knowledge, only one qualitative study has been conducted on this subject, showing that the structural characteristics of poker influence the way problem gambling arises. Financial problems may not be central among some problem gambling poker players, some of them even being winning players (Bjerg, 2010). These players may experience more affective, psychological and social aspects of problem gambling. Bjerg (2010) also claimed that cognitive distortions are qualitatively different among poker players compared to game of chance gamblers. For example, although a misperception of chance may occur, the more prevalent cognitive distortion among poker players is an overestimation of their own level of skill. Finally, the author found that the loss of control, a typical element of problem gambling in general, may occur differently in poker. In fact, in games of chance, the gambler can only control the quantitative aspect of gambling (whether to gamble or not and for what amount), a form of control that Bjerg (2010) named ‘extra-game control’. The structural characteristics of poker allow the players to exercise a certain control over the game outcomes, through the decisions they make during the game (‘intra-game control’). In poker, loss of control can thus occur at either or both of these two levels. The literature shows that poker is a particular type of gambling. The entanglement of luck and skill influences the game’s outcomes and seems to make it more difficult for
International Gambling Studies
3
players to understand chance. Furthermore, the loss of control in poker, which can be linked to the notion of tilt previously addressed, seems to have special features. The main aim of this study, based on research interviews, is to investigate poker player representations about the special features of poker, especially the perceived role of skill and chance, tilt and problem gambling in poker. Method
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
Sample and procedure All the participants are regular poker players (i.e. playing at least once a week) and took part in a previously published study (Barrault & Varescon, 2013a). They were recruited in an ecological field (in a specialized Internet forum, with the prior agreement of the webmaster). After filling in the online questionnaires, they were asked if they were willing to take part in a research interview. Thirty agreed, but only 23 of them finally participated in the interview. No payment was made for participating. The interviews were carried out by a graduate psychologist (SB), either face to face (mostly in the university) or by phone. All data were anonymously recorded with the participant’s agreement. These interviews were semi-directive; that is, the participants were asked open questions and invited to answer as freely as they wanted. Basing on the existing literature on poker, we selected the following themes: discovery of poker, gambling history and practice, perceived luck and skill in the game, differences between online and live gambling, emotions and sensations during playing, influence of poker on the player’s mood, beliefs about gambling, and problem gambling representations. The mean length was 27 minutes (range of 14 to 110 minutes). Participant characteristics All participants were men. The mean age was 29.5 years (ages ranged from 21 to 42 years; SD ¼ 4.6). Most participants were employed, with ‘executive’ being the most represented socio-professional category. On average, players reported playing 5.2 times a week for a mean duration of 3.5 hours per session. In our sample, 13 players reported playing cash games and 10 reported playing tournaments. The average maximum amount won (i.e. best profit after a cash game or maximal winning in a tournament) was 5576 e, with a standard deviation of 9534. Along with the average amount bet (i.e. cash game stake or tournament buy-in, bet at one time) (M ¼ 562, SD ¼ 873), these results suggest a heterogeneity in our sample about betting (and therefore winning) patterns. In fact, less than half of the sample (34%) bet on average less than 10 e, 30% bet between 10 and 50 e and 34% bet more than 50 e (Table 1). Data analysis All interviews were fully transcribed. The whole corpus was 145 pages (73,025 words) long. They were then analysed using Alcestew software (Reinert, 1986). This performs a quantitative lexical analysis – that is, based on punctuation and significant word distribution; it identifies units of context (UCs) and studies the word or lemma (i.e. words containing the same lexical roots, indicated by the symbol ‘ þ ’) distribution among them. Thus, it carries out a descending hierarchical classification, ranking the UCs in lexical classes according to the distribution of words and lemmas. Each UC is associated with a class; the size of this association is given using chi-squared. Then, Alcestew
4
S. Barrault et al.
Table 1. Socio-demographic data and poker experience of participants.
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
Mean age (SD) PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY (%) Employed Unemployed Student SOCIO-PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY (%) Craftsmen Executives Employees Workmen Other* FAMILY SITUATION (%) Single Couple GAMBLING PRACTICE Beginning age (in years) Number of months played Sessions/week Hours/session Maximal amount won** Maximal amount bet** AVERAGE AMOUNT BET*** (%) 1 to 10 e 10 to 50 e 50 to 100 e þ100 e
29.5 (4.6) 66.6 16.6 16.6 13 34.7 17.3 4.3 30.4 60.8 39.1 25.7 (5) 39.6 (16.7) 5.2 (3.7) 3.5 (1.7) 5576 (9534) 562 (873) 34.7 30.4 21.7 13
*Mostly students, unemployed and self-employed. **Maximal amount won and betted in one time (in euros). ***Average cash-game stake or tournament buy-in.
provides a forward hierarchical classification, which shows how words are linked. Chi-squared values are used to give the size of the association. For example, the larger the x 2 value, the more significant a word is for the statistical structure of the class. Chi-squared values also provide a hierarchy of significance for the interpretation of class structures. Based on these Alcestew outputs, the researcher can then perform a thematic analysis by identifying the theme in each class. As the Alcestew analysis of themes is purely quantitative, we also conducted a qualitative analysis of the players’ speech, based on the Alcestew analysis of classes. For each class, we conducted a thematic content analysis. Extracts from the interviews presented in this article have been translated from French into English.
Results The Alcestew analysis identified six classes encompassing 73% of the whole corpus. The remaining 27% could not be attached to one of the six classes. This might be because the questions asked were open and the participants were invited to answer as freely as they wanted. As no significant differences were found between the gambler’s speeches according to their average stake size, the qualitative analysis is focused on poker players as a group.
0.42 0.36 0.32 0.31 0.30 0.28 0.27 0.25 0.24 0.22 0.22 0.18 0.18 0.17 0.15 0.15 0.14
luck hand run superstition card long part believe fetish short strateg þ pair competent position flop cycle charm
emotional joy satisfaction gain tournament frustrate feel sensation excitement content feeling adrenaline stress victory strong nervous guy
Form 0.30 0.28 0.24 0.23 0.23 0.22 0.22 0.20 0.19 0.19 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.13
x2 tilt year beat mood take irritate give back happen lost score decision loose break arrive bad session bad-beat
Form 0.28 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.19 0.19 0.18 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.12
x2
Class 4 (29%) Tilt
begin year career freeroll discover site euro cash in first deposit play internet France TV show period television lost
Form 0.38 0.35 0.23 0.22 0.21 0.20 0.19 0.19 0.19 0.18 0.18 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.15 0.15
x2
Class 3 (13%) Discovery of poker
Note: The percentage next to the class indicates the level of the analysed speech in this class.
x2
Form
Class 2 (13%) Sensations and emotions
Alcestew descending hierarchical classification.
Class 1 (17%) Chance vs. skill
Table 2.
live nice circle prefer casino meet side social online relax experience advantage love amuse online Internet chat
Form
0.40 0.23 0.23 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.21 0.20 0.19 0.18 0.17 0.17 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.16
x2
Class 5 (12%) Live vs. online poker
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
risk addict financial practice poker today leisure work money ruin value imagine loneliness job passion problem spend
Form
0.33 0.29 0.27 0.26 0.24 0.20 0.20 0.18 0.18 0.15 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.13 0.13
x2
Class 6 (16%) Risks
International Gambling Studies 5
6
S. Barrault et al.
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
Nature of the six classes Class 1: chance vs. skill axis The ascending hierarchical classification distinguished three subcategories. The first subcategory grouped the terms ‘chance, player, card, come, (the term “come” refers here to the dealing of cards during the game), change, and opponent’. It referred to the notion of chance. Poker players acknowledged that chance has an important impact on poker outcomes. Here is an illustrative quotation: ‘It is still a semi-chance game, because we don’t control the different cards that are going to be dealt to the players, which cards are going to fall on the flop, on the turn, on the river.’ The second subcategory grouped the terms ‘pair, times, hand, lucky, believer, and superstition’. It referred to superstitions and irrational beliefs. Players explained that there are irrational beliefs in poker but most of them stated that they did not adhere to these superstitions. However, in the qualitative analysis, we noted that there seemed to be a kind of irrationality in the speech of some players: ‘Finally, for me, strategy is also adapting to cycles of luck, I do believe strongly in cycles of luck.’ Cycles of luck are a common superstition in poker, with players claiming that there are times when they are particularly lucky. Another common irrational belief specific to poker is having a lucky hand (i.e. one that, theoretically, is not likely to win but that the player will almost always play, because he believes it is especially lucky for him): ‘In fact, there is always a story behind those lucky hands. The first time I played online, my first hand was a King and a 4 . . . and I won the pot, so it stayed my lucky hand.’ Furthermore, qualitative analysis showed that, particularly in winning situations, some players tended to overestimate their own skill at poker: ‘It’s happened to me a little, that feeling of euphoria; you think you are better than you really are, forgetting that there is variance and that there can be losses.’ The third subcategory grouped the terms ‘share, strategy, short (term), luck, competent, and long (term)’. It dealt with the distribution of chance and skill during the game. Poker players reported that both skill and chance are involved in poker outcomes but that skill has an impact on long-term outcomes whereas chance tends to have a more short-term influence: Luck has a grip on the short term and the more you advance in time the less it has a grip . . . we would say that the share of luck is negligible when you look over the long term.
Class 2: sensations and emotions The ascending hierarchical classification distinguished two subcategories. The first subcategory grouped the terms ‘emotional, level (as in “skill level”), sensation, strong, real, life, feeling, excitement, feel, satisfaction, and frustrate’. It referred to the emotions and feelings generally felt during playing. Participants described intense sensations and emotions during the game. These feelings are either positive (satisfaction, joy, euphoria) or negative (frustration, sometimes nervousness, especially if the game’s outcome goes against the odds) according to the game outcome: ‘Sometimes, there is frustration, arousal and joy . . . It is that emotional elevator which is interesting in poker.’ The second subcategory grouped the terms ‘win, really, tournament, cash-game, adrenaline, gain, content, end’. It referred to emotions and sensations felt during the game in winning situations. As a group, poker players reported strong positive sensations and emotions after a big win;
International Gambling Studies
7
It is true that when you have a big win, it is at the end of a tournament, so there is so much adrenaline coming out suddenly, you gloat and it is hard in these cases to go to sleep after that.
Class 3: discovery of and initiation to poker Three main pathways to poker were described: initiation by friends in private games, discovery through advertising on the Internet or seeing poker programmes on television:
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
My first game was with friends, we just watched the movie Rounders and we wanted to try it . . . Then I got really interested, I watched TV shows and websites to learn how to play. Poker was really fashionable then, so I often played private games, with friends, we bet small amounts but it climbed quite quickly . . . Then I began to play on the Internet.
Class 4: tilt The ascending hierarchical classification revealed two subcategories. All poker players reported having already experienced going on tilt at least once. The most frequently described tilt-inducing situations were accumulation of bad luck and situations when the results go against the odds. The first subcategory gathered the emotional aspects of tilt; that is, ‘irritate, happen, tilt, take, decision, mood, bad, beat, and lost’. The aspects most frequently reported were anxious or depressive affects, loss of control or nervousness: Tilt is when something happens in the game that alters your decision-making, often in a really bad way. It is often the loss of a big pot, a bad reading or a light but protracted bad run which makes you go on tilt.
The second subcategory contained the behavioral aspects of tilt. It included the terms ‘break, realize, session, happen, and lose’. Players reported physical manifestations of tilt, as ways of unloading their anger or frustration; for instance, screaming: For me, it results in nervousness, either by screaming or, like more recently, breaking a chair by hitting it on the ground. In our sample, less than half of the players (n ¼ 9) reported using strategies to avoid tilt, the most common being to stop playing, or at least take a break, when tilt occurs: Often, at a time when I feel that I’m not playing right, I fold for several hands and I stop playing; I try to regain my mind, to look at what is happening and step back from the situation. On the other hand, psychological manifestations were reported by 10 gamblers: I played a lot on tilt and frankly, if I saw myself on video playing on tilt, I would not recognize myself . . . . It is a mix of ego, negative emotions due to bad luck, due to the fact that we don’t like the opponent’s way of playing.
In our sample, behavioral manifestations of tilt seemed to happen less often than psychological manifestations, as they were reported by only four players. Class 5: differences between live and online gambling The ascending hierarchical classification distinguished two subcategories; in each one, the advantages of both types of gambling were described. The first subcategory dealt with live gambling. The associated words were ‘social, bring, find, nice, meet, people, interesting, permit, love, side, psycholog þ , internet, different, casino, (gambling) circle, and tournament’. Live gambling was associated with more social benefits. Moreover, players reported enjoying the atmosphere, the contact
8
S. Barrault et al.
with real poker material and the opportunity to play against a ‘real’ opponent (observing physical tells and the opponent’s attitude is indeed part of poker skill): I prefer live poker, obviously because you have the people in front of you, so there is the observation aspect, and the psychological one is more important and you also have the contact of the material which is also something important.
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
The second subcategory was about online gambling. It grouped the terms ‘online, fun, table, experience, online, live, prefer, and game’. Poker players underlined the speed of online play (in fact, the average number of hands played per hour is generally estimated at between 20 and 30 in live poker, compared to 80 to 100 in online poker). They also reported enjoying the possibility of playing several tables simultaneously, the ease of access and the availability: The enjoyable thing online is the ease of access, we don’t need to move from home. And there is also the rhythm which is . . . for me, more enjoyable because we can play on several tables at one time and be permanently busy.
Online poker was frequently preferred for initiation, but 21 out of the 23 participants reported that they played both online and live games, each having their own features. Most participants stated that they preferred live poker but that they played more online, because of the ease of accessibility and convenience.
Class 6: risks of excessive poker involvement The ascending hierarchical classification distinguished two subcategories. The first subcategory was about the financial risks, containing the words ‘money, limit, case, financial, and risk’. The most common financial risk mentioned was the loss of large amounts of money, but more specific elements were also described, such as chasing losses or the loss of the value of money: We end up losing the value of money, we end up spending money without thinking . . . because it is just a buy-in, it is just a good session. Overall, the possibility of financial issues was raised by the majority of participants (17/23) but only four of them reported experiencing them themselves: ‘Personally, the consequences were big losses and the opinion of my close family. I could have gone as far as divorce.’ The second subcategory gathered more emotional and social aspects of addiction, including the words ‘imagine, desire, addict, regular, pleasure, problem, talk, poker, work, see, reason, today, practice, and leisure’. The most common possible psychological and social risks reported were desocialization, mood disorders, dependence, time spent playing and centration (particularly thinking about poker very often): ‘The risk I have is more psychological, the fact that poker keeps your mind busy. It keeps your mind busy because you have difficulty focusing on the rest. Sometimes, I dream of poker.’ Most poker players reported playing-related mood disturbances (negative affects): ‘What bothers me the most is the fact that our moods become related to our performances.’ In our sample, nine players experienced desocialization, nine experienced gambling-related mood disorders and five reported playing for more time than intended. Four of them also reported relationship issues linked to their gambling problem. Interestingly, although some players (n ¼ 6) mentioned the possibility of dependence, none of them reported experiencing dependence themselves. Although emotional and social consequences were reported more frequently than financial consequences, the difference was not statistically significant (x ¼ 3.33; df ¼ 2; p ¼ 0.18).
International Gambling Studies
9
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
Links between classes The descending hierarchical classification showed association between classes (Table 2). This analysis distinguished two main groups of classes. On one hand, ‘differences between live and online gambling’ (Class 5) was associated with ‘risks of regular poker practice’ (Class 6). Together, they were associated with ‘discovery of and initiation to poker’ (Class 3). On the other hand, ‘sensations and emotions’ (Class 2) appeared to be associated with ‘tilt’ (Class 4). They were also both linked to the ‘chance vs. skill axis’ (Class 1). We can assume that sensations and emotions are related to the entanglement of luck and skill in poker and may lead the gambler to lose control (tilting): ‘You see, that is kind of the paradox of poker, we play to have emotions and it is these emotions that often prevent us from playing [correctly].’ Discussion This study shows that regular poker players have specific representations of poker, particularly regarding the entanglement of chance and skill in poker, and sensations and emotions during gambling. Both of these features appeared to be involved in the development of tilt, a process underlined in previous studies (Browne, 1989; Paloma¨ki, Laakasuo, & Salmela, 2013b) as specific to poker. The present results also suggest some special features of problem gambling in poker. Poker players tended to report more negative psychological and social aspects than financial negative consequences. Although the difference was not significant, perhaps due to the small size of the sample, these results are consistent with a previous study (Bjerg, 2010). The strength of our study is that it is based on a qualitative approach within a sample of regular poker players to investigate the special features of poker whereas most other studies either used quantitative methodology or qualitatively compared professional and non-professional poker players. The results obtained, consistent with Wood et al. (2007), show that players first started playing poker because their friends were playing or because they watched poker on television. The majority of poker players reported that they had learned to play poker on the Internet by playing with play money or taking part in ‘freeroll’ tournaments, so as to discover poker and learn how to play without financial risks. Overall, live poker was preferred for its social aspect, the environment, sensorial stimulations and for the psychological aspect of the game (in particular reading the opponent’s tells and bluffing). On the other hand, online gambling was seen by players as more technical and instructive. They emphasized the speed of play, the possibility of playing on several tables at the same time and playing for very small amounts. For some players, online gambling was viewed as a way of developing poker skills more quickly. Pathways to poker playing (Class 3) were mentioned relatively homogeneously in our sample. In fact, the issue of skill and its entanglement with chance in poker outcomes was predominant in poker (Class 1). Previous studies tried to determine experimentally if there was a role of skill in poker outcomes with most of them showing that skill does play a part but that chance is also a determinant factor (Liley & Rakow, 2010; Linnet et al., 2012; Meyer et al., 2013). In this study, using qualitative data, we focused on player representations of chance and skill in poker. As a group, poker players seemed to have a particular perception of the share of chance and skill, influenced by both their knowledge of the game (objective knowledge, such as probabilities) and their experience (subjective information). Many of the poker players we interviewed mentioned the use of odds and
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
10
S. Barrault et al.
probabilities in their decision-making process, describing poker as a game using mathematical and statistical as well as psychological skills (for instance, the ability to read the opponent’s tells or to hide and control one’s emotions). However, although poker players emphasized their rationality (through using statistics, for instance), it seems that, at least among some of them, there was also a share of irrationality in their decision-making process. The structural characteristics of poker make irrational beliefs more complex to identify, as they might be different from those presented by games of chance gamblers (Bjerg, 2010; Linnet et al., 2012). Our results also indicate that poker players displayed a rather rational perception of the share of chance and skill in poker but that cognitive distortions, in particular about chance and skill, may also occur and influence their gambling practice. As Bjerg (2010) noted, these distortions may be rather oriented toward the player’s estimation of his own skill. Along with Bjerg’s (2010) findings, our results suggest that such distortions may sometimes result from a big win. In fact, some players in our sample described a process of overestimation of their own skill after a big win, the result being attributed directly to the player’s skill and denying the share of luck. Analysis of our data led us to the hypothesis that the player’s cognitive interpretation of the involvement of skill in the game may be one factor that causes the strong arousal described by poker players. Tension and arousal were mentioned by the majority of poker players and were not associated with positive or negative outcomes, suggesting that they may be generated by the poker situation itself. This state of tension and arousal, described as enjoyable by some of our participants, may even be one of the reasons for taking part in a poker game. In fact, a quantitative study showed that online poker players, regardless of their intensity of gambling, are high sensation seekers, gambling to experience strong feelings and arousal (Barrault & Varescon, 2013b). In addition, the descending hierarchical classification showed that there was an association between ‘sensations and emotions’, ‘tilt’ and the ‘chance vs. skill axis’, suggesting that these themes may be related. In fact, the strong sensations and emotions described by the players during the game may be partially linked to their perception of entanglement between chance and skill in this game. Satisfaction, joy and excitement but also tension may occur when the player has the impression he is benefiting from a favourable card dealing (i.e. chance) or, on the contrary, he is controlling the game outcome (i.e. skill). A quotation exemplifies this hypothesis: Poker provides strong sensations. There is a real arousal when you play. It is a feeling of tension, but pleasant, when you wait to see if you are going to get your card, or if the opponent is going to call or not, when you are bluffing
Further research is needed to confirm this hypothesis. Poker certainly provides strong sensations and emotions. However, these may sometimes be overwhelming, especially when the card dealing is repeatedly unfavourable to the player, leading to the phenomenon of tilt which impairs the player’s decisionmaking process. Tilt is well known among poker players. In fact, Class 4, which gathers data about tilt, contained the most analysed speech (29%). Its analysis revealed that tilt could be displayed in two ways, behavioural or emotional. Behavioural manifestations appeared to be relatively rare in our sample while psychological manifestations, such as negative emotions and loss of control, were more frequently reported. Overall, the main reasons for going on tilt were the accumulation of bad luck, experiencing ‘bad beats’ (i.e. statistically improbable events), the opponent’s attitude or way of playing. Paloma¨ki et al. (2013b) showed that financial losses lead the player to experience moral indignation (e.g. a feeling of injustice, particularly when experiencing ‘bad beats’) then chasing so as to regain a positive emotional state by ‘restoring a fair balance’ between gains and losses.
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
International Gambling Studies
11
If unsuccessful, the player may experience depression, anxiety and/or sleeping problems. These results are consistent with the findings of Browne (1989), who proposed breaking tilt down into three phases: first, experiencing a tilt-inducing situation, then an internal emotional struggle to regain control, followed by a deterioration of the player’s game if he fails to regain control. For Browne (1989), all poker players experience tilt but problem gamblers have less ability to regain control after a tilt-inducing situation, and thus the frequency and length of tilt are what distinguish them from non-problem gamblers. In fact, some gamblers in our sample tended to use skill to avoid tilt, such as taking a break or stopping playing. Similar strategies were reported by online non-problem female gamblers but not by online problem female gamblers (Corney & Davis, 2010). Problem gambling and its manifestations (Class 6) appeared to be well known by poker players. Analysis of their speech distinguished two subcategories of poker-related risks: financial risks, and psychological and social risks. Most players acknowledged the possibility of substantial financial losses but only a few of the gamblers in our sample had experienced financial consequences themselves. One can hypothesize that problem gamblers may underestimate their losses. However, this suggests, as previously advanced by Bjerg (2010), that problem gambling in poker may be expressed in aspects other than financial ones. In fact, in our sample, poker players tended to experience more emotional and social aspects of problem gambling. Desocialization, mood disorders (anxious or depressive affects) and time spent playing were the most common consequences reported. Interestingly, no players reported dependence. Along with the fact that gambling-related problems were frequently considered commonplace, we can hypothesize that there is a sort of denial or trivialization regarding dependence. However, more research, including an evaluation of pathological gambling, is needed to investigate these aspects. Our results support Bjerg’s (2010) idea that, among poker players, there is a great variability in the composition of problem gambling. Data from a quantitative study (Griffiths, Parke, Wood, & Rigbye, 2010) also tend to strengthen this hypothesis, underlining the complex links between time spent playing, financial winning and problem gambling. This study has several limitations that should be taken into account for generalization of the results. First, the number of participants (n ¼ 23) may be a limitation. As participants were self-selected, they may not be totally representative of the poker player population. We included only men, as they are over-represented among poker players. Finally, our sample is composed of poker players with various levels of experience. Although all of them had significant experience in poker playing (at least one year of regular practice), this variation in experience may constitute a bias. For example, high stakes players may not have the same representations as low stakes players. However, the players’ speeches about poker’s special features were relatively homogeneous, regardless of their level of experience. To control for this type of bias, the use of a scale such as the Poker Experience Scale (Paloma¨ki et al., 2013b) may be relevant. Despite these limitations, the present study offers interesting results and research perspectives, underlining the relevance of qualitative studies to understand the special features of poker. Tilt appeared as a specific component of poker playing. Our hypothesis is that the structural characteristics of poker, particularly the involvement of both chance and skill and, to a lesser extent, playing against a real opponent, instead of the House, as in most gambling, may favour the occurrence of tilt. A better understanding of tilt might be useful, as it seemed closely related to problem gambling (Browne, 1989). Tilt may thus have a decisive influence on the loss of control, which is a central element in problem gambling. Among poker players, our results suggest that this loss of control may not only affect financial aspects and that in poker, some of the problem gamblers encounter
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
12
S. Barrault et al.
emotional and social negative consequences rather than financial ones. As Bjerg (2010) stated, a more relevant determinant criterion would be the way gambling fits into the player’s life. The negative consequences of gambling should then be considered in various aspects, such as psychological, affective, social and professional. Our results have implications for both clinical and research fields. For preventive actions, information about problem gambling, with an emphasis on its psychological and social aspects, could be provided to at-risk populations (e.g. young people, occasional and regular live and online poker players). Our results suggest that these aspects were often trivialized, which may lead the player to underestimate the intensity of his or her gambling involvement. For problem gambler treatment, the type of problem gambler (i.e. the type[s] of negative consequences experienced by the player) should be taken into account. Moreover, the influence of tilt on both loss of control and problem gambling suggests that emotions play a central role in problem gambling. Some types of therapy, such as cognitive therapy, may be useful by helping the gambler to develop effective coping strategies. Finally, our results open up interesting research perspectives. More qualitative research, including comparisons between inexperienced and experienced players or problem and non-problem gamblers, may help extend the knowledge about the special features of poker. The player’s representations of skill and chance in the game, for instance, appeared to be complex and specific to poker. Future research, maybe combining quantitative and qualitative evaluations, should investigate these features and their influence on tilt and problem gambling more closely. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Carol Robins for editorial assistance in English. The authors are also indebted to the poker players who agreed to participate in this study. The authors had no conflicts of interest to report.
Funding This research was supported by grants from the Franc aise des Jeux (FDJ). The funding organization had no role in the design or conduct of the study; data collection, analysis, and interpretation; preparation, review and approval of the manuscript.
Notes on contributors Servane Barrault is a graduated Phd in Psychology from the Laboratory of Psychopathology and Health Processes at the University Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris City. Her primary research interests include pathological gambling, especially among poker players. Aure´lie Untas is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris City. Her research interests are focused on how adults face health problems, especially the role of emotions, coping strategies and family factors. Isabelle Varescon is Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Psychopathology and Health Processes at the University Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris City. Her research interests are focused on drug or behavioural addictions in young adults and adults. She has written more than 50 articles and several books and book chapters in the field of addiction.
References Barrault, S., & Varescon, I. (2013a). Cognitive distortions, anxiety, and depression among regular and pathological gambling online poker players. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 16, 183– 188.
Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014
International Gambling Studies
13
Barrault, S., & Varescon, I. (2013b). Impulsive sensation seeking and gambling practice among a sample of online poker players: Comparison between non pathological, problem and pathological gamblers. Personality and Individual Differences, 55, 502– 507. Bjerg, O. (2010). Problem gambling in poker: Money, rationality and control in a skill-based social game. International Gambling Studies, 10, 239– 254. Browne, B. R. (1989). Going on tilt: Frequent poker players and control. Journal of Gambling Behavior, 5, 3 – 21. Corney, R., & Davis, J. (2010). The attractions and risks of Internet gambling for women: A qualitative study. Journal of Gambling Issues, 24, 121– 139. Griffiths, M., Parke, J., Wood, R., & Rigbye, J. (2010). Online poker gambling in university students: Further findings from an online survey. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 8, 82 – 89. Hopley, A. A. B., & Nicki, R. M. (2010). Predictive factors of excessive online poker playing. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 13, 379– 385. Liley, J., & Rakow, T. (2010). Probability estimation in poker: A qualified success for unaided judgment. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 23, 496– 526. Linnet, J., Frøslev, M., Ramsgaard, S., Gebauer, L., Mouridsen, K., & Wohlert, V. (2012). Impaired probability estimation and decision-making in pathological gambling poker players. Journal of Gambling Studies, 28, 113– 122. McCormack, A., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). What differentiates professional poker players from recreational poker players? A qualitative interview study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 10, 243– 257. Meyer, G., Von Meduna, M., Brosowski, T., & Hayer, T. (2013). Is poker a game of skill or chance? A quasi-experimental study. Journal of Gambling Studies, 29, 535– 550. Paloma¨ki, J., Laakasuo, M., & Salmela, M. (2013a). ‘Don’t worry it’s just poker!’ Experience, selfrumination and self-reflection as determinants of decision-making in online poker. Journal of Gambling Studies, 29, 491– 505. Paloma¨ki, J., Laakasuo, M., & Salmela, M. (2013b). ‘This is just so unfair!’ A qualitative analysis of loss-induced emotions and tilting in online poker. International Gambling Studies, 13, 255–270. Paloma¨ki, J., Laakasuo, M., & Salmela, M. (2014). Losing more by losing it: Poker experience, sensitivity to losses and tilting severity. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30, 187– 200. Reinert, M. (1986). Un logiciel d’analyse lexicale: Alceste. Cahiers d’Analyses de Donne´es, 11, 471– 481. Will Shead, N., Hodgins, D. C., & Scharf, D. (2008). Differences between poker players and nonpoker-playing gamblers. International Gambling Studies, 8, 167– 178. Wood, R. T., & Griffiths, M. D. (2008). Why Swedish people play online poker and factors that can increase or decrease trust in poker web sites: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Gambling Issues, 21, 80– 97. Wood, R. T., Griffiths, M. D., & Parke, J. (2007). Acquisition, development, and maintenance of online poker playing in a student sample. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10, 354– 361.
