For many people poker is only a game of luck and chance,but a new study finds that a lot of skill and decision-making abilities are also required to play.
In this new study researchers looked to determine the factors that influence the emotionality, experience level, and success of online poker players. They found that while there is no doubt that this card game has a lot to do with luck, there are significant levels of skill and decision-making involved. Additionally, the quality of these decisions depends on both knowledge of the game and the ability to control one's emotions.
The study was conducted by Michael Laakasuo, Jussi Palomäki and Mikko Salmela, from the University of Helsinki, Finland. The researchers argued that emotional stability is both a predictive and enabling factor for becoming an experienced and successful poker player. The researchers also noted that poker players who prefer live games to online games are more likely to be extroverts and open to different types of experiences in life.
"Previous studies have shown that online poker players tend to be introverted individuals and that those who perform better at poker are less neurotic," says Editor-in-Chief Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN, Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, California, in a press statement. "This study, however, takes research a step further by comparing online and offline players."
Online games have become very popular these days. Researchers of previous studies have found that poker can lead to addiction as powerful as alcohol and drug addictions. Winning "hands" gives the player a similar "high" as drug addiction. Some symptoms include:
- Unable to differentiate between money used for gambling and used for living.
- Inability to take a day or a weekend away from online poker rooms.
- Borrowing money from friends, relatives or financial institutions to play poker.
- Lying to family about amounts of time spent online and money lost playing poker.
- Loss of job interest and instead thinking about game strategies at the workplace.
- Mood swings characterized by sullenness, short temper, anxiety and/or depression.
The current study titled "Experienced Poker Players are Emotionally Stable" was published online in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
