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Special features of poker

Article in International Gambling Studies · September 2014

DOI: 10.1080/14459795.2014.968184

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Special features of poker

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Servane Barrault , Aurélie Untas & Isabelle Varescon
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 International Gambling Studies, 2014
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2014.968184

Special features of poker

Servane Barrault*, Aurélie Untas and Isabelle Varescon

Laboratory of Psychopathology and Health Processes, Université Paris Descartes, Boulogne-

Billancourt, France
(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
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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; Palomäki, 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

 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, Palomäki, Laakasuo, and Salmela (2014) showed that the occurrence of
negative emotions during playing predicts tilt severity. In a qualitative study, Palomäki,
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
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a form of ‘emotional learning’. Being on tilt leads to a deterioration of the decision-

making 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
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
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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.

Mean age (SD) 29.5 (4.6)

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY (%)
Employed 66.6
Unemployed 16.6
Student 16.6
SOCIO-PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY (%)
Craftsmen 13
Executives 34.7
Employees 17.3
Workmen 4.3
Other* 30.4
FAMILY SITUATION (%)
Single 60.8
Couple 39.1
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GAMBLING PRACTICE
Beginning age (in years) 25.7 (5)
Number of months played 39.6 (16.7)
Sessions/week 5.2 (3.7)
Hours/session 3.5 (1.7)
Maximal amount won** 5576 (9534)
Maximal amount bet** 562 (873)
AVERAGE AMOUNT BET*** (%)
1 to 10 e 34.7
10 to 50 e 30.4
50 to 100 e 21.7
þ100 e 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.
 Downloaded by [servane barrault] at 12:16 07 November 2014

Table 2. Alcestew descending hierarchical classification.

Class 2 (13%)
Class 1 (17%) Sensations and Class 4 (29%) Class 3 Class 5 (12%) Class 6 (16%)
Chance vs. skill emotions Tilt (13%) Discovery of poker Live vs. online poker Risks
Form x2 Form x2 Form x2 Form x2 Form x2 Form x2
luck 0.42 emotional 0.30 tilt 0.28 begin 0.38 live 0.40 risk 0.33
hand 0.36 joy 0.28 year 0.22 year 0.35 nice 0.23 addict 0.29
run 0.32 satisfaction 0.24 beat 0.22 career 0.23 circle 0.23 financial 0.27
superstition 0.31 gain 0.23 mood 0.22 freeroll 0.22 prefer 0.22 practice 0.26
card 0.30 tournament 0.23 take 0.19 discover 0.21 casino 0.22 poker 0.24
long 0.28 frustrate 0.22 irritate 0.19 site 0.20 meet 0.22 today 0.20
part 0.27 feel 0.22 give back 0.18 euro 0.19 side 0.22 leisure 0.20
believe 0.25 sensation 0.20 happen 0.15 cash in 0.19 social 0.21 work 0.18
fetish 0.24 excitement 0.19 lost 0.15 first 0.19 online 0.20 money 0.18
short 0.22 content 0.19 score 0.15 deposit 0.18 relax 0.19 ruin 0.15
strateg þ 0.22 feeling 0.18 decision 0.15 play 0.18 experience 0.18 value 0.14
pair 0.18 adrenaline 0.18 loose 0.15 internet 0.16 advantage 0.17 imagine 0.14
competent 0.18 stress 0.18 break 0.14 France 0.16 love 0.17 loneliness 0.14
position 0.17 victory 0.16 arrive 0.14 TV show 0.16 amuse 0.16 job 0.14
flop 0.15 strong 0.15 bad 0.14 period 0.16 online 0.16 passion 0.14
cycle 0.15 nervous 0.14 session 0.14 television 0.15 Internet 0.16 problem 0.13
charm 0.14 guy 0.13 bad-beat 0.12 lost 0.15 chat 0.16 spend 0.13
Note: The percentage next to the class indicates the level of the analysed speech in this class.
International Gambling Studies
5
 6 S. Barrault et al.

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
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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:
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
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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.
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.
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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

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].’
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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; Palomäki,
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
 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
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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 decision-
making 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. Palomäki 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.
 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
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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 (Palomäki 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
 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
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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.
Aurélie 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.

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