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Tom MA, Edson TC, Louderback ER, Nelson SE, Amichia KA, LaPlante DA. Second Session at the Virtual Poker Table: A Contemporary Study of Actual Online Poker Activity. J Gambl Stud 2023; 39:1295-1317. [PMID: 35882744 PMCID: PMC9325659 DOI: 10.1007/s10899-022-10147-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Technological advancements and worldwide television exposure led to a poker boom in the early 2000s, and poker (both live and online) has retained some of that popularity today. The present study examined online poker playing trends based on actual electronic betting records data for 2489 subscribers to a major global internet gambling operator from 2015 to 2017. We found that overall financial involvement (median total overall spend: €439.7) and time commitment (median number of sessions: 43) during the two-year study period were relatively moderate. We identified the top 1% by total overall spend as a subgroup of highly involved players with disproportionately higher financial involvement (median total overall spend: €272,581.4) and time commitment (median number of sessions: 1149). Our results were similar to those reported in LaPlante et al.'s (Comput Hum Behav 25(3):711-717, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2008.12.027 ) study of online poker betting records, suggesting that players' levels of involvement are similar to those from ten years ago despite numerous changes to the online poker environment. We also analyzed records of deposits and withdrawals, and we observed similar indicators of moderate gambling behavior within the overall sample (median two-year total amount deposited: €176.4). In contrast to popular beliefs about internet gambling, in our sample, most online poker play was arguably moderate. However, a small percentage of highly involved players play poker at extreme levels and require closer scrutiny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A Tom
- Division on Addiction, Suite 630, Cambridge Health Alliance, Malden, MA, 02148, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Timothy C Edson
- Division on Addiction, Suite 630, Cambridge Health Alliance, Malden, MA, 02148, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Eric R Louderback
- Division on Addiction, Suite 630, Cambridge Health Alliance, Malden, MA, 02148, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sarah E Nelson
- Division on Addiction, Suite 630, Cambridge Health Alliance, Malden, MA, 02148, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Karen A Amichia
- Division on Addiction, Suite 630, Cambridge Health Alliance, Malden, MA, 02148, USA
| | - Debi A LaPlante
- Division on Addiction, Suite 630, Cambridge Health Alliance, Malden, MA, 02148, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Hurel E, Grall-Bronnec M, Thiabaud E, Leboucher J, Leroy M, Perrot B, Challet-Bouju G. Spatial attention to social information in poker: A neuropsychological study using the Posner cueing paradigm. J Behav Addict 2023; 12:219-229. [PMID: 36592330 DOI: 10.1556/2006.2022.00082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS This research aimed to characterize social information processing abilities in a population of regular nondisordered poker players compared to controls. METHODS Participants completed the Posner cueing paradigm task including social cues (faces) to assess attention allocation towards social stimuli, including the effect of the presentation time (subliminal vs supraliminal) and of the emotion displayed. The study included two groups of participants: 30 regular nondisordered poker players (those who played at least three times a week in Texas Hold'em poker games for at least three months) and 30 control participants (those who did not gamble or gambled less than once a month, whatever the game). RESULTS The group of regular nondisordered poker players displayed an enhancement of the inhibition of return during the Posner cueing task. This means that in valid trials, they took longer to respond to the already processed localization in supraliminal conditions compared to controls. However, our results did not evidence any particular engagement or disengagement attention abilities toward specific types of emotion. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that regular nondisordered poker players displayed social information processing abilities, which may be due to the importance to efficiently process social information that can serve as tells in live poker. The observed enhancement of the inhibition of return may permit poker players to not process a localization that has already processed to save attentional resources. Further research regarding the establishment of the IOR in other forms of gambling and with non-social cues needs to be performed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elodie Hurel
- 1CHU Nantes, UIC Psychiatrie et Santé Mentale, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France.,2CHU Nantes, INSERM, MethodS in Patient Centered Outcomes and HEalth ResEarch, SPHERE, Nantes Université, Univ Tours, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Marie Grall-Bronnec
- 1CHU Nantes, UIC Psychiatrie et Santé Mentale, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France.,2CHU Nantes, INSERM, MethodS in Patient Centered Outcomes and HEalth ResEarch, SPHERE, Nantes Université, Univ Tours, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Elsa Thiabaud
- 1CHU Nantes, UIC Psychiatrie et Santé Mentale, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Juliette Leboucher
- 1CHU Nantes, UIC Psychiatrie et Santé Mentale, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Maxime Leroy
- 3Department of Clinical Research and Innovation, CHU Nantes, Biostatistics and Methodology Unit, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Bastien Perrot
- 2CHU Nantes, INSERM, MethodS in Patient Centered Outcomes and HEalth ResEarch, SPHERE, Nantes Université, Univ Tours, F-44000 Nantes, France.,3Department of Clinical Research and Innovation, CHU Nantes, Biostatistics and Methodology Unit, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Gaëlle Challet-Bouju
- 1CHU Nantes, UIC Psychiatrie et Santé Mentale, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France.,2CHU Nantes, INSERM, MethodS in Patient Centered Outcomes and HEalth ResEarch, SPHERE, Nantes Université, Univ Tours, F-44000 Nantes, France
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