A Gambler's Personality

by Damian M. Moorman, Dayton2Vegas.com

It was estimated in the late 1980s that nearly four million people may have been actual or "potential" compulsive gamblers (Thomas, 1987). Now over twenty years later, gambling, in particular poker, has never been more famous in the United States and across the world. The number of young adults playing poker online and in casinos is higher than it ever has been. This is causing an increased level of awareness and concern in many parents.

Gambling can be a healthy activity if it is not abused. Gambling is a social activity which can be exciting and entertaining both to people young and old. The problem arises when significant money is involved. Gambling becomes unhealthy when the money a person risks is too high of a proportion of his or her income and net worth. Problem gambling can develop if social gambling is not structured and balanced. This type of gambling is often referred to as compulsive or pathological gambling. There is a difference, however, in pathological gambling and social gambling, but the distinguishing factors are sometimes unclear.

Pathological gambling is categorized as a "disorder of impulse control" (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Although many theories that attempt to explain the psychological make-up of a pathological gambler exist, most of the studies do not offer empirical evidence. The field of research is still fairly new as pathological gambling only became an official disorder in 1980 (Thomas, 1987).

I play cards daily and I very get upset when people call it gambling. The word gambling is hardly ever used in a positive way. It automatically makes people think of irrational decisions and lack of emotional control. Playing poker at casinos over the past three two years I have come in contact with a wide range of people. Many people that I see at the casinos playing poker are more similar to the stereotypical gambler commonly portrayed in movies and books. These players act on "feel" and usually ignore mathematical odds that are essential to making money in the long run. They often combine alcohol or drugs while playing to increase their enjoyment at the table. These are the losers in poker. These people are the ones who have gambling problems.

A gambler has many distinct personality characteristics that if severe enough enable his or her weaknesses to be seen fairly easily by close friends and family. The people I see as compulsive or pathological gamblers are extremely different from me. Most of the people I would put into this category lose money on a consistent basis while playing cards. The only reason they come back is because they have won before in their past and they are searching for that feeling of happiness again. Their addictive mindset enables them to believe that they will win the next time they play. Ideas such as "if I don't play, I can't win" and "just one more pull of the slot and I'll hit it big" are present in the minds of most people who visit casinos often.

There is a big difference in how much gambling is involved between poker and most games offered by casinos. Most people do not fully understand the skill that is involved in poker, which is why they think of it as just another form of gambling. Poker is one of the few games where a player can win while the house (casino) is winning at the same time. The house always takes a rake from the poker tables. This rake is usually around five to then percent of the pot size with a set maximum in case of an unusually large pot. The hard part about winning in the long run at poker is that a player must be winning enough money against the other table members during play to still pull a profit after the house takes the rake.

Poker is also a game where a player can create a large advantage for himself with his skill level. If looked at using economic and business terms, a player can weigh the risks and rewards for his actions and determine which play will be most profitable in the long run. Poker is a game of incomplete information but yet enough is available where a skilled played can consistently get two-to-one on his investment. If a good player is seated at a table with other players that are worse than him, the two-to-one ratio that his money is invested into the pot with is plenty enough to cover the house’s rake of equal or less than .1/1.

The fact that poker is not all skill is what makes the players who are true gamblers come back time and time again. Anyone who has played poker for more than an extremely short time will have most likely won big on at least one night. The winning streaks, or just one night in some cases, are what makes it possible for someone with such a disadvantage skill wise to be playing at the same table as a good player. Imagine a person gambling with the best players in a different game or sport. Could you see anyone playing someone clearly better than them in chess or a game of basketball with money on the line? Not for long. The range of talent in casino poker rooms is far greater than in games where luck is virtually nonexistent. The known possibility that any person can win at poker with any two cards at any time is enough to draw in losing players.

The saddest and most unhealthy part of a gambler's personality is that they often do not have to win to be happy. I often wondered how players who consistently lost could possibly continue coming back to the table with more money. I underestimated the amount of fun a pathological gambler receives just by having a chance to win. Nick "the Greek" Dandalos nailed this phenomenon on the head when he said; “the next best thing to gambling and winning is gambling and losing." He was exactly right! It is not the winning that players with the most severe gambling problems strive for but merely the chance of winning or "action," as it is commonly referred to in poker.

There are other risks that go along with pathological gambling other than financial losses. Problems arise in three most common functions among problem gamblers; financial, interpersonal, and vocational (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Many times the need to gamble can cause stress and hardship in marriage or other close relationships. It is hard for a person who cannot control their impulse to carry on healthy relationships with significant others.

Patients can be helped with their gambling problems most effectively if the therapist treats it similar to other addictions (Thomas, 1987). According to the American Psychiatric Association (1994), individuals diagnosed as pathological gamblers are frequently highly competitive, prone to other addictive disorders, and overly concerned with other people's approval. The best way to treat pathological gambling is through variations of the Alcoholics Anonymous model of treating drug and alcohol addictions (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).

It is clear that people who enjoy gambling are competitive but this alone does not decide whether the person has a mental disorder or not. It is the responsibility of the player and the people closest to them to recognize his or her unhealthy habits. Gambling can become extremely addicting and ruin people's lives in more ways than just financially.

However, gambling can be a positive way to make money and increase social skills if correctly managed. It is very difficult to determine whether or not a person is gambling in an unhealthy way. Future research is needed to produce data and empirical evidence that could help distinguish the positive social aspect of gambling from the negative pathological side (Thomas, 1987).

References
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR Fourth Edition.
Thomas, C. C. (1987). The Handbook of Pathological Gambling.