Poker and suicide

[hmkpoker]

They say dentists have the highest suicide rate among professionals. I'm wondering though, where to professional poker players stand?

(for the record, no, I'm not in a downswing, and I'm not thinking of killing myself)

[Bang584]

It would be something interesting to research. If I had to guess, any suicide rates for the job are likely to increase because of the "poker is easy money" belief that has captured the world. Once the easy games are no longer in abundance, then some people are going to feel really badly about quitting their jobs and/or school.

[Brom]

I think that a losing degenerate gambler comitting suicide is not that same as a winning pro committing suicide, regardless of how that pro is running at the time.

People with addiction problems are more likely to commit suicide (IMO, not claiming this as fact). These people will skew the results of any type of survey that attempts to measure suicide rates amongst gamblers/poker players.

[miami32]

You do live in New Jersey though.

[Al Schoonmaker]

I doubt very much that there are any reliable statistics. Not enough people are clearly identified as poker professionals.

Regards,

Al

[WhoIam]

I would guess that players grinding out a living playing 3/6 or 5/10 would rank up there. A combination of long hours, a horrible and dreary existence, and constant threat of ruin would depress anyone. This would refer mostly to live players but, like Al said, there probably aren't any statistics on this.