What is it about money that brings out the worst in people?

[Dov]

It seems like poker is emotionally difficult only because it uses money to keep score.

I have noticed that when people play poker for play money or totally insignificant stakes, that they don't get too upset no matter what happens.

As the limits rise, however, this is no longer the case. Even people who are in no way threatened by a loss at a given limit become much more emotionally attached to results of particular hands in a session.

As an example, I was playing in a live 20/40 where one of the players had just hit a big slot machine jackpot (over half a million dollars). He even mentioned that the current game was not going to give him as much of a headache anymore.

It turned out, though, that he still got upset when his big hands got cracked. I asked him why later and he said it was because the pot was so big and he felt he deserved to win it. (I know this is not how winning players see the game. The point is why the money still bothered him so much.)

I know the money didn't matter to him that much anymore, but for that hand, it did.

Why does money retain its hold on our emotions even after we have enough of it?