USA Today article on degenerate gamblers

[DrewOnTilt]

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You can't have it both ways. You can't shame the fish who overextend their finances and become gambling addicts, and then at the same time court these same types of people for your means of livelihood.

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But they're NOT the same people, that's the point. Stop lumping every losing gambler together in the same group. Losing players play for many different reasons.

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I agree 100%. The majority of losing players play for the thrill,the camraderie, and the experience. Most don't mind losing a few dollars here and there while playing a game.

[SatoriKid]

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So long as I win, I don't care if the losers jump off a bridge. I'm not their mother.

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You are a true degenerate. Compassion for other human beings is far more admirable than being a winning poker player.

[Black winter day]

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Buying books, or otherwise educating themselves, on becoming a more skillful bettor?

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Yeah, that's horrible, really.
Danger!Danger!

[Billman]

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First I'd like thoughts on the article. Also, my family's telling me I shouldn't submit my response because it may flag me to the IRS although I never imply I am a gambler in it (I'm paying my taxes, but still don't want them to look into anything, no good can come from it). Is this a viable concern? If there's a 1% chance the IRS could look up my name from reading the article I won't do it, but if that's an irrational concern...

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Get a new family. The one you have is obviously paranoid and makes no sense.

PS. I couldn't read the USA Today article you linked to because it had no pie graphs.

[morphball]

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You know what, it's a very good article. I don't expect one person on 2+2 to agree with me though. Just because people here are pro poker players and make a living at the game, 99.9% of people dont. People do commit crimes and commit suicide becuase of gambling. Laugh all you want, this is a well written article. Go ahead and flame away. Again, I dont expect one person to agree with what I have said here.

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Yeah, drugs are bad too, what's your point, that we should let life's losers prevent us from doing what we enjoy? Here's something to think about...Every day when I walk to work, I see 5 to 10 homeless people. Guess what, I don't feel sorry for them either.

The preacher's son was caught up in the black hole of gambling...geez, my eye's are welling with tears.

[Broke Rounder]

I will just stand by what I said earlier, I think it's a good article and everyone here is just biased. It's useless to even post these articles on 2+2 becuase your only going to get biased responses.

[vinyard]

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People do commit crimes and commit suicide becuase of gambling. Laugh all you want, this is a well written article. Go ahead and flame away.

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There are likely ten words that you could substitute in for gambling that would make your first sentence no less true and at least two of them, 'religion' and 'relationships' are actively supported and encouraged my the same peopele that argue temperance in issuing like gambling and drug consumption.

So, yeah, your arguments stinks.

[Broke Rounder]

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People do commit crimes and commit suicide becuase of gambling. Laugh all you want, this is a well written article. Go ahead and flame away.

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There are likely ten words that you could substitute in for gambling that would make your first sentence no less true and at least two of them, 'religion' and 'relationships' are actively supported and encouraged my the same peopele that argue temperance in issuing like gambling and drug consumption.

So, yeah, your arguments stinks.

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But were not talking about 10 other things, were talking about gambling.

[Skallagrim]

I enjoy playing poker, thats the major reason I play.

I believe the majority of poker players are like me, a few are pros or semi-pros, and a few are problem gamblers.

Just because someone is not an overall winner does not even remotely make them a problem gambler, or even likely to become one.

When I first started playing online, I frequently lost about $100 or so a month (my play has improved much since then [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] ). I could have just as easily spent that money on any number of other forms of entertainment and have just as little to show for it.

Getting addicted to anything is a psychological problem that I have much sympathy for, and recognize requires treatment and some compassion. But people get addicted to anything and everything. Because a few women have spent the rent money buying new shoes does not mean that all the rest of us should go barefoot.

Its not that the article has some good points on problem gamblers that bothers me, its that the article implies that gambling is the problem, not the person's psychology.

So long as this logical fallicy continues and we keep blaming the object of the addicition rather than recognizing the problem in the person, we will continue to fight stupid losing wars like the ones on gambling and drugs, and develop new stupid wars like the ones on supersized cokes and transfat.

And that will also mean that the poor problem gambler will likely just stop gamblng and move on to being addicted to something else.

Skallagrim

[Broke Rounder]

very well written Skallagrim, you make some good points there bud.