Doping (use of performance-enhancing drugs) in Poker

[NT!]

who cares what the IOC thinks? poker isn't a sport.

[olivert]

[ QUOTE ]
Passing over the issues of whether tournament poker is a sport (I don't think it is), the actual logistics of drug testing would be ridiculous. Imagine testing 6000+ competitors at the main event, or even just testing the final table and a random selection of participants (similar to the USATF process of testing medalists and a random non-medalist).

Another consideration is that the large majority of performance enhancing drugs are designed to benefit the training cycle of an athlete, and are not of the game day type variety that could be beneficial to a poker player. It's very difficult to compare the doping situation in sports with poker.

[/ QUOTE ]

Beta-blockers, which can be used by poker players to slow down heart rates, is a "game-day" performance-enhancing drug. The IOC (and later WADA) banned it for a number of sports, notably archery and shooting.

--

I don't have an answer to the doping situation in tournament poker right now.

Any form of mandatory drug testing, as we have seen with other sports, has the effect of making things worse, as "biochemists" and their associated "hucksters" would then come into the poker business and offer poker players "undetectable" stimulants and heart-rate-reducing drugs in order for the players to beat the WADA-style drug tests.

I don't believe that having the poker analog of the likes of Patrick Arnold and Victor Conte involved with the poker industry, as a result of the introduction of WADA-style drug testing in tournament poker, is a good thing.

Why not?

Because tournament poker would then have to deal with the analog of "the cream", "the clear", "the stuff III", "son of the stuff III", etc. etc. etc. for years without having any way to test for them.

[felson]

[ QUOTE ]
weed really helps

[/ QUOTE ]

poker is fun, for everyone

[captZEEbo]

You make Paul Phillips sound like an abuser, but he's diagnosed with ADHD.

[Exitonly]

weed+adderall=$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Lord_Strife]

This is the dumbest thread of all time.... people use these in everyday life and there's absolutely no reason people are going to start "testing" poker players, this is just stupid.

[Al Capwne]

[ QUOTE ]
weed+adderall=$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[/ QUOTE ]


Phase 1 = Weed&Adderall

Phase 2 = ????????

Phase 3 = Profit


FYP

[pocketpared]

Anything I can put in an opponents drink to increase my edge? I'm afraid of drugs.

[IfitEnded]

The question is which performance enhancing drugs will be created by the Chinese FDA in order to help fuel the coming poker boom there in 2008-2009?

[Sayfur]

[ QUOTE ]
who cares what the IOC thinks? poker isn't a sport.

[/ QUOTE ]I think everyone missed this..