Being told "professional poker doesn't contribute to society."

[samurai_tony]

Pro players dont really provide a service in the sense they wouldn't be hugely missed by society in general but that could be applied to a lot of things, personally it would make very little impact on my life if say baseball was suddenly removed from the earth, but that seems a somewhat spurious arguement.

There is a small trickle down effect in the sense that nowdays the presence of professional players attracts people to the game which provides employment for dealers, casino staff in general, tv producers and tv show staff etc etc. Society wouldnt collapse if poker wasnt around and the contribution to society that poker players have isnt of the same level as doctors or policemen or something like that, they arent key workers but they have a place.

I think it also depends what type of professional player, someone like hellumuth, brunson or negreanu definatly contributes to society through more than just playing poker but we would probably not have heard of these peopel who, love or hate them, have probably enriched a lot of peoples lives if it werent for poker. However your typical pro grinding it out at the 400 nl game on party is what i think the OP was referring to. In fairness i cant actually think of a single thing they do contribute to society as a whole.
The answer i think you should give is that they dont contribute to society but that they dont have to, most people contribute VERY little to society in general and their motives are almost certainly not altruistic, they are doing it for the money and would rather sit at home for a couple of hours taking a few $ off some drunk guy at 2/4 nl but they dont have the ability to.

[AKA Squared]

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you're missing the whole point of the argument, and so is your mom.

and i don't understand why you all equate paying taxes with contributing to society. americans seem to think there's something patriotic about paying taxes. is that what you guys are taught in school or what?

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Yes.

[tarheeljks]

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Professional convicts contribute to society by providing jobs to wardens, guards, contractors... you guys need to aim higher.

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after all ready having done a disservice to society. seriously, this is weak.

[MyironThumb]

it's just the same as any professional sports player surely? pro snooker players, pro golfers, pro darts players, pro footballers. Non of these technically contribute anything to society, they just happen to have people watch what they do so it looks more acceptable.

also lol at paying taxes

[stinkypete]

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it's just the same as any professional sports player surely? pro snooker players, pro golfers, pro darts players, pro footballers. Non of these technically contribute anything to society, they just happen to have people watch what they do so it looks more acceptable.

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you don't think people get enjoyment out of watching the super bowl? or watching tiger woods on sunday at augusta? or watching their national team win the world cup of soccer? or do you just think that enjoyment isn't worth anything?

[Tien]

Well I don't play poker anymore but I still get enjoyment opening up pokerstars once in a while and watching my favourite high/medium stakes players play.

[JuntMonkey]

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it's just the same as any professional sports player surely? pro snooker players, pro golfers, pro darts players, pro footballers. Non of these technically contribute anything to society, they just happen to have people watch what they do so it looks more acceptable.

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you don't think people get enjoyment out of watching the super bowl? or watching tiger woods on sunday at augusta? or watching their national team win the world cup of soccer? or do you just think that enjoyment isn't worth anything?

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What if there were golf tournaments that weren't televised and had no audiences - just a $50,000 entry fee? What if they weren't televised, but a couple of dozen people come to watch it live, for free? What if 5 people come to watch it live? 1?

What about the CBA with 1/1,000th the fans of the NBA? What if there was enough money (from entry fees, not sponsors of any kind) in local, unwatched 3-on-3 basketball tournaments that a good team could make a living? What if some of these players went on to play in the CBA and NBA?

[Jazzy3113]

the truths hurts, doesnt it?

ps. your not a pro anyway

[slickss]

I haven't read the whole thread at this point, so this may already have been mentioned.

We may be discussing two things here. I'll list them an attempt to answer them.

1: Does poker contribute to society?
- Yes, through taxation. But then, so do all legal activities that involve money.
2: Is poker needed by society?
- No, society doesn't need poker players. It needs janitors, bankers, doctors, lawyers, cashiers, nurses, firemen, construction workers, engineers, strippers ... the list goes on. I have problems finding any profession - aside from poker players - that isn't somehow needed by society.

[slickss]

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What if there were golf tournaments that weren't televised and had no audiences - just a $50,000 entry fee? What if they weren't televised, but a couple of dozen people come to watch it live, for free? What if 5 people come to watch it live? 1?

What about the CBA with 1/1,000th the fans of the NBA? What if there was enough money (from entry fees, not sponsors of any kind) in local, unwatched 3-on-3 basketball tournaments that a good team could make a living? What if some of these players went on to play in the CBA and NBA?

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Most sports help people stay in a better physical condition, than if they hadn't played it. In that sense, they contribute to society by improving general health and lowering costs for treatment of heart deceases, etc. Poker certainly has no positive effect on physical health.