All that you give and all that you deal
and all that you buy, beg, borrow or steal.
-Pink Floyd
Anyone who tells you there isn't a dark side to poker hasn't been here. By here, I mean the World Series of Poker. Now to be clear, the World Series is actually one of the brighter and lighter stops in the dark reaches of the vast poker road. But when you put all or most of the great professional poker players in one place for six or seven weeks, well there are bound to be some examples of truly desperate behavior.
Add to the thousands of players, dealers, staff and fans a large and at times articulate poker press; well, we are bound to get some reflections on the darker sides of poker. I hope we in the media are not getting too inbred but I must direct you to some insightful and very dark observations from both Dr. Pauly and the Pack-at-Pokerati. You want the dark side of poker, they will dish it up for you with wit and a wet wipe to tidy up afterwards.
On the other hand, I (the Poker Shrink) am not going to offer up a taste of darkness because you see I don't look at poker that way. I don't believe you can look at the psychology of poker and of poker players if you assume some pathology, illness, character flaw or yes, darkness. Does it exist? Certainly. But beyond the dark or perhaps right beside it there is a unique psychology to the world of poker. Yes, some or all of the lifestyle that poker requires can and does lead a few individuals to some very dark places. The list of casualties is long and will get longer. But as a wise and eloquent sage once said: "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it."
The problem, as I see it, is that very few of the victims ever take a hard, honest look at what poker is really about. Tell me if you would take this job?
My Aunt Hilda sent me an internet link today to a damn stupid article titled: "Will the Rampant Poker Craze Breed New Gambling Addicts?"
