The hype eventually got to me. My resistance to the popular card game finally called my bluff. Yes, I've jumped on the poker bandwagon, and it's harder to get off than I thought.
It all started on a blistering hot summer afternoon in Phoenix - the kind of day where the air conditioning needs air conditioning. To escape the heat, I headed to my favorite sports bar to watch some baseball games.
Upon walking in, instead of watching America's pastime, a group of enthusiasts were watching a poker tournament.
I was pissed.
But the changing percentages on the bottom of the screen allured me. I had seen it a few times before with feigned interest, but this poker table came equipped with beautiful women and mountains of chips. Plus, I couldn't stand not knowing what those percentages meant.
The following night, I met with some old friends to catch up. Apparently, time wasn't the only thing lost as I unsuccessfully played my first few hands of poker. After learning the ropes, I was able to break even by the end of the night - no small feat for a rookie. However, sometimes, winning isn't the hardest part of gambling, but knowing when to stop is.
My great-grandfather was a compulsive gambler. My father relayed stories to me of his losses at the racetrack and the resulting hunger his wife and children faced. Gambling can quickly transform into addiction, and when it does, it can be insurmountable to quit.
It's an addiction that can ruin someone's finances, their relationships and their life.
A close friend of mine began innocently enough. He casually played a few hands with friends, but boredom crept up fast, and he decided to try his luck at a casino.
He won, and he won big.
On a single, starry night, my friend won the "jackpot hand," which is four aces - one of the rare hands you can get. His booty was $15,000, almost enough to cover tuition.
Unfortunately, college went far from his mind, and it took a backseat while gambling rode shotgun. The casual games would no longer suffice, and online sports betting became his top priority. One lesson I've learned in gambling: the better you start off, the worse you end up.
"Gamblers have to increase their bets to get the same level of excitement, just like someone addicted to drugs who has to keep using more to get an effect," Howard Shaffer, director of the Cambridge Health Alliance's division on addictions, told Benoit Denizet-Lewis of The New York Times in a recent interview.
Luckily, for me, my pal was closer to gambling addiction than I was. I saw how furious he became when he lost and how vital it was that he won the next day. I realized my fate would be sealed if I consumed my time playing poker, so I stopped.
My friend wasn't so blessed.
He has been forced to bet online with money he can't provide. Even his close friends refuse to lend him money that he'll surely waste on gambling.
Truth is, playing poker and gambling are not one and the same. Neither is gambling necessarily an addiction. But the chain of events from playing poker to a gambling addiction frequently link together.
Numerous online sites offer free tournaments. And playing with friends, using plastic chips, doesn't predicate losing or winning money. Neither game involves betting cash, but those with a proclivity to obsess and the inability to quit might want to steer clear of them because they could lead to addiction anyway.
Poker is an entertaining game to play indifferently, but beware the mighty call of betting money online or in the casinos. The odds are rarely in your favor, and even the best will lose.
Otherwise, you're all in.
-Conor Shapiro is a political science senior.
-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedaily
aztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed - include your full name, major and year in school.
Be the first to comment on this article!