This information is surprising for us too. Here in our country playing card is regarded as a crime.

certainly everything is person dependent (mostly) but as a whole, I agreed with a lot of what was said. as a pro player for nine years I think I have benefited immensely in some ways, many mentioned in the article.

also as stated, there may be some downsides, but many of those can be controlled. sitting around playing all day, try standing or sitting on an exercise ball. tilt issues and anger issues happening, these can be worked on through experience and maybe more importantly the balance away from poker. if you are a happy person and a realist (poker is a long term game), tilt and anger issues should be pretty much nonexistent. if you sleep, eat, and exercise well; these traits are going to expand your potential as a player all around, it can't be debated. there needs to be that balance yet to, make sure you are utilizing your time well and doing productive things away from the tables, be honest with yourself.

many jobs in today's world lead to a lot of sitting, make sure you are not sitting to much away from your job if this is the case. if you busted your ass all day doing manual labor, sitting away from the job is a bit different.

poker certainly stimulates and works my brain and I enjoy it, even after ~9 years of mass online playing, hours and tables wise. I get burnt out sometimes and the spark to play isn't what it once was but I still enjoy it; I would think 9 years of any job, that job will feel like a job. I am 27, my peers have been at their jobs for not long as a whole, from observing them, I may have the greatest job in the world?? it's usually "it's a job" or "tomorrow is Monday, ****" or "can't wait until Friday" these are things I have not said once in my poker career, that's a great feeling.

mostly, I agree with sklansky and bookmarked that article for the future. while poker might not be as healthy of a career as some, it is also healthier than many, there are certainly many variables in this regard. however, if you ever are using poker as an excuse or blaming your problems on it because you play it (like I see often on 2p2), your problems go far beyond the poker felt. poker isn't the scapegoat, poker can fit perfectly in a healthy life and even boost it as the article suggested but it is up to the individual and only the individual. never take anything for granted (winning in poker) and be honest with yourself. I have not read much of this thread, mostly the page I posted the link on, but I know there's going to be arguments on both sides of the fence; but poker is only as healthy or unhealthy as you make it, pretty much like any job out there; with maybe a few exceptions and variables to consider.

stay thirsty my friends

u better study more because these ppl ruin themselves, not a game played with 52 cards. if u suck at poker and aren't studying to get better, and continue to play and lose amounts that are meaningful, you are a degen in the first place; a weak minded goon that ruined his own life, poker didn't ruin it buddy, you did, you made the choice to play. Oh, you played out of addiction, that's weak son, and if it wasn't poker it would be something else. these same individuals you are describing are the ones looking for an easy fix to make money but don't want to put effort into earning it, they just want it but are to delusional to be realistic.

should have saved my breath lol, but I was to eager to respond immediately after reading vorsby's post

I think it's obvious why there are so many different kinds of responses to this topic: There are just as many different types of people. That is, those who are losers, delusional, lacking self-control or talent, too emotional, under-educated, etc. are the ones who say a lot of negative things about poker. Those who are winners, in control, who put in time away from the tables, have a life balance and make good choices overall, those are the ones who describe poker in positive terms.

I've noticed for some time that poker is a very accurate reflection of life in general, or more precisely, the way one goes through life is generally the way one goes through his poker life. Poker brings out, in a very short time, what is already inside of you. It zooms in, so to speak, and let's you get a picture of yourself that you might not notice if you were just going at the regular pace of existence.

Those who make absolute statements in this thread are almost always wrong. If one claims that poker ruins lives, I would bet he has not had much success at the game or taming his own mind. If one is playing for a living, he will have a much more positive review of poker and it's effects. The main point is that what is 100% true to one person is definitely not for another person who has had a different poker experience. There is no one answer for what health/social/life effects poker has on people; each person will have his own answer that is likely close to the truth for just him or her.

Well said. In poker, like anything else, the amount of effort you put into it usually governs what you get out of it.

I am a retired army band musican. We had a college tuba player who loved playing his tuba so much that he would bring his tuba to the barracks or out in the field whenever he could get away with it. He was legendary at his college for his work habits, which included a full class load along with practicing 6 hours a day, starting at 6 A.M. in one of the practice rooms.

He was a great player, he had a lot of great musical opportunities, and he was the youngest featured soloist in the army band. He wound up getting a scholarship to one of the top music schools in the US to work on his master's degree.

If you approach poker the way that guy approached music, you're probably going to be a winner and have a great time doing it. If you donk around a little bit, play a couple tournaments a week, don't study, and finally decide that the site is rigged because you're not winning, that's not going to be a good experience.

Online Poker is certainly not good for your health(mentally) if your mass tabling on a daily basis(I know my brain feels kind of mushy if I do) and is most definitely not good for you socially. People need to make human interactions(face-to-face) with one another. It isn't healthy to sit at a computer for most of the day and not interact with anyone; you almost become the machine itself that you are using.

I'm not sure I completely agree with that. Many people have, or have had, jobs where there aren't many people around.

I worked third shift at a homeless shelter, and the men were asleep for all but an hour of my shift. I was also a third shift radio announcer, and I was the only person in the building.

When I play poker online, my cats are always here, and sometimes my wife is as well, though she's often asleep. But that's more company than I've had on many of my jobs, and I haven't cracked up yet.

Its good to have 0 social life, have little sleep, have a poor diet and vit D from the sun. Yeah.. ******ed, poker is bad for the general population.

If all you do is play poker, like what you're describing here, then yes you are right. But all the pro's who have their stuff together will repeatedly tell you to have a balance to your life. They always advise to have other interests outside of poker; to have a social network of friends, activities, and other interests. Poker is not bad when you have balance, but when people like you, who obviously did nothing else but play (and I'm assuming lose), try to blame it for your own shortcomings, that's where I call you out on your bull sheet. No one is forcing you to stay in the house all day. Tell a friend to buy some baseball tickets or concert tickets and then go and be entertained, but don't blame poker as if it has a mind of its own.

AshThePro - I hear that!

Wow, I don't feel that way at all.

I've had a lot of different jobs, and every once in a while, I had one that was very intellectually challenging. My favorite was working as part of team of about 40 people, most of whom had off-the-charts IQs. More than 10% of my co-workers had IQs in the 98th or 99th percentiles, and most of the rest were not far behind. During breaks, we argued about things like the particulars of the spread of the Moslem Empire (I didn't know much about that topic, so I just listened)--which, like many other discussion topics, had absolutely nothing to do with our job. We traveled all over the world.

If you want to know what that job was, see below.

I miss that job, and those people, very much. The only job that has come anywhere close to giving me that kind of intellectual stimulation is poker, my second favorite job ever. That is especially true since I recently started playing more hours live than online. Poker players as a whole are not only smart, but they tend to be diverse, accepting, open-minded, quirky, and interesting, and in general a lot of fun.

I play a lot in a local charity poker room, and I'm really enjoying getting to know those people, and engaging them in intellectual combat. I feel better when I win than when I lose, but it's not a huge difference. I understand the concepts of long-term results and expected value, so I don't worry at all about a losing streak, since I'm bankrolled for it.


So, what job did I have when I worked with all of those geniuses? I bet you'll never guess.

whoa... well, i see how it can relieve some stress, almost therapeutic, however it can definitely cause new stress, even levels of depression in you're life... due to new variance

Poker is good for mental health, it keeps your brain quite active, and it helps with strategic thinking, helping you problem solve. I used to play chess a lot, quit it for a year for poker, and when i came back to chess, was a better player, probably because poker helped with my strategic awareness. Obviously this proves nothing as there are other factors not accounted for, but food for thought.

Took the words out of my mouth

Interesting article...I guess it depends how you approach it. If you lose or play badly...that can't be good for your mental health!

However, like anything, if you persist, continue learning, reading then I believe that you will succeed at it and once you accept the ups and downs of poker, then you are less likely to tilt.

What I like about poker is the discipline that I've learnt whilst playing. I want to win, I want to get better so I will take advice, read and continue playing and trying and failing until I get there.

If you are involved in a poker game, you SHOULD be highly focused...unless you're multi tabling and watching Breaking bad at the same time

what happens to the anxiety when you can't play for a while, or when your BR is gone?

i think its bad for health, very stressful, it can be enjoyable and good if you are winning.

A lot of people don't have to be good at poker, or any other sport or game, to enjoy it.

I played Little League baseball for a year, and I was really bad. I played Jr. High baskeball, but 5 feet and 73 pounds, I don't think I even sniffed a rebound the rare times I got off the bench. But I still liked playing and competing.

The WSOPME is full of bucket list players who know that they probably won't even cash, but if they wind up at the same table as Phil Hellmuth they will talk about it the rest of their lives.