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Are Poker Players Aware of the Change in Their Poker Habits? Point of View of the Players and the PGSI

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Abstract

Poker playing is a concern because of the large amounts of money spent and the high prevalence of gambling problems. Few studies have taken an interest in poker players’ (PPs’) perspectives. The goal of this qualitative study was to describe PPs’ perceptions of the change in their poker playing and to compare their perception to the variation in the score of a screening tool. A convenience sample of 25 PPs participated in a qualitative interview and completed the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) 2 years in a row. Of these 25 PPs, 19 perceived a decrease in their poker habits, three perceived an increase, and the other three, no change. The perception of 60% of the PPs was inconsistent with the PGSI; most of those who perceived a decrease in fact had an increase. This study highlights how difficult it is for gamblers to be aware of the changes in their gambling and the importance to develop tools for responsible gambling. These tools would allow gamblers to become aware of their current gambling habits and their evolution.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the all participants that collaborated in this study and all the members of the research team.

Funding

This research was supported by the founding agency Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture under grant <2012-JU-164313>.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Campus de Longueuil, 150 Place Charles-Le Moyne, Office 200, Longueuil, Québec, J4K 0A8, Canada

    Magali Dufour, Adèle Morvannou & Élise Roy

  2. Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Campus de Longueuil 150 Place Charles-Le Moyne, Bureau 200, Longueuil, Québec, J4K 0A8, Canada

    Magali Dufour

  3. Psychoeducation Department, Université du Québec, 3351 Boulevard des Forges, P.O.B. 500, Trois-Rivières, Québec, G9A 5H7, Canada

    Natacha Brunelle

  4. Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec, Montréal, Québec, Canada

    Élise Roy

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  1. Magali Dufour
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  2. Adèle Morvannou
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Correspondence to Magali Dufour.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.

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Dufour, M., Morvannou, A., Brunelle, N. et al. Are Poker Players Aware of the Change in Their Poker Habits? Point of View of the Players and the PGSI. Int J Ment Health Addiction 16, 1140–1155 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-017-9837-9

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