Poker and Drugs – The Reality

Here is something that isn’t addressed all that often. Of course it’s a reality that drug abuse happens in the poker world. But it’s an interesting take on why poker players take drugs, and when it becomes a problem...

Courtesy of Askmen.com

Long before the game became a celebrated primetime event, poker was considered a vice and frowned upon by moralists. It was a game reserved for wiseguys in smoke-filled back rooms, drinking hard liquor, their mouths were replete with expletives. Today, there are penalties for using the F-word, smoking is banned in most poker rooms and the game has been taken up by many upstanding citizens of both sexes.

However, there are still vices everywhere we look. Booze is served free of charge at most poker games or tournaments, and poker rooms are strategically placed near sportsbooks or at the back of casinos where players face the temptation to wager on a game of chance. The streets of Las Vegas are filled with people who will hand you pictures of busty ladies who offer all sorts of personal services. Buffets feature a decadent array of all-you-can-eat, high-carb, high-cholesterol meals. And finally, many poker players consume volumes of over-the-counter, prescription or illicit drugs.

I’m not here to preach or condemn; rather, I’m here to review the issue of substance use and abuse among poker players, why we find this phenomenon in the poker world, what agents are most often used, and how they may affect the play of poker players. I don’t want to paint the picture as a clear black-and-white issue. All drugs, from cocaine to aspirin, have certain therapeutic benefits, along with clear risks associated with their use, and all drugs have the potential to be abused. It’s the ratio of good versus bad that determines the safety of a drug.
why do poker players take drugs?

To answer that, we need only answer the question of why we play poker to begin with -- we get a thrill out of it. Most of us are thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. We all remember the thrill we felt when we dragged our first big pot, made our first big score in a poker game or made the final table in a major tournament. It’s intoxicating and, in and of itself, addictive for many of us. From there, we are hooked and we strive to experience that sensation again.

Drugs may help a player, but the consequences are heavy too

Increase adrenaline
Drugs like cocaine, crystal methamphetamine and other stimulants affect adrenaline function in the body. I have never personally taken cocaine or crystal meth, but I imagine it simulates many of the feelings that I experience when I have a win of over $10,000 in a tournament. However, most poker players aren’t fortunate enough to be able to go out and win a tournament. In fact, most tournament players are lucky to win anything over 10% in the tournaments they enter, which require hours and sometimes days of play. For many, the easy shortcut is to take a hit of a stimulant that can artificially reproduce these highs.

Enhance performance
People also take certain drugs to enhance performance. Some people get nervous and use alcohol to calm their nerves. It hides their fears when they are running a bluff with a marginal hand. When I won my first tournament, I started my day at the final table with a double shot of bourbon because I was feeling tense. It made me feel calm and composed, and I went from the smallest stack at the table to the winner. There is no question that I got lucky, but it also gave me the swagger I needed to bully the table when it got shorthanded. TJ Cloutier described Bill Smith, the 1985 World Champion, as the greatest player in the world when he was slightly drunk. However, TJ also said he was about the worst player in the world if he drank beyond a certain point. So there is a balance. Alcohol can temporarily enhance your play, but there is also the danger of going overboard and then diminishing your faculties.

Improve endurance
Poker players may also use substances to improve their endurance or maintain their energy. Caffeine is still the most widely used drug for this purpose. It’s perfectly legal and offered right there in the casino. And it’s no longer limited to coffee and sodas; it’s a key ingredient in many energy drinks. There are also herbal derivatives like ginseng that are making their way into the milieu of stimulants and that are designed to heighten awareness and energy. Other stimulants are also employed for a more profound effect. There are drugs like Adderal, Ritalin and Phentermine, which are prescription drugs for ADD and weight loss, and amphetamines/stimulants that are widely used to keep players awake at the table, even though they are prescribed primarily for other purposes. Finally, there are players who use cocaine and crystal meth not to get high, but as a stimulant to stay up for many hours, if not days, of play.

Relieve depression
Poker players have also been known to turn to drugs for depression. Playing poker is a vocation or hobby that is filled with peaks and valleys. The highs can be pure ecstasy, but the lows can be completely earth-shattering. If depression is treated with the guidance and supervision of a physician, the result can be a positive and stabilizing influence. However, a lot of poker players prefer to save their money for the tables and resort to self-medication. This is when it becomes most dangerous. Cocaine stimulates the opposite of depression, euphoria, which makes it a potent antidepressant. The problem with cocaine is that it is too potent and creates a great high, but leaves the user terribly depressed once it wears off. This cycle increases the demand for that stimulation and ultimately leads to addiction
when is drug use good or bad?

The issue of whether a drug is useful or dangerous comes down to a margin of error. There is very little risk of harm to someone who takes a Tylenol to relieve a headache, even though taking an entire bottle will kill him in about 24 hours. There is much less margin for error with cocaine use. Yes, there is an immediate performance-enhancing component to its use as it increases alertness and allows you to play for days. It may also cover your depression for a few hours, but I would never recommend it as treatment. If you use cocaine, you’re likely to become addicted, lose your good judgment and have an early heart attack. The long-term destruction of lives simply fails to justify a small chance for the short-term benefits.

Finally, I offer another warning: When players get into using stimulants, they are often faced with insomnia. So they will use sedatives to counteract the effects of the stimulants. In medicine, we call that “chasing your tail.” In my own practice of medicine, I do prescribe some stimulants for some patients and sedatives for others, but I try never to prescribe both types of drugs to the same patients, because it creates a dangerous cycle.

Askmen.com