A Poker Addiction by Juan Michelen

As Manny sits there, with half the chips he began with, he faces the hardest decision of the night. Does he call? Does he fold? There are so many things to consider, so much at stake. As the seconds tick by, flashes of frames from the World Series of Poker pass before his eyes; Johnny Chan slapping his cards down on the table, calling out “All in,” in front of God knows how many people. He sees Phil Hellmuth with his chin supported on his hands, shuffling chips and staring down his opponent. He smirks at the thought of Chris Moneymaker’s famous bluff against Sam Farha. He’s glad he doesn’t need to bluff this hand; he has very solid cards in front of him.

At this point the adrenaline rush that is going through his body is one like no other. It is a mixture of excitement, nervousness, and competitiveness. It is a feeling players love to hate. They hate having it, but they love wanting it. As all these scenes pass before Manny’s eyes, he suddenly gets an urge to be bold and risky. He decides that calling his opponent would just weaken his position. “It would only make him think that I have a losing hand and am hoping for the best”, he reasons, “I’m all in” he then says, and slaps the cards down on the table in a Chan-like manner. Now it is up to Alex, it is his turn to decide whether to fold or call. Alex, though, is sure he has Manny beat, he gives Manny a smirk and says, in a Russian accent imitating the KGB guy from the movie Rounders, “I call.” All of sudden everyone is interested. One of these guys is about to lose all his chips. “Flip ‘em” somebody yells. As Manny flips his cards the whole table gets a look at them, A-K, an enviable hand. Alex flips his: 10-10, also a good hand. Alex definitely has an advantage, with a pocket pair. Both players look at each other and then back down at the table. Manny is hoping his bold move doesn’t backfire on him, and Alex just wants to finish the hand without having a heart attack. Here come the next three cards, also known as the flop, 7-9-K. Manny sighs as he sees his King, he is now in the lead. Alex is now in a state of disbelief. “What are the odds,” he thinks, “There are fifty two fucking cards in the deck, and a king decides to come out.” The next card comes, also known as 4th street, it is a 3, meaningless to both players. Here comes the last card, also known as 5th street, a 10. Alex has just gotten three of a kind, and takes the pot on the last card. Manny looks at him and says, “You fucking River Rat.” Alex just looks at him and smiles. Manny reaches into his pocket and takes out a 10-dollar bill. He throws it on the table and walks away. It is now two in the morning. Manny has to go to his room and start his 5-page history paper on the Paleo Indians, which is due tomorrow.

Scenes like this one are happening throughout college campuses all over the country. The growing popularity of poker (specifically Texas Hold em’, due to the WSOP) has sucked in thousands of college kids all over the country. These kids play for much more than fun. In fact, the fun factor was ruled out a long time ago. It has gotten to the point where they are not necessarily playing for “the love of the game.” Money is now their biggest incentive.

“ It’s awesome to win a little extra spending money in so little time,” Manny said, “ while some people work eight hours a day for a hundred bucks, I can make that in about half an hour.”

Manny, also known as “Miami” Manny, and Johnny “All in” Dinh are regulars at poker tables throughout FSU’s campus. Their stories are very different, but the outcome has been the same for both; they play a lot of poker, even though neither is willing to go as far as admitting he has a problem.

“Miami” Manny has been playing since he was about 8 years old. His father earned a living playing poker in Miami.

“He would bring home a couple thousand dollars a month in pure profit,” Manny said.

Even though he has known how to play most of his life, Manny has only been playing for money for the last two years.

“Miami” Manny’s father has, by far, been his biggest poker influence.

“My dad taught me and my brother how to play when we were really little, he figured we should know how he was bringing in all that money.”

Manny’s dad taught his sons the ins and outs of poker. According to Manny, the biggest lesson his father ever taught him came during a poker game Manny’s dad was hosting at their house.

“I remember sitting there on the couch, watching all those grown men playing, they were so into it,” Manny said, “I remember watching my dad’s stack of chips dwindle to almost nothing, I was starting to feel bad for him.”

After noticing his sons’ worrisome face, Manny’s dad stood up from the table and walked up to Manny.

He leaned forward and said, “ the more you worry about it, the harder it will be to get it, money will come to you. You can’t get desperate.”

He then walked back to the table.

Within three hours Manny’s dad had won the game.

“Me and my brother couldn’t believe it,” Manny Said, “he was so calm, almost as if he didn’t care. That day me and my brother made up a new catch phrase: I don’t need money, money needs me: and we’ve lived by it ever since.”

Johnny “All in” Dinh has also become quiet popular throughout the dorms on campus. A native of Orlando, Florida, Johnny has been playing poker since he was about six or seven years old. He also has a big history of gamblers in his family, and thus has been around the game his entire life. His father is not very fond of the idea of him playing, and his mom doesn’t even know he plays. Johnny’s brother is the one who taught him most of what he knows. Johnny remembers when he was little and his older brother would walk around the house shuffling a deck of cards.

He would sit next to Johnny at the kitchen table and tell him, “ All right “J”, one hand for five of those potato chips, here ya’ go.”

Johnny, at the time, didn’t understand how his older brother always seemed to win. It was not until a few years later that his brother admitted he had been rigging the deck all those years.

“You rigged the deck against your own little brother?” Johnny asked. “ Damn, Chris, you are the biggest asshole I know, I was 8 years old!”

It was what his brother said next, that gave Johnny one of the most important lessons he has received.

“A win is a win kid,” his brother answered, “at least I told you and it was only potato chips, wait till’ you get to the real world, it’s about a lot more than chips.”

Within a few months Johnny knew how to perfectly rig a deck. He walked around school cheating people out of cookies and donuts. His brother had taught him about the real world, and now he was putting what he had learned into practice.

Johnny would never even consider telling his mom about his latest hobby.

“ My mom would kill me if she found out,” Johnny said “My grandpa, her dad, lost all her family’s money when she was little, his gambling addiction forced my grandma to divorce him, so my mom has a deep rooted hate for poker.”

Johnny and Manny claim to have won a lot more than they have lost, otherwise, they say, they wouldn’t be playing.

“I’d say I lose about 25 percent of the time I play,” Johnny said, “I feel those are pretty good odds.”

Manny says that he feels that he is killing two birds with one stone, because he is doing something he loves to do and at the same time has a good chance of making some extra money for the weekends.

Even though these two players think they are doing nothing wrong, they claim they would not call home and ask for money if they ended up losing it all.

“Maybe if I lost it for another reason I would call, but never poker” Manny said, “Poker is my responsibility. I could never do that to my parents.”

Manny says he feels he is old enough to get himself out of trouble, and that his parents can’t rescue him every time he stumbles into a problem.

Johnny “All in” Dinh, said he feels he is way too responsible to lose all his money,

“If I get into a slump, I take a week off, and start playing again little by little, I would never let myself lose all my money.”

At first glance college gambling seems like harmless fun. The truth of the matter is, that kids are getting hooked on this. They are wasting away their financial aid and tuition for a simple game. Ed Looney, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey Inc., said that “A survey from the University of Minnesota, by Dr. Ken Winters, indicated that youth are four (4) times the risk of adults for developing pathological (compulsive) gambling,” on the council's Web site, www.800gambler.org. In the same article, psychologist and past Vice President of the National Council on Problem Gambling, Dr. Durand Jacobs said, "little will change until society begins to view teenage gambling with the same alarm directed at drugs and alcohol. Gambling is the addiction of the 90s."

Up till now, neither Johnny nor Manny has lost a significant amount of money, but that does not justify them playing it. Gambling on poker is just as dangerous as any other gambling game. Gambling is an addiction that should not be taken lightly. In his website, www.robertperkinson.com, Robert R. Perkinson, Ph.D. says:

Our parents grew up thinking that gambling was wrong, but our children are growing up with gambling is as easy as going to McDonald's. For the first time in history, gambling is available close to home and now even inside of the home with the Internet. People can walk to and from work and gamble. Teenagers can gamble away their future in their rooms. Governors go on television and encourage their citizens to bet and tell them how much they can win. Gambling is good they say, it’s fun, no one gets hurt, and everybody is doing it. We in the addictions field know that what we hear on television about alcohol and substance abuse kills 24% of Americans.

Both Manny and Johnny say they don’t plan on doing this their entire lives, they just want to do it for now, for some easy cash. Like any addiction, in the beginning it just seems like a casual hobby, “something to do. ”

As Johnny put it: “Hopefully, when I’m grown up I won’t have to resort to gambling to make money, I will just do it with my friends, on the weekends.”

A Poker Addiction, draft 1

As Manny sits there, leading the table with chips, he is faced with the hardest decision of the night. Does he call? Does he fold? As the seconds tick by, flashes of frames from the World Series of Poker (WSOP) pass before his eyes; Johnny Chan slapping his cards down on the table, calling out “All in,” in front of God knows how many people. He sees Phil Hellmuth with his chin supported on his hands, debating his next move. As all these scenes pass before Manny’s eyes, he suddenly gets an urge to be bold and risky. He decides that calling his opponent would just weaken his position. “It would only show that I have a losing hand and am hoping for the best”, he reasons, “I’m all in” he then says, and slaps the cards down on the table in a Chan-like manner. Now it is up to Alex, it is his turn to decide whether to fold or call. Alex, though, is sure he has Manny beat, he gives Manny a smirk and says, “I call.” All of sudden everyone is interested. One of these two guys is about to lose all his chips. “Flip ‘em” somebody yells. As Manny flips his cards the whole table gets a look at them, A-K, an enviable hand. Alex also flips his, 10-10, also an enviable hand. If they were playing in the WSOP this would be about the time where percentages would pop up on the screen for viewers at home to know who has a better hand. Alex definitely has an advantage, with a pocket pair. Both players look at each other and then back down at the table. Here come the next three cards, also known as the flop, 7-9-K. Manny sighs as he sees his King, he is now in the lead. The next card comes, also known as 4th street, it is a 3, meaningless to both players. Here comes the last card, also known as 5th street, a 10. Alex has just gotten Three of a kind, and takes the pot on the last card. Manny looks at him and says, “ You F#$^&*% River Rat.” Alex just looks at him and smiles. Manny reaches into his pocket and takes out a 10-dollar bill. He throws it on the table and walks away. It is now two in the morning. Manny has to go to his room and start his 5-page history paper on the Paleo Indians, which is due tomorrow.

In recent years the WSOP has become a very popular television event. Everyone wants to be like one of the greats. Everyone wants to feel the rush, the adrenaline; everyone wants that feeling of superiority. This sport has also become very popular amongst college students. With all that free time in their hand, and no curfew, what better way to spend it than sitting in the lobby of their dorm gambling away their money? Now, obviously gambling is illegal here in college, but since when has a little detail like that ever stopped a bunch of determined college students?

Alex, an 18-year old, from Melbourne, Fl, has been playing poker for the last year. He learned back in high school and has never looked back, “ I was hooked once I won my first big pot,” he said. Alex learned to play back at home with a group of friends. They wanted to understand what the whole commotion about the WSOP was, so they convinced one of his friend’s father to teach them how to play, “At first we really didn’t know what we were doing, but after a couple of months we could hold our own in most tables,” he said. Alex isn’t the only college student who has gotten hooked on this latest fad. Manny, known around the dorms as Miami Manny, has been playing since he was about 8 years old. His father was a big-time poker player in Miami, “he would bring home a couple thousand dollars a month in pure profit,” Manny said. Even though he has known how to play most of his life, he has only been playing for money for the last two years, “Sometimes you win big, sometimes you lose big, you have to understand that if you want to be successful playin’ poker,” he said.

These kids play for much more than fun. In fact, the fun factor was ruled out a long time ago. It has gotten to the point where they are not necessarily playing for “the love of the game.” Money is now their biggest incentive, “ Its awesome to win a little extra spending money in so little time,” Manny said, “ while some people work eight hours a day for a hundred bucks, I can make that in about half an hour.” Many kids start off playing as a hobby, to pass the time, but as soon as they realize the endless possibilities, they start playing for a different purpose, Johnny “All in” Dinh said, “ What I enjoy about poker is that I’m a poor college kid and I like the prospect of making money to buy more cheeseburgers.”

Johnny Dinh, also known as “All in” Dinh, has become quiet popular through out the dorms on campus. A native of Orlando, Florida, Johnny has been playing poker since he was about six or seven years old. He has a big history of gamblers in his family, thus has been around the game his entire life. His father is not very fond of the idea of him playing, and his mom doesn’t even know he plays. He would never even consider telling her about his latest hobby, because she is extremely against all types of gambling, “ My mom would kill me if she found out, my grandpa, her dad, lost all her families money when she was little, his gambling addiction forced my grandma to divorce him, so my mom has a deep rooted hate for poker,” Johnny said.

On the other hand, “Miami” Manny’s father has been his biggest poker influence, “My dad taught me and my brother how to play when we were really little, he figured we should know how he was bringing in all that money.” Manny’s dad taught his sons the ins and outs of poker. According to Manny, the biggest lesson his father has ever taught him came during a poker game Manny’s dad was hosting at their house. “I remember sitting there on the couch, watching all those grown men playing, they were so into it. I remember watching my dad’s stack of chips dwindle to almost nothing, I was starting to feel bad for him,” Manny said. After noticing his sons’ worrisome face, Manny’s dad stood up from the table and walked up to Manny and said, “ the more you worry about it, the harder it will be to get it, money will come to you, you can’t get desperate.” He then walked back to the table. Within three hours Manny’s dad had won the game, “Me and my brother couldn’t believe it, he was so calm, almost as if he didn’t care, that day me and my brother made up a new catch phrase, ‘I don’t need money, money needs me’,” Manny said, “and we’ve lived by it ever since.”

There are many different kinds of players out there, all with different stories, and different styles. The only common thing that appears to resonate in each of them is that none of them appears to have a lot of money to spare. It almost seems like the ones who shouldn’t be playing are the ones who are playing. They spend the little money they have with the hopes of doubling it or even tripling it.

When asked if they would call home and ask for money if they ended up losing it all, they all said, “No.” “Miami” Manny said, “ I would never call home and ask for money if I lost it all playing poker. Maybe if I lost it for another reason I would call, but never poker. Poker is my responsibility, I could never do that to my parents.”

Johnny “All in” Dinh, said that he feels he is way to responsible to lose all his money, “If I get into a slump, I take a week off, and start playing again little by little, I would never let myself lose all my money.”

All these players claim to have won a lot more than they have lost, otherwise they wouldn’t be playing, “ I’d say I lose about 25 percent of the time I play, I feel those are pretty good odds, “Johnny snapped. Alex says that he feels that he is killing to birds with one stone, because he is doing something he loves to do and at the same time has a good chance of making some extra money for the weekends.

A Poker Addiction, draft 2

A Poker Addiction, draft 3

As Manny sits there, with half the chips he began with, he is faced with the hardest decision of the night. Does he call? Does he fold? There are so many things to consider, so much at stake. As the seconds tick by, flashes of frames from the World Series of Poker pass before his eyes; Johnny Chan slapping his cards down on the table, calling out “All in,” in front of God knows how many people. He sees Phil Hellmuth with his chin supported on his hands, shuffling chips and staring down his opponent. He smirks at the thought of Chris Moneymaker’s famous bluff against Sam Farha. He’s glad he doesn’t need to bluff this hand; he has very solid cards in front of him. At this point the adrenaline rush that is going through his body is inexplicable. It is a feeling you love to hate. You hate having it, but you love wanting it. As all these scenes pass before Manny’s eyes, he suddenly gets an urge to be bold and risky. “I’m all in” he then says, and slaps the cards down on the table in a Chan-like manner. Now it is up to Alex. It is his turn to decide whether to fold or call. Alex, though, is sure he has Manny beat. He gives Manny a smirk and says, in a Russian accent imitating the KGB guy from the movie “Rounders,” “I call.” All of sudden everyone is interested. One of these two guys is about to lose all his chips. “Flip ‘em” somebody yells. As Manny flips his cards the whole table gets a look at them, A-K, an enviable hand. Alex then flips his, 10-10, also a good hand. He definitely has an advantage, with a pocket pair. Both players look at each other and then back down at the table. Manny is hoping his bold move doesn’t backfire on him, and Alex just wants to finish the hand without having a heart attack. Here come the next three cards, also known as the flop, 7-9-K. Manny sighs as he sees his King, he is now in the lead. Alex is now in a state of disbelief, “what are the odds,” he thinks “ there are fifty two fucking cards in the deck, and a king decides to come out.” The next card comes, also known as 4th street, it is a 3, meaningless to both players. Here comes the last card, also known as 5th street, a 10. Alex has just gotten Three of a Kind, and takes the pot on the last card. Manny looks at him and says, “ You fucking River Rat.” Alex just looks at him and smiles. Manny reaches into his pocket and takes out a 10-dollar bill. He throws it on the table and walks away. It is now two in the morning. Manny has to go to his room and start his 5-page history paper on the Paleo Indians, which is due tomorrow.

Scenes like this one are happening throughout college campuses all over the country. The growing popularity of poker (specifically Texas Hold em’, due to the WSOP) has sucked in thousands of college kids all over the country. The price of this thrill ranges from person to person, but on average these teenage gamblers are spending about a hundred dollars per month on poker. These kids play for much more than fun. In fact, the fun factor was ruled out a long time ago. It has gotten to the point where they are not necessarily playing for “the love of the game.” Money is now their biggest incentive.

“ It’s awesome to win a little extra spending money in so little time,” Manny said, “ while some people work eight hours a day for a hundred bucks, I can make that in about half an hour.”

Manny, also known as “Miami” Manny, and Johnny “All in” Dinh are regulars at poker tables throughout campus. Their stories are very different, but the outcome has been the same for both; they play a lot of poker, even though neither is willing to go as far as admitting he has a problem.

“Miami” Manny has been playing since he was about 8 years old. His father is a big-time poker player in Miami.

“He would bring home a couple thousand dollars a month in pure profit,” Manny said.

Even though he has known how to play most of his life, Manny has only been playing for money for the last two years.

“Miami” Manny’s father has, by far, been his biggest poker influence, “My dad taught me and my brother how to play when we were really little, he figured we should know how he was bringing in all that money.”

Manny’s dad taught his sons the ins and outs of poker. According to Manny, the biggest lesson his father has ever taught him came during a poker game Manny’s dad was hosting at their house.

“I remember sitting there on the couch, watching all those grown men playing, they were so into it. I remember watching my dad’s stack of chips dwindle to almost nothing, I was starting to feel bad for him,” Manny said.

After noticing his sons’ worrisome face, Manny’s dad stood up from the table and walked up to Manny.

He leaned forward and said, “ the more you worry about it, the harder it will be to get it, money will come to you, you can’t get desperate.”

He then walked back to the table. Within three hours Manny’s dad had won the game.

“Me and my brother couldn’t believe it, he was so calm, almost as if he didn’t care, that day me and my brother made up a new catch phrase, ‘I don’t need money, money needs me’,” Manny said, “and we’ve lived by it ever since.”

Johnny “All in” Dinh has also become quiet popular through out the dorms on campus. A native of Orlando, Florida, Johnny has been playing poker since he was about six or seven years old. He also has a big history of gamblers in his family, thus has been around the game his entire life. His father is not very fond of the idea of him playing, and his mom doesn’t even know he plays. Johnny’s brother is the one who taught him most of what he knows. Johnny remembers when he was little and his older brother would walk around the house shuffling a deck of cards.

He would sit next to Johnny in the kitchen table and tell him, “ All right “J”, one hand for five of those potato chips, here ya’ go.”

Johnny, at that time, never understood how his older brother always seemed to win. It was not until a few years later that his older brother admitted that he had been rigging the deck all those years.

“You rigged the deck against your own little brother?” He asked, “ Damn, Chris, you are the biggest asshole I know, I was 8 years old!”

It was what his brother said next, that gave Johnny his first lesson, not only at poker but also at life.

“ A win is a win kid, at least I told you and it was only potato chips, wait till’ you get to the real world, it’s about a lot more than chips” his brother answered.

Johnny would never even consider telling his mom about his latest hobby. She is extremely against all types of gambling.

Johnny and Manny claim to have won a lot more than they have lost, otherwise they wouldn’t be playing.

“ I’d say I lose about 25 percent of the time I play, I feel those are pretty good odds,” Johnny said.

Manny says that he feels that he is killing two birds with one stone, because he is doing something he loves to do and at the same time has a good chance of making some extra money for the weekends.

Even though these two players think they are doing nothing wrong, they claim they would not call home and ask for money if they ended up losing it all.

“ I would never call home and ask for money if I lost it all playing poker,” Manny said, “Maybe if I lost it for another reason I would call, but never poker. Poker is my responsibility, I could never do that to my parents.”

Manny says that he feels he is old enough to get himself out of trouble, and that his parents can’t be rescuing him every time he stumbles into a problem.

Johnny “All in” Dinh, said that he feels he is way too responsible to lose all his money, “If I get into a slump, I take a week off, and start playing again little by little, I would never let myself lose all my money.”

Up to now, none of these players has lost a significant amount of money, but that does not justify them playing it. Gambling on poker is just as dangerous as any other gambling game. Gambling is an addiction that should not be taken lightly. In his website, www.robertperkinson.com, Robert R. Perkinson, Ph.D. says, “Our parents grew up thinking that gambling was wrong, but our children are growing up with gambling is as easy as going to McDonald's. For the first time in history, gambling is available close to home and now even inside of the home with the Internet. People can walk to and from work and gamble. Teenagers can gamble away their future in their rooms. Governors go on television and encourage their citizens to bet and tell them how much they can win. Gambling is good they say, it’s fun, no one gets hurt, and everybody is doing it. We in the addictions field know that what we hear on television about alcohol and substance abuse kills 24% of Americans.”

Both Manny and Johnny say that they don’t plan on doing this their entire lives, they just want to do it for now, for some easy cash. Like any addiction, in the beginning it just seems like a casual hobby, “something to do, ” as Johnny put it, “Hopefully, when I’m grown up I wont have to resort to gambling to make money, I will just do it with my friends, on the weekends.”

A Poker Addiction, draft 4