Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Treat Me With Kid Gloves
There is an article on cnn.com today about poker and young people. It falls nowhere near short of ridiculous.
Let's break it down:
First, a quote from the article:
"It's fun. It's exciting. It's glamorized on TV and in the media in a way that other addictions are not," says Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling. "There's the impression that through skill you can beat the odds. But randomness is always going to have a bigger factor in determining the outcome than your skill."
For starters, we need to define the difference between poker and gambling. Gambling is laying 100 bucks down on red in roulette, or putting 5 bucks in a one-arm bandit and pulling the lever. Poker introduces other elements, such as skill and experience. In poker you are playing against other people, as opposed to hacking away the House, trying to bust impossible odds. Whyte says that randomness will override skill in determining success. He may be right, but only when considering the very short term. In the long term, there is absolutely, 100%, - Keanu Reeves will win an Oscar before I am wrong - no denying that skill will override the randomness of the cards you pull. There is a reason why people can play this game for a living, and it has nothing to do with luck. For seconders, glamorizing an addiciton? None of the pro players you see on the good poker shows are addicts, in respect to poker. Booze, drugs, and sex are glamorized far more in TV and the media. He makes it sound like people on the show are praising guys while they piddle away their last dollar playing craps and then well all laugh at him and wish we could be in his shoes.
Another:
Dave Smiley, principal at Elgin High School in suburban Chicago, began enforcing an old ban on card and dice games months ago: "We're like church -- you shouldn't be gambling in school," he says.
My commentary on this will have litle to do with poker. But you just read the princepal of a public high school say that his school is like a church. Where, oh where, to begin? Mr. Smiley, I would like to draw your attention to the Bill of Rights. How are you like a church? Would you care to elaborate and then have the book thrown at you. It is hard to believe that a public school admistrator made this comparison. Also, aren't people in church gambling with their faith all the time? They could be wrong. Either they are, or Jews are, or Buddhists are - somebody as to be wrong. I'm going to call this guy; we need to talk.
Sorry, but Mr. Smiley was unavailable. Maybe I will try later. If you would like to speak to him, the number at Elgin High School is (847) 888-5100.
Then, and this is my favorite part, they wait until the end to drop the bomb on you:
He (Dan Romer, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania) oversaw the 2003 Annenberg National Risk Survey of Youth, which found that about 8 percent of the young people surveyed showed signs of having a gambling problem.
8% of kids surveyed in a study showed signs of a gambling problem!!!
Wow.
I will give you a minute to collect yourself.
We need to examine the semantics of this man's statement: "showed signs of" does not mean "clearly has an addiction." Also, the decision to use "problem" instead of "addiction" is interesting. And, I will bet every penny I have (funny, huh) that the percentages for kids showing signs of alcoholism and drug addiction are significantly higher, if for the only reason that the number of kids participating in booze and drug use is going to be higher than that of kids participating in gambling/poker activities.
Some people are so concerned with protecting "America's Youth" that it makes me almost as sick as people who misinterpret the nature of poker and skew the line between church and state. Yes, I vomited after reading this article. Maybe we should just place all people under the age of 21 in a bunker beneath the Earth so they won't have to experience the hardships of this world.
Until The Next Time.
Let's break it down:
First, a quote from the article:
"It's fun. It's exciting. It's glamorized on TV and in the media in a way that other addictions are not," says Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling. "There's the impression that through skill you can beat the odds. But randomness is always going to have a bigger factor in determining the outcome than your skill."
For starters, we need to define the difference between poker and gambling. Gambling is laying 100 bucks down on red in roulette, or putting 5 bucks in a one-arm bandit and pulling the lever. Poker introduces other elements, such as skill and experience. In poker you are playing against other people, as opposed to hacking away the House, trying to bust impossible odds. Whyte says that randomness will override skill in determining success. He may be right, but only when considering the very short term. In the long term, there is absolutely, 100%, - Keanu Reeves will win an Oscar before I am wrong - no denying that skill will override the randomness of the cards you pull. There is a reason why people can play this game for a living, and it has nothing to do with luck. For seconders, glamorizing an addiciton? None of the pro players you see on the good poker shows are addicts, in respect to poker. Booze, drugs, and sex are glamorized far more in TV and the media. He makes it sound like people on the show are praising guys while they piddle away their last dollar playing craps and then well all laugh at him and wish we could be in his shoes.
Another:
Dave Smiley, principal at Elgin High School in suburban Chicago, began enforcing an old ban on card and dice games months ago: "We're like church -- you shouldn't be gambling in school," he says.
My commentary on this will have litle to do with poker. But you just read the princepal of a public high school say that his school is like a church. Where, oh where, to begin? Mr. Smiley, I would like to draw your attention to the Bill of Rights. How are you like a church? Would you care to elaborate and then have the book thrown at you. It is hard to believe that a public school admistrator made this comparison. Also, aren't people in church gambling with their faith all the time? They could be wrong. Either they are, or Jews are, or Buddhists are - somebody as to be wrong. I'm going to call this guy; we need to talk.
Sorry, but Mr. Smiley was unavailable. Maybe I will try later. If you would like to speak to him, the number at Elgin High School is (847) 888-5100.
Then, and this is my favorite part, they wait until the end to drop the bomb on you:
He (Dan Romer, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania) oversaw the 2003 Annenberg National Risk Survey of Youth, which found that about 8 percent of the young people surveyed showed signs of having a gambling problem.
8% of kids surveyed in a study showed signs of a gambling problem!!!
Wow.
I will give you a minute to collect yourself.
We need to examine the semantics of this man's statement: "showed signs of" does not mean "clearly has an addiction." Also, the decision to use "problem" instead of "addiction" is interesting. And, I will bet every penny I have (funny, huh) that the percentages for kids showing signs of alcoholism and drug addiction are significantly higher, if for the only reason that the number of kids participating in booze and drug use is going to be higher than that of kids participating in gambling/poker activities.
Some people are so concerned with protecting "America's Youth" that it makes me almost as sick as people who misinterpret the nature of poker and skew the line between church and state. Yes, I vomited after reading this article. Maybe we should just place all people under the age of 21 in a bunker beneath the Earth so they won't have to experience the hardships of this world.
Until The Next Time.
