4 in 5 poker players use drugs to stay sharp at table

Stu_Ungar · Jun 9, 2010

Bovinity said:
That's kinda why I've always cringed when I hear people talk about "Memorizing your multiplication tables" and such.

The basics need to be learned parrot fashion, i.e. multiplication tables.

Teaching someone to be creative is all well and good provided they have sufficient resources to be creative with.

Things like multiplication tables are simply building blocks, that once earned allow a person to devote their mental energies towards creative and intelligent thought and away from the "donkey work" of multiplying two small numbers.

17Fabrizio17 · Jun 9, 2010

It is fabricated evidence

Journalists are responsible for this nonsensical claim, it is a fabricated case in order to fill newspapers spaces and sparkle reactions.

billyth3kid · Jun 9, 2010

performance enhancers for poker? now i have seen it all

Stu_Ungar · Jun 9, 2010

billyth3kid said:
performance enhancers for poker? now i have seen it all

Brain building drugs?

GreatestFive · Jun 9, 2010

A Twix bar + Vanilla Coke does the job for me.

blackchip · Mar 17, 2019

Helped me

LombardiStix said:
It is unclear from this article if they are including Caffeine as one of the drugs used. Again bs surveys can twist their results using careful wording to sling mud on a group of individuals. I would need to see the raw data for this to impact my perception in any way. They could have found 1 guy out of 3000 on Valium and added it to the list of drugs used. Unfortunately there are many people who will blindly react and reinforce their already biased view of poker players. Unfortunate.

Stix

I only took valium once, and I won a 850 player 5.50 buy in. Holdem manager marked me as an eagle. I have ptsd, which could interfere with my snap calls and bluffs. But I think i might try it again. See if it actually makes a difference or was luck.

8bod8 · Mar 17, 2019

Marginal said:
Four out of five poker players use any one of a number of legal and illicit drugs to improve their game, a new study suggests.
Researchers from Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in Fort Lauderdale, found that alongside caffeine, energy drinks and guarana, professional and amateur players all over the world are turning to marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, Valium and a host of other prescription medications to try to gain some advantage at the table.

Damn, now I am a statistic

I guess you are in the 80% category?
I'm for sure in the minority of 20%; as freeroller I stick to coffee and whiskey when playing poker.

MikeCarasone · Mar 17, 2019

I don’t doubt that there are players using drugs or artificial means to gain an edge in poker. I do not think it’s 80% of the field. That’s a very large percentage obviously, and I hope it’s inaccurate.

Cody5991 · Mar 17, 2019

I am good always been clean and always will be.

Viper ChipIt · Mar 17, 2019

Well stu ungers performance enhancing drug of choice was cocain. He ended up alone and broke just before he died way too young so ..... yea

nellorossi83 · Mar 17, 2019

Tereré has a lot of caffeine. But i dont believe it can be called a drug.

Poker_Mike · Mar 17, 2019

Ha ha - appears to be an article from 2010 - wonder if it is still true.

But yes - caffeine is a powerful drug - so coffee, tea, soda pop, other energy drinks.

But really - a good pharmaceutical is going to help you focus and concentrate at your optimal.

So, valium is not right for everyone.

Good luck !

Transcendence · Mar 17, 2019

Yes, of course, at home let them do what they want, if it is allowed by law, I do not care, I do not see and do not know. Think that all same if an important tournament the professional player in poker all??? stay sober and be appropriate to this issue responsibly, and so sometimes indulge in many can, so that I think all in order. Their business, after all, if permitted by law! Just whatever the drug after it goes down, then it's hard to recover and you can drain a lot of money playing. So time on time is not necessary.

smknginmaine · Mar 17, 2019

Nice! Don't be stuck in the 20%! Get with the program

:smokin:

Barbarrossa · Mar 18, 2019

lilybo said:
4 in 5 poker players use drugs to stay sharp at table

If 4 out of 5 people use drugs to help their performance at the table I would have to think that by being in the minority(the 1 out of 5 not using drugs)That would give ME the advantage.

I do drink coffee or tea while playing.. Since I'm a wee bit older that may give a short advantage to others as I make unscheduled pit stops upon occasion.

Just don't see the advantage(especially over a period of hours a tournament can last) of doing any kind of drug..

xOneCoolHandx · Mar 18, 2019

lilybo said:
I saw this on my Yahoo page today, thought I'd share.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health...ies+(News+-+Top+Stories)&utm_content=My+Yahoo

I would have to see details of the actual study to evaluate whether it is credible or not. There are a lot of variables they did not mention that would have been relevant, such as, how many of the reported marijuana (or meth or coke) users where using before they started playing poker? Plus, it looks like they only interviewed 20 something year-olds. Drug use in that age range is much more prevalent than other age range, and that age group only represents a fraction of the overage poker playing population.

Personally, I do not use illegal drugs, I do use nicotine (now a vape, been cigarette free for two years) and caffeine (morning joe and ice tea and the occassional coke zero) throughtout a tournament, but that's no different than every other day. I am wondering how different it is for other players.

When I used to play a lot of live tournament and cash games, I noticed a lot of people drinking a lot at the tables (rarely the serious players...we can't all be Scotty Nguyen)...now that I play a lot online, I do notice a lot of weed references in peoples UNs...like Wizard420 or BongBlasterDave,ect...but pot has always been popular and it's popularity have grown substantially over the last two decades. But, I think that is a overall reflection of American society and not just a reflection of poker players.

Dzob · Mar 18, 2019

But nonsense - I regular sleep, take a shower and drink tea - the whole secret for the sharpness of my mind.

KristaK · Mar 18, 2019

Debi said:
lol Doops.
The pain pills I have been on make it much easier to handle the bad beats.

in Canada marijuana is now legal all over... i think i been stoned since the day the law went into effect hahaha
depends a lot on type of weed... i use Sativa type when play poker and it makes me focus and calm... no a lot, just enuf to make me focus.. i eat the gummies 50mg THC is my limit
if it time sleep Indica type is best

ThatGuyTim · Mar 18, 2019

MikeCarasone said:
I don’t doubt that there are players using drugs or artificial means to gain an edge in poker. I do not think it’s 80% of the field. That’s a very large percentage obviously, and I hope it’s inaccurate.

Yeah does seem a bit high (No pun intended). Although this study is almost a decade old, wonder what if any is the difference now.

MishkaZL · Mar 18, 2019

I prefer sports. I regularly swim and, as a result, I am more focused, disciplined, and basically make the right decisions. Therefore, based on your words, one can conclude that the other four of my opponents at the table are drug addicts.

mtmigmike · Mar 19, 2019

I think drugs can help relax, but you lose concentration. I have never used drugs, but I think so.

Millie232 · Mar 20, 2019

Interesting. I don't take any drugs while I play - I do drink tea but my body doesn't process caffeine correctly, so it doesn't have any effect on me. I have a fairly unpopular opinion when it comes to things like caffeine - people who "can't function without my morning coffee" annoy me because they're essentially normalising substance dependency (the same can be said about smoking). On Monday, some guy next to me ordered a hot chocolate with three sugars - so I have do wonder what effect that sugar would have on him. He did go on to win the tournament, though.

maxboy44 · Mar 20, 2019

More statistics which do not make sense. Who pays for these silly surveys?

Pimp 007 x · Mar 21, 2019

It would make sense if they took legal medication if they need to be super focused for a deep tournament.

As far as illegal drugs go, I doubt they'll use any substance that induces hallucinations and hinders their point of view.

As for me, personally, I don't do drugs, legal or illegal. I'm healthy just like that, I guess lol.

azoppina609 · Mar 21, 2019

This is either not true, or I am the one in five!! Although I do enjoy some alcohol on the table from time to time!

4 in 5 poker players use drugs to stay sharp at table

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