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Message: [QUOTE="BionicApe, post: 3860067, member: 130702"] One of the most compelling aspects of poker (actually gambling in general), is that because it requires so much focus and clarity of thought all the nebulous and existential fears of daily life tend to fade into background noise. So much so that I am inclined to think (god forbid), that poker actually serves in the best cases to help us negotiate our sublimated fears allowing for a sort of catharsis that can improve one's quality of life. But poker is, as much as anything, a psychological battleground waged within oneself and against others engaged in the same internal struggle. I've been told this and am inclined to think there's some basis for the claim even though my understanding of psychology is about as dubious as it gets. Since I see the act of playing poker as a sublimation and management of general fear, I think there's an argument to be made that fear in poker can be conceived of and generalized as the summation of all fears, thanatophobia, the fear of death. Part of confrontring death is learning to embrace it, I think Freud called it the death-drive and if nothing else it's useful for the argument I'm trying to make. Judging from the way people play poker I'm convinced that not everyone embraces death in the same manner. Some are more eager than others, shall we say? If I were to go way out on a psychological limb, I might go so far as to say that it's possible that the joy of poker resides in the eros generated between the fear of death and the desire for death (prolly complete horseshit). Or maybe, I just like stomping fools, who knows? I do believe one of the great battles I fight personally is learning to balance my self-destructive tendencies with my desire to play to the best of my abilities. To play poker well, one needs at times a heroic disregard for self-preservation and having a tendency to self-destructive behavior can be beneficial, but only up to a point. I think this aspect is one of the great limiting factors for many players because it's so difficult to interact with the unconscious mind. [/QUOTE]

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