Online Poker and the Millennial Generation
Unlike slots or the lottery, online poker is a game that rewards actual skill. This is why many people are drawn to the game. Furthermore, online poker allows players to play for any stakes they want from the comfort of their home. This means that even casual players can win big money.
Despite the fact that most gamblers lose, there are a number of professional gamblers who consistently win. However, there is little academic literature on the psychology of these people. To fill this gap, we qualitatively analyzed interviews with 19 elite online professional poker players. We compared their responses to factors from the disordered gambling and decision-making literatures. While our participants displayed some aspects of behavioral dependence on gambling, they also endorsed a rational approach to statistical thinking and reported not being impulsive.
Online poker has been around for over twenty years now and it is continuing to grow in popularity. In the USA, it is still only legal in a handful of states but it is expanding into new markets every day. It is also available on most mobile devices and has become a very popular way for people to play poker while on the go.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a huge boon for online poker sites, with both professional and recreational players turning to the games during the shutdown of live casinos and other venues. It is estimated that the traffic on some sites doubled during this period. The games are also attracting a new generation of players.
This new breed of players are often referred to as “millennials” and they have different attitudes towards the game than older generations. These attitudes are likely to have a major impact on how the game evolves over the next decade or so.
In addition to the increased availability of the game, new technology has made it much easier to play. For example, many of the leading sites now offer downloadable software which makes it easy to play on any computer with a web browser. In addition, there are now a number of mobile apps that make it possible to play on any device with an internet connection.
Getting money on to and off of poker sites is now much more straightforward than it was in the past. Most sites allow a variety of deposit methods including credit cards, prepaid cards and third-party eWallets. Withdrawals are also easy with most sites offering a range of options including wire transfers and good old-fashioned cheques. However, the exact rules vary between different sites so it is worth checking with a particular site to see what is on offer.
