[USGrant]

A point that posters aren't making but is very relevant to the discussion re: the ethics of professional poker is the relationship between the poker pro and the gambling addict. There isn't necessarily a "contract" involved when the addict deposits another $500 from his credit card to chase a $500 loss. They can't control it, even if they conceptually understand the risk and perhaps (or not) their comparative lack of skill for the game. Of course, some gambling addicts become profitable poker players (although, I guess they remain addicts, just ones that earn instead of lose). But many others just crash and burn, go bankrupt and ruin their lives. In this way, poker is no different than craps, blackjack or the track for an addict. The addict can't control the addiction -- the love for the long odds, the self-hating masochistic tilt, the promise of instant wealth -- and the pro player feeds off of it. We've all seen them on the tables, and I'm sure most of us here have been on tilt enough to know what the addict feels. I think you have to keep this in mind when running up against questions of morality/ethics and pro poker. People who see it as unethical think of loan sharks with baseball bats and the card cheat, which of course are a thing of the past for today's game. But the outsider also sees the Poker Pro as an exploiter of the addict (the same way that the casinos and the State lottery systems are exloiters of addiction). I don't think it's unethical to play cards for a living, but I think this site should address the topic of addiction more...but why would they do that when the addict is a source of income for the pros, etc.