Two Plus Two Older Archives  

Go Back   Two Plus Two Older Archives > General Gambling > Psychology
FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Prev Previous Post   Next Post Next
  #30  
Old 01-22-2004, 07:00 PM
Lou Krieger Lou Krieger is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 26
Default Re: Value of the \"profession,\" bereft?

[ QUOTE ]
My wife, who is supportive of my poker habit, as no previous hobby has ever been profitable, asked me this morning about the essential value of poker as a profession. She suggested that all jobs have value both as a way to earn money (honorable) and also provide a service or needed function. Doctors, teachers, waitresses, construction workers and ditchdiggers all play an important role in society. Professional poker certainly can earn money to help support their families, but is there value to society beyond this?

[/ QUOTE ]

This question has been asked in poker forums for years now. Poker does provide some entertainment value to the players as well as to those who watch the games, and with the increased interest in watching poker on TV, I guess that audience is sizable enough to be considered substantial.

One could easily make the philosophical case that poker is no better and no worse than professional sports, movies, writing novels, or any other form of "entertainment."

Another case could be made that the aggregate economic viability of poker (how many people play, why they play, how much is won or lost) is a valid measure of rational choice in a free society.

I could easily argue that poker falls far below the level of Mother Theresa's work in terms of it's societal worth, but I could argue equally well that Mother Theresa's work was aimed at assisting those who would not have survived without her, and from the perspective of a social Darwinist, her work -- while meretorious -- was ultimately unnecessary. (This paragaph reads like topics assigned to team in a college debating society.)

So choose a value, any value, and apply it as an interrogatory against which poker can be examined. For each value, you'll get wildly differing answers.

From my personal perspective, I see poker as a voluntary association of individuals who enjoy the game, even as some win and others lose. I don't see it as providing any overriding social benefit to society at large, but I don't see that as a necessary mandate. After all, if one is interested in the "greater good," there are myriad ways of doing good works, and there's an entire structure of private charities desingned to facilitate just this sort of thing.
________
Lou Krieger
Raise your game with Lou Krieger, author of "Hold'em Excellence: From Beginner to Winner," at Royal Vegas Poker.
http://www.royalvegaspoker.com/lou
Reply With Quote
 


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:15 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.