Does social responsibility extend to poker?

[ZeeBee]

Some people think gambling itself is morally wrong.

Others think the type of gambling we do (or at least try to do) - namely "preying on weaker players" is morally wrong.

Others believe there is no moral problem here at all.

The reality is that many people do get hurt through gambling addicition, and we maybe contribute to their pain and suffering (depending on whether you believe they would hurt themselves anyway).

There's no right answer, of course. It's up to you to resove it for yourself.

But as many people have said, by choosing to play poker, you have entered a game where it is your job to prey on their weaknesses. If you pull back from that you will be costing yourself money and potentially turning yourself into a losing player.

It is perfectly possible to try to play poker "with a conscience" and avoid playing against addicts, or those who look a bit like addicts, or perhaps against drunks, or those less intelligent than you, or perhaps it's exploitative to play against anyone who's a worse player than you.......

It's do-able, but it's a tricky and slippery slope.

My view is that if you are getting too wound up in whether you are doing right or wrong by playing, you should consider another form of entertainment.

ZB