# Intoxication and skill at games of chance: Any correlation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111 "2012-05-16T16:01:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/1 "2012-05-16T16:01:59Z")
The simplest way to ask this question is: “Why do I seemingly get better at billiards/darts/shuffleboard/etc. when I’ve been drinking than I am while sober?” The slightly more complicated way to ask this would be: “Does alcohol play any kind of positive role in hand-eye coordination as it relates to games of chance? And, if so, is there a kind of ‘perfect drunk’ state in which the body can reasonably expect better performance?” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/2 "2012-05-16T16:28:05Z")
Those are games of skill, not games of chance. ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/3 "2012-05-16T16:34:51Z")
Apologies – I obviously have had too many myself. Okay, so let’s revise – does alcohol consumption play any kind of positive role in games of SKILL? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/4 "2012-05-16T16:39:33Z")
Mild alcohol consumption can cause you to play more aggressively and take riskier moves, which can pay off (or not). If you count the hits and ignore the misses as we are wont to do, you could easily get the impression that it makes you better. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/5 "2012-05-16T16:47:45Z")
My friend was a competitive pistol shooter who said that it wasn’t uncommon for a person to take a shot before an event. It had to do with steadying the nerves. I don’t know if it actually did make a difference or if the effect was only in he and his team mates minds. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/6 "2012-05-16T17:08:27Z")
I think it’s more likely that alcohol makes you THINK you get better. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/7 "2012-05-16T17:11:37Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Those are games of skill, not games of chance. Not the way I play darts! 😃 I kid, I kid … . Anyway, alcohol may also help the player avoid overthinking his actions. If you pay too much conscious attention to what you’re doing in a game, sometimes your awareness of the situation can interfere with your ability to perform the task itself. We call this “choking”. A small bit of alcohol (or other substances) may help some people get into the zone, and the benefits of being in the zone can outweigh the minor motor and cognitive deficits the alcohol creates. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/8 "2012-05-16T17:20:25Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Anyway, alcohol may also help the player avoid overthinking his actions. If you pay too much conscious attention to what you’re doing in a game, sometimes your awareness of the situation can interfere with your ability to perform the task itself. We call this “choking”. A small bit of alcohol (or other substances) may help some people get into the zone, and the benefits of being in the zone can outweigh the minor motor and cognitive deficits the alcohol creates. I was going to mention this. A small amount of alcohol helps me play pool, by simply relaxing me. Without it I will tend to overthink, and end up focusing on everything but a smooth stroke and follow through, which is where most of my problems come from. Unfortunately a little more alcohol reduces my coordination, so maintaining that level is very difficult. Note to self: Always stand well behind \*\*Hamster King \*\*when he plays darts. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/9 "2012-05-16T17:23:26Z")
There’s a fine line between “relaxing” and “impairing.” If you can ride that line, alcohol can improve your performance at certain skill games. But it’s a thin line, and hard to maintain. Long-term it would be better to use some other form of relaxation technique. Of course, that would take a lot of the fun out of it! ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/10 "2012-05-16T18:19:12Z")
**Meatros** partially beat me to it, but I came in to say that I learned during the last Olympics that alcohol was considered performance-enhancing in shooting events. It’s also banned in professional snooker I believe, and in nine- and tenpin bowling. So it seems that it can be used to relax and steady your hand in games/sports similar to those found in most pubs. However, I think that 90% of the casual darts/billiards players who drunkenly swear “I’m actually _better_ after a few drinks!” are in fact worse while intoxicated, they are merely suffering from alcohol’s extraordinary ability to make you feel more good-looking, intelligent, funny, and talented than you really are. You don’t notice that you actually sink 10% fewer shots while hammered because every shot that you _do_ make is accompanied by your alcohol-ridden ego saying “Fuck yeah! I’m awesome! I’m the best pool player in this joint! And the best looking! And the most interesting and funny and insightful! Yeah!” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/11 "2012-05-16T19:43:30Z")
There can also be a practice effect. If most of your experience at, say, darts was when you were mildly buzzed, that might make it harder to apply that experience when sober. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/12 "2012-05-16T19:46:35Z")
There certainly is a fine line. I reckon it’s somewhere between one and two-thirds of a pint and one and seven-eighths of a pint. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/13 "2012-05-16T19:46:41Z")
It worked for Dr. Johnny Fever. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/14 "2012-05-16T20:57:00Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > There certainly is a fine line. I reckon it’s somewhere between one and two-thirds of a pint and one and seven-eighths of a pint. 🙂 You’ll probably enjoy [this Mitchell and Webb sketch](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIv96reVlAE). It’s a few minutes long but totally worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/15 "2012-05-16T21:00:05Z")
> [@Meatros](#): > > My friend was a competitive pistol shooter who said that it wasn’t uncommon for a person to take a shot before an event. It had to do with steadying the nerves. It worked for Kid Shelleen. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/16 "2012-05-16T21:10:51Z")
It works for [writing code, too](http://xkcd.com/323/). ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/17 "2012-05-17T02:06:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There can also be a practice effect. If most of your experience at, say, darts was when you were mildly buzzed, that might make it harder to apply that experience when sober. I would suggest a different “practice effect.” My first game of darts always sucks. I only play a few times a year, so I start off pretty rusty. Each game gets better because I’m refreshing my skills. So… if I drank while I played darts (I don’t), you’d see a sort of bell curve, where the results improved until the amount of alcohol started to impair me. I could easily see that as thinking that a beer or two made me better. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/18 "2012-05-17T02:18:00Z")
> [@wheresmymind](#): > > You’ll probably enjoy [this Mitchell and Webb sketch](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIv96reVlAE). It’s a few minutes long but totally worth it. I’ve only ever seen David Mitchell on QI; very different to see him in character. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/19 "2012-05-17T03:29:55Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’ve only ever seen David Mitchell on QI; very different to see him in character. If you have Netflix, check out Peep Show (also staring David Mitchell and Robert Webb as two odd-couple friends and flatmates). Hi-freaking-larious. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intoxication-and-skill-at-games-of-chance-any-correlation/622111/20 "2012-05-19T02:32:18Z")
Beta blockers have been on the Olympics banned substances list for years, due to their ability to help shooters - and perhaps archers too - calm their nerves and eliminate jitters. To the extent that booze can do the same thing, it might help target oriented bar games. > **[List of drugs banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency | Beta blockers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_drugs_banned_from_the_Olympics#Beta_blockers)** > > Beta blockers are prohibited during competition in a number of sports; out of competition, they are prohibited only in archery and shooting. The prohibited beta blockers include:: 8  > **[Beta blocker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_blockers)** > > Beta blockers, also spelled β-blockers and also known as β-adrenergic receptor antagonists, are a class of medications that are predominantly used to manage abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia), and to protect the heart from a second heart attack after a first heart attack (secondary prevention). They are also widely used to treat high blood pressure, although they are no longer the first choice for initial treatment of most people. There are additional uses as well, like treatment of anxiet Bet... > [@](#): > > Anxiety and performance enhancement > > ]Many controlled trials in the past 25 years indicate beta blockers are effective in anxiety disorders, though the mechanism of action is not known.[18] Some people have used beta blockers for performance enhancement, and especially to combat performance anxiety. In particular, musicians, public speakers, actors, and professional dancers have been known to use beta blockers to avoid stage fright and tremor during public performances and especially auditions. > > The application to stage fright was first recognized in The Lancet in 1976, and by 1987, a survey conducted by the International Conference of Symphony Orchestra Musicians, representing the 51 largest orchestras in the United States, revealed 27% of its musicians had used beta blockers and 70% obtained them from friends, not physicians.[19] Beta blockers are inexpensive, said to be relatively safe and, on one hand, seem to improve musicians’ performances on a technical level, while some say the performances may be perceived as “soulless and inauthentic”.[19] > > The physiological symptoms of the fight-or-flight response associated with performance anxiety and panic (pounding heart, cold/clammy hands, increased respiration, sweating, etc.) are significantly reduced, thus enabling anxious individuals to concentrate on the task at hand. Stutterers also use beta blockers to avoid fight-or-flight responses, hence reducing the tendency to stutter. Officially, beta blockers are not approved for anxiolytic use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.[20] > > Since they promote lower heart rates and reduce tremors, beta blockers have been used by some Olympic marksmen to enhance performance, though beta blockers are banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).[21] They are acknowledged to be beneficial to sports such as archery and shooting. A recent, high-profile transgression took place in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where 50 metre pistol silver medallist and 10 metre air pistol bronze medallist Kim Jong-su tested positive for propranolol and was stripped of his medal