I was wondering if there is an actual chemical release of serotonin or dopamines that occur along with the “thrill” of gambling.
Or, the OP could read that I recently signed up for a Texas Hold’Em site, playing for “free money chips” been building my way up to the “high dollar” free money tables (I had a 4 day empire of 60,000 chips, only to find myself losing my ass in the last three days down to just over 6,000 chips).
I feel the addiction coursing through my veins and I am only playing for free money. What is it about actual money gambling that forces people into addiction to it? Is it just “I know I’ll get it back next time” and never getting it that’s the lure, or is there a real biological answer?
Have human brains ever been examined while the owner of said brain is in the process of gambling?
What’s the poop?
<<edit>>Mods please move to GQ, thought I was there. Apparently free online gambling also has side effects like short-term memory loss <</edit>>
The fact that drugs that stimulate dopamine receptors (used to treat Parkinson’s disease and more recently restless leg syndrome) can trigger compulsive gambling indicates that there is some chemical component. Here’s an article about a Mayo Clinic report on the subject.
That’s creepy on so many levels to me. Creepy that there’s actually a condition called “restless leg syndrome” that gets pharmaceuticals prescribed for it, and that the Dopamine drug actually inspires gambling addiction in a certain percentage of people that just can’t sit still very well.
It’s actually an interesting insight into the personality of someone that is a leg twitcher and the chances of people like that developing addictions because the leg twitch is some kind of a personality indicator, otherwise they wouldn’t prescribe such a drug to treat this “disorder”.
Restless leg syndrome is not a description of people whose legs twitch. It is a condition in which people feel strange sensations in their legs that can only be relieved by getting up and moving around. It can cause severe sleep problems and be very debilitating. It is not a mental or psychological disorder any more than Parkinson’s disease is.
I do not have this disease, but there are a number of people on the Dope who do and who have discussed their experiences in other threads.
It’s intermittent reinforcement. All gambling relies on this for its powerful addictive properties.
BF Skinner did an experiment with rats in which he put a rat in a box with a lever. If the rat pushed the lever, a pellet of food would drop out. The rat soon learned this, and whenever it was hungry it would press the lever to get its food.
Then Skinner changed the behaviour so that when the rat pushed the lever a pellet of food would only drop out on random occasions. This turned out to have a much more powerful behavioural effect on the rat, and it began compulsively pushing the lever, even when it wasn’t hungry. That’s what’s going on in gambling - you win sometimes, and lose sometimes. That makes you want to keep playing.
So every time you play a hand, just tell yourself you’re a rat in a box!
I think the main attraction to on-line vs. live card games is the feeling that nobody will laugh at you. The fear of not having enough of a poker face makes many people refuse to play a live game for serious money.
AddictIVE. The bloody word is “addictive”. Whence “addicting”? It’s not shorter, it’s not easier to say, it’s … it’s … it’s not anything. I just don’t get it.
Wouldn’t a better analogy be something like “Play money poker is to real money poker as paintball is to a gunfight” ? Yes, it’s a little exaggerated in the opposite direction, but touch-vrs-tackle doesn’t really do it. The important difference between play money and real money games is real loss or gains, outside of the game; and just because you play tackle football doesn’t mean you are losing or winning anything more than the game.
And yes, I know that people can get hurt by being tackled, but that’s not supposed to happen; you are supposed to play to win the other guy’s money.
I too have recently played for free money poker on line and experiencing the ups and downs like you. At the moment it is a novelty, and I enjoy sharpening my skills and perceptions in competition. It has taken time away from the SDMB for me which I welcome, as I regard my attention to this board as way more addictive. For now at least. Perhaps someone could explain my addiction to the board.
I’ve personally never understood gambling, I don’t even like gambling mini-games in bigger games you can play (like casino/cantina sequences). I used to play cards with my family a lot when I was younger and that was fun, but the notion of playing for money (or even toothpicks) is something that doesn’t appeal to me at all.
Well, I certainly find this messageboard and one other I visit daily to be quite addicting too, but my recent spate with PokerStars just got me thinking about why gambling is so addictive ( ) besides the money. I found myself going “Thank God I don’t play for real money, I have a mortgage to pay!”.
I have been playing micro stakes online at Pokerstars (and party Poker before that) since 2003 and have won close to $4,000. And by micro stakes, I mean .5-1 limit, $11 Sit and Gos, and .05-.1 No Limit cash games.
I also HATE HATE HATE gambling, but I think I understand it. It causes an extreme flight reaction in my reptilian brain. I think I feel the rush that people that like to gamble get, but I just don’t enjoy that feeling at all.
) besides the money. I found myself going “Thank God I don’t play for real money, I have a mortgage to pay!”.