Experienced Poker Players Are Emotionally Stable

Abstract

Online poker and poker subcultures have become exceedingly popular. Previous studies assessing experience and skill in poker have revealed that proficiency in emotion regulation is a consequential factor in explaining financial success in the game. We assessed (N=478) the associations between poker players' (recruited from online poker forums) level of poker experience and HEXACO-PI-R personality traits. The results indicate that a predisposition for emotional stability—that is, lower scores on emotionality—is linked to high levels of poker experience. Thus, in order to become a successful and experienced poker player, it helps to be able to “keep cool” under pressure. Further exploratory analyses suggest that players who prefer live play to online play are more likely to be extroverted and open to experiences. The results contribute to the extant literature on individual differences in personality in poker players, and in particular help to fill the interdisciplinary gap between personality and gambling research.

Introduction

Within the last 10 years, the game of poker has become an increasingly popular pastime throughout the world. It is currently a multi-billion dollar entertainment industry—played by tens of millions of players—involving numerous online casinos, community forums (poker subcultures), advertisers, tournaments, and ranking lists for personal achievements.¹

Poker is a game of skill, chance, and decision making in a socio-emotional context. The quality of poker decision-making has been shown to depend on both knowledge of game strategy and emotion regulation-related aptitude (i.e., technical and emotional aspects of poker skill).^2–5 In particular, emotional aptitude refers to the ability to cope with negative emotions induced by elements of the game, such as significant and arduous monetary losses, or stinging comments by one's peers during the game.⁶ Moreover, due to its skill component, poker can also be played professionally, that is, in order to make a financial profit in the long run.

Previous research investigating emotions and decision making in poker has suggested that experienced poker players have better skills in emotion regulation compared with inexperienced players.⁴ Positive associations have been reported between the level of poker playing experience and various measures of proficient emotion self-regulation.^4,7,8 In addition, qualitative evidence suggests that acquiring poker experience has been a significant reason for some experienced players (subjectively) becoming more proficient in emotion regulation.⁹ Reportedly, for these players, playing a lot poker has been a “learning ground” for emotional maturity—a path to a type of “que sera, sera” mentality regarding everyday matters.⁹ In sum, the evidence suggests that the ability to “shrug off” and not ruminate on negative emotions elicited by various poker game events is associated with becoming a better poker player.

However, the directions of causation in these findings are not clear: either (a) players with better emotion regulation abilities are more likely to continue playing poker, or (b) players with a high level of poker experience have, through consistent involvement in the game, learned to cope with various emotion-inducing game elements (such as arduous monetary losses) in an emotionally mature manner.^a One way to shed light on this issue—of whether poker is a learning platform for emotion regulation skills—is to evaluate the personality traits of poker players of varying levels of experience.¹⁰

Previous evidence on personality differences among poker players is limited. Barrault and Varescon¹¹ found that online poker players are typically high sensation seekers who enjoy strong feelings of arousal, and that impulsivity, in turn, is associated with problematic gambling behavior.¹² These findings resonate with previous evidence suggesting differences in psychological characteristics between gamblers who engage in “active” forms of gambling (e.g., poker, slot machines) and those who engage in “passive” ones (e.g., lottery¹³). However, to our knowledge, few studies have assessed specifically how poker experience is reflected in personality differences.

Personality traits are known to be to a large extent stable across time,^14–16 and thus it is unlikely that acquiring poker experience can alter these traits. Consequently, any personality differences between experienced and inexperienced poker players can arguably be attributed to selection effects: a specific personality trait might either predispose players to continue playing (and accumulating poker experience) or dissuade them from it. Since success in poker also depends on emotion regulation abilities, it is reasonable to presume that high pre-existing reactivity to emotion-inducing events—that is, high emotionality—might dissuade players from continuing to play the game.

The personality trait of emotionality is incorporated in the HEXACO model of personality characteristics, the use of which has recently increased substantially in psychometric research.¹⁷ HEXACO is an extended version of the five-factor model of personality (“Big Five”). In addition to the Big Five factors, it proposes a sixth factor, known as “honesty-humility.” The reliability and convergent validity of HEXACO are comparable to those of the Big Five.^14–16 The honesty-humility factor correlates negatively with status striving, lavish life-style choices, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism.^14–16

The aim of the present study was to assess the personality characteristics of poker players, with an emphasis on testing the hypothesis that the level of poker playing experience is negatively correlated with emotionality. In addition, in exploratory analyses, we aimed to evaluate the associations between HEXACO personality traits and the preference for live versus online poker playing. Presumably, players who prefer live to online play are more extroverted. To summarize, we propose the following hypotheses:

H1: Emotionally stable poker players are more likely to have accumulated higher levels of poker experience.

H2: Extroversion is positively associated with a preference for live poker play.

Method

Sample and procedure

We employed an online survey in English, whose first page was opened by 1,178 participants. Four hundred seventy-eight participants (36 females; 255 with at least some level of college education) successfully completed the entire survey (M_age=29.9 years; SD=9.35 years; range=17–77 years). These demographics, including the low number of females who are underrepresented among poker players, are in line with previous studies sampling poker playing populations.^4,8 Participants were recruited through invitations posted on international online poker forums, and were offered the chance to take part in a lottery for four separate $50 gift coupons for Amazon.com. The data presented in this report were gathered prior to subjecting participants to an experimental paradigm.^2,7 We also collected data on participants' emotional and social well-being, which will be reported elsewhere.^2,7

Measures

Personality measures

The English version of HEXACO-PI-R (HEXACO-60¹⁷) was utilized to assess personality. HEXACO is highly similar to the Big Five personality inventories,^17–19 with six personality dimensions instead of five. The additional dimension is labeled “honesty-humility” (H), and it measures the individual lack of interest in manipulating others for personal gain, and disinterest in status symbols and luxurious life-style. Emotionality in HEXACO corresponds to neuroticism in Big Five. In previous studies, HEXACO has demonstrated good test–retest validity, proper convergent validity with other appropriate measures, and strong internal reliability.^18,19

The other dimensions of HEXACO are emotionality (E; individual emotional reactivity—i.e., tendency to experience fear, anxiety, and need of assurance); extroversion (X; talkativeness, sociability, and cheerfulness—i.e., tendency to experience positive feelings of enthusiasm and energy); agreeableness (A; tendency to be forgiving, lenient, flexible, and patient); conscientiousness (C; tendency to stay organized, control one's impulses, and aspire for perfection); and openness to experience (O; tendency to be creative, curious, imaginative, and appreciative of aesthetics). The internal consistencies (Cronbach's α), means, and standard deviations for the factors in our sample were as follows (min=1, max=7): honesty-humility: α=0.75, M=4.23, SD=1.04; emotionality: α=0.73, M=3.45, SD=0.93; extroversion: α=0.81, M=4.2, SD=1.03; agreeableness: α=0.74, M=4.20, SD=0.91; conscientiousness: α=0.74, M=4.53, SD=0.90; and openness to experience: α=0.76, M=4.75, SD=1.01.

Poker experience scale (PES)

This scale has been shown to predict accurately the ability of poker players to make mathematically correct poker decisions in a given situation, based on the expected value of the decision.^2,4 PES has been used in previous studies to measure players' level of poker-related skill and knowledge (for complete coding and abbreviations, see Palomäki et al.⁴). The original scale consists of three 10-point Likert items: “How many years have you played poker?” (1=“less than 1”; 10=“more than 15”; M=5.5 [“about 5 years”], SD=2.25, range=1–10); “At what level of stakes do you usually play?” (1=“freerolls, NL2-5, PLO2-5, SNG1-5, MTT1-5”; 10=“above NL600, PLO600, SNG500, MTT500”; M=4.2 [stakes with on average $20–30 maximum buy in], SD=2.59, range=1–10); and “What is the rough estimate of how many poker hands you have played during your life?” (1=“0–50,000”; 10=“more than 5 million”; M=5.2 [about 500,000 hands], SD=2.69, range=1–10).

For the current study, an additional question was included: “Do you consider yourself to be a professional poker player?” This question was anchored from 1=“definitely not a [full time] professional poker player” to 10=“definitely a [full time] professional poker player” (M=3.46, SD=2.97, range=1–10). Higher scores indicate higher self-perceived “professionalism” in poker. The 4-item scale had a satisfactory inter-item reliability (Cronbach's α=0.74; 3-item scale α=0.69). Higher scores on PES indicate higher level of poker experience.

Engagement in live versus online play

A single item was formulated: “Do you play poker ‘live’ (physically sitting at a poker table with other people) or ‘online’?” This was anchored from 1=“only online” to 10=“only live” (M=3.54, SD=2.73, range=1–10). Higher scores indicate more engagement in live (vs. online) poker.

Results

We analyzed the Pearson correlations between PES, engagement in live play, and all HEXACO dimensions (see Table 1). PES was moderately negatively correlated with emotionality (r(478) = −0.18, p<0.001). Engagement in live play was weakly positively correlated with extroversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. PES had a weak negative correlation with engagement in live play, indicating that experience might be best gained by not limiting oneself to playing merely live poker, where it is more difficult to get to play a large number of hands (i.e., rounds of play) due to the relatively slow pace of the game. We also correlated the individual items of PES with the HEXACO dimensions. All PES items were negatively correlated with emotionality, and the PES item “number of years played” was positively correlated with extroversion (see Table 2). For a comparable analysis using multiple regression models, see Supplementary Data (Supplementary Data are available online at www.liebertpub.com/cyber).

Table 1.

Correlations Between Poker Experience Scale (PES), Preference for Live Play, and HEXACO-60 Personality Inventory Dimensions

Scale or measure	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1. PES	1	−0.02	−0.18^***	0.01	−0.01	−0.01	−0.07	−0.11^*
2. Honesty–humility		1	0.00	−0.08	0.21^***	0.13^**	0.09^*	0.02
3. Emotionality			1	−0.14^**	0.03	−0.03	0.06	−0.00
4. Extroversion				1	0.1	0.10^*	0.15^**	0.11^*
5. Agreeableness					1	0.06	0.02	−0.04
6. Conscientiousness						1	0.06	0.10^*
7. Openness to experience							1	0.10^*
8. Do you play live?								1

p<0.05; ^**p<0.01; ^***p<0.001.

Table 2.

Individual Poker Experience Scale (PES) Item Correlations with HEXACO-60 Dimensions

	HEXACO dimension
PES items	H	E	X	A	C	O
1. Number of years played	0.02	−0.07^a	0.12^**	0.02	0.05	−0.01
2. Number of hands played	−0.03	−0.12^**	0.02	0.02	−0.03	−0.07^a
3. Level of stakes played at	−0.04	−0.23^***	−0.02	−0.03	0.04	−0.08^a
4. Do you consider yourself professional?	0.02	−0.11^*	−0.05	0.02	−0.03	−0.03

p<0.05; ^**p<0.01; ^***p<0.001; ^ap<0.1.

Discussion

The results suggest that higher emotional stability predisposes poker players to continue playing poker, whereby they are likely to accumulate poker experience and skill. We also found that the level of engagement in live poker was weakly associated with the personality traits of extroversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Finally, we successfully extended the previously introduced PES with an additional item, which improved the scale's interitem reliability in the current study.

The effect of emotional stability was most strongly associated with the level of stakes at which the participant typically played poker. This indicates that experienced poker players may have an innate disposition to tolerate mental and emotional pressure, and keep calm while making decisions involving large sums of money. In addition, the other items of PES were negatively correlated with emotionality, albeit not as strongly as the level of stakes item. Players with lower levels of emotionality were also more likely to report fewer numbers of poker hands played, and were less likely to consider themselves as professional players. However, the association between emotional stability and number of years played (poker) was only marginally significant. This might implicate a subpopulation of recreational players who have played poker for many years, but infrequently and at low limits. These players would arguably not “benefit” from emotional stability, insofar as they might not care for attempting to improve their skills and experience.

The correlation between preference for live poker, extroversion, and openness to experience is also sensible. Extroverts seek excitement, activity, and novel experiences, and these are probably more often found in live poker rather than in online poker. Finally, the negative correlation between level of poker experience and preference for live poker may be linked to the overall availability of live poker rooms. It could be that, for many experienced players, live play becomes available so seldom that if they want to play often and regularly, they must do so online (where poker games are always available).

Due to its skill component, poker can be separated conceptually from most other forms of gambling (such as playing slot machines). Consequently, studying individual personality differences in poker players, some of whom often play for long hours and wage substantial amounts of money, is also relevant from a nonclinical perspective.¹⁰ In contrast, evaluating personality differences between “experienced and inexperienced” slot machine players would arguably be nonsensical, as there is no skill involved in playing slot machines, nor is there a possibility of long-term profit. Thus, the current results also serve to begin filling the interdisciplinary gap between the “clinically motivated” research in the field of gambling studies and poker gambling in particular,²⁰ and social psychological research about personality differences in healthy individuals.

The results also contribute to our understanding on personality characteristics related to “active” (or “repeated”) forms of skill-based gambling. For further research, we suggest evaluating whether emotionality is also implicated in “passive” forms of skill-based gambling, such as sports betting, and whether online versus live sports bettors display different levels of extroversion and openness to experience, in an analogous manner to differences in sensation seeking between casino and race-track gamblers on the one hand and off-course bettors on the other hand.²¹

This study faces the standard limitations of online correlational poker research.⁹ In addition, in our sample, the openness to experience measure seemed to have deviated from the mid-scale point by more than 0.7, implicating that curious individuals took part in the study more than noncurious ones.

In summary, our results seem to indicate that emotional stability is an important predictive and enabling factor for acquiring experience in poker. Furthermore, players who prefer to play poker live rather than online seem more likely to be extroverted and open to experiences. These findings contribute to extant literature on how individual differences in personality are reflected in human behavior in the popular game of poker—a game played recreationally by tens of millions, and professionally by tens of thousands of individuals.

Notes

a. It is possible that these options are not mutually exclusive.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the Kone Foundation and the Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies for their financial support. We also wish to thank the following online poker communities for their support: www.pokerisivut.com <http://www.pokerisivut.com>, www.pokeritieto.com <http://www.pokeritieto.com>, www.pokerista.net <http://www.pokerista.net>, www.pokerstrategy.com <http://www.pokerstrategy.com>. Lastly, we would like to thank Apophenia for inspiration. Michael Laakasuo would also like to thank Jupiter for stamina and power to go on with endless frustrations related to the scientific process.

Footnotes

Author Disclosure Statement

No competing financial interests exist.

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Supplementary Material

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