Poker is, without doubt, one of the card games that has seen one of the biggest advances in recent years. Thanks to them, the way of playing poker has been incredibly transformed as well as the profile of the players. Indeed, for example, the arrival of artificial intelligence on this market can testify: robots have entered the poker tables and have shown themselves to be much more efficient than human players, even the most experienced. At first, the idea of playing against a robot might seem a little crazy for some of these amateurs, but quickly and naturally, many of them realized the benefit they could draw from this confrontation. The competition is tough, but their strategy changes a lot more than when they play against humans. This then motivates them more to play to optimize their playing tactics.
But apart from the astronomical sums that players can win during this game so popular in the world, what other motivational factors always bring more players to practice this activity?
Here are, for example, below the main reasons that enthusiasts use to justify their attendance at the poker tables, whether online or physical:
- Getting pleasure: the main objective of poker players is to spend a moment of entertainment, with friends or even strangers, while trying to win the game.
- Maintain a social network: indeed, playing poker helps them to maintain a social bond or to create new relationships since the players are confronted with adversaries scattered all over the world. But it is also an opportunity for them to find old friends they have not seen for ages and who share this same frenzy for the card game. Thus, developing more and more of its network of contacts around the same “passionate” activity delights players a lot and allows them to move away from the isolation that can sometimes lie in wait for them.
- Stimulating the intellectual part: this is also one of the points on which the players attach great importance when they are attached to a game. Although chance governs poker, the players are not excused from thinking about it. On the contrary, poker requires a certain logic, calculations, and the best decisions to make, such as knowing which hand to bet.
- Confronting the competition: as this is a game where each of the players is confronted with each other, the adrenaline released from this battle gives excitement to the players, and that is why they continue to chain the parties. The competitive aspect, the desire to surpass oneself, to defeat your opponents are all characteristics that spice up the game of players.
- Win big winnings: at first, poker presents itself as a hobby activity for beginners, but afterward, they see the great financial interest. The probability of winning big winnings motivates these players. That’s why many accustomed players now see poker as a new form of work in its own right. The money at stake is considered an investment that should flourish as much as possible.
Virtual reality to overcome gambling addiction
If you are one of these online casino enthusiasts, then you have surely heard of the concept of virtual reality, which has been all the rage since its arrival. You know it from a certain angle like changing your gambling habits, but today, we want to present it to you in another context that is just as interesting, we hope.
Undeniably, virtual reality is gaining ground, despite the possible brake represented by the price of a VR ( Virtual Reality ) helmet. But on this point, prices should not belong in coming down by bringing competition.
Many have already noticed the potential of this technology in entertainment, but this time it has also proven itself in another use in the face of gambling. Based on the proverb “Better prevention than cure, “these scientists want to provide, through virtual reality, virtual support allowing to better understand the mechanisms involved in this addiction and to have more easily control over simulated scenarios. All this in order to correct addictive behavior.
To access player behavior, the University has developed a system that virtually reproduces the most realistic conditions possible. Several volunteers are involved in this system to obtain playing conditions similar to those of a real casino. By developing this system, scientists hope to be able to study if the environment, physical, and sound has an impact on the players within a terrestrial casino.
By including eight slot machines, this virtual reality system, called Panoscope 360, is designed in such a way that it can give the impression that volunteer players are in a land-based casino. According to the leader of this prestigious research, Karen Finlay, the whole surrounding design of a casino is an incentive for players. The sound, the lights, the images seem to have an influence on the desire to bet players.
By relying on virtual reality, scientists have this opportunity to be able to modify certain parameters and see the effects reflected on the conditions of players. For example, by reducing the sound or the images, the researchers noted a reduction in their state of confusion close to trance, often observed when playing the game in a physical casino.
Currently, these scientists and even anyone have no perspective on whether virtual reality can really be used therapeutically in the future. It is fair to note that opinions are fairly divided on the matter and that no one can have real certainty. As is often mentioned, no science is accurate.
We just have to be patient and wait for more scientific research to be carried out for several years to find out if this technological weapon could be a way out for all gambling addicts.
We will conclude this article by reminding you once again that the danger of gambling addiction should never be underestimated. In many cases, this addiction is often compared to an impulsive control disorder that it is very often difficult to cure. So take shelter, and above all, do not distance your family from your gambling habits.
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