A team from Nova Southeastern University looked into poker playing and came up with the information that the vast majority of players took to using various chemical substances that enable them to perform better.
80 per cent of poker players admitted to a regular intake of cocktails containing cocaine, amphetamines, caffeine, marijuana, and valium in order to enhance their concentration ability.
Another important factor for players is to keep fresh for long periods of time, for tournament poker and cash games often last for hours on end, that also makes them resort to chemical boosters.
Professionals, semi-professionals and amateur players alike owned up to taking spiked cocktails; 73 per cent seeking to gain better concentration, others – to control their nerves or simply to make the game more exciting.
Lead researcher Kevin Clauson concluded that almost every poker player interviewed by the researchers was using some kind of a boosting drug to get them up a notch or two over their opponents and remain sharp for long.
But this way of gaining competitive advantage will take its toll in various long-term and short-term side effects, Clauson added.
Source of the image: Ladbrokes.com.
