Online poker has the convenience of being accessible 24/7 allowing a large proportion of players to gamble at night. Although some studies postulate a bi-directional relationship between excessive online poker playing and sleep disturbances, sleep has yet to be studied as a primary outcome variable in online poker studies. Sleep deprivation has been linked to alterations in emotional regulation, decision-making, and risk-taking behaviors. All of which are known to induce episodes of tilt. Conversely, online poker playing during regular sleep hours may interfere with sleep quality. The objectives of the present study are (a) to explore the effects of sleep deprivation on tilt symptoms and gambling behaviors and (b) to assess whether playing an online poker session shortly before bedtime (120 min) influences the player's sleep quality. Sleeping habits, tilt symptoms, and online poker behaviors of 23 regular online poker players (22 men, 1 woman) were monitored daily for 28 days using questionnaires and hand histories. Tilt and gambling behaviors during online poker sessions (n = 588) played while the player was sleep-deprived were compared to sessions played while not sleep-deprived. Different sleep variables were also compared for sessions (n = 897) played 2 h before bedtime to no sessions played before sleep. Sleep-deprived poker sessions revealed higher emotional and behavioral tilt, a higher number of hands played and unfavorable financial results than at-rest sessions. Also, emotional and behavioral tilt was higher when alcohol was consumed. Sessions played 2 h before bedtime revealed a shorter sleep onset latency than when no sessions were played before bedtime. Post-hoc mixed regression analyses revealed that emotional and behavioral tilt is associated with shorter total sleep time and shorter sleep onset latency, while cognitive tilt is associated with a decrease in sleep efficiency. This study is the first to specifically explore sleep variables with online poker players within an ecological study design. The findings shed light on the daily impacts of nighttime online gambling practices. Future studies are needed to further explore the interaction between subjective and objective sleep variables and online gambling habits as well as investigate players' motives for playing while sleep deprived.
Tilt in poker is a phenomenon characterized by a loss of control. Tilt could be a risk factor for the development of problematic gambling in poker. To monitor the frequency of tilt episodes during online poker sessions, the Online Poker Tilt Scale (OPTS) was created within the French population. The aim of this study was to develop a short version of this scale, one that was faster to complete, and therefore more appropriate for the online poker player population, which was characterized by an impulsive personality and low survey participation rate. The short version is composed of nine items split into two factors (cognitive regulation and emotional regulation). The OPTS-9 version displayed good psychometric qualities and its scores were strongly correlated with those of the original version. Moreover, this shorter version allows rebalancing of the scale’s factorial structure, which facilitates interpretation of the results. This revised scale will measure the relative frequency of tilt episodes and allow to appropriately study the links between problem gambling and tilt episodes. This shortened 9-item version could be included in future experimental studies, as well as in prevention and treatment programs.RésuméL’inclinaison (tilt) au jeu de poker est un phénomène caractérisé par une perte de contrôle. Elle pourrait être un facteur de risque pour le développement d’un jeu pathologique au poker. Pour suivre la fréquence des épisodes d’inclinaison pendant les séances de poker en ligne, l’échelle Online Poker Tilt Scale (OPTS) a été créée au sein de la population française. Le but de cette étude était de développer une version courte de cette échelle, plus rapide à remplir, donc plus appropriée pour la population de joueurs de poker en ligne qui se caractérise par une personnalité impulsive et un faible taux de participation à des sondages. La version courte est composée de neuf éléments répartis en deux facteurs (régulation cognitive et régulation émotionnelle). La version OPTS-9 présente de bonnes qualités psychométriques et ses pointages sont fortement corrélés avec les pointages de la version originale. De plus, cette version courte permet de rééquilibrer la structure factorielle de l’échelle, ce qui facilite l’interprétation des résultats. Cette échelle révisée mesurera la fréquence relative des épisodes d’inclinaison et permettra d’étudier de façon adéquate les liens entre le jeu pathologique et les épisodes d’inclinaison. Cette version raccourcie à neuf éléments pourrait être incluse dans les futures études expérimentales, ainsi que dans les programmes de prévention et de traitement.
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