Motivation profiles of online Poker players and the role of interface preferences: A laddering study among amateur and (semi-) professionals

Abstract

Online Poker has become an increasingly popular form of gambling. In this study, the qualitative method of laddering interviews based on means-end chain theory was used to offer new insights in online Poker players' psychological motives, and the way in which Poker website characteristics shape gambling preferences. A total of 18 Belgian young adults, experienced in Poker playing, were recruited via snowball sampling, of which 6 professionals (relying on online Poker as the sole source of income), 6 semi-professionals (playing for money, but not relying on it as a sole source of income) and 6 amateurs (not relying on Poker money for income). We focused on 2 Poker websites, PokerStars and Facebook Zynga Poker. Results revealed that an increase in the dependency on Poker profits shifted motives from learning towards monetary incentives. Yet, playing for real money could not be considered as a purely extrinsic motivation as it greatly determined the game play dynamics and experiences, and this both in the (semi-) professionals and amateur players. Finally, our study indicates that responsible gaming features should reconcile monetary worth with values of control, trust, entertainment and game play action.

Tilt in Online Poker: Development of a short version of the Online Poker Tilt Scale

“…This limits the generalization of the present results to online poker players willing to participate in poker studies. The overall characteristics of the present sample (age, professional situation, gender) are similar to those reported in other studies made on the poker players population (Barrault & Varescon, 2013a, 2013bHopley, Dempse, & Nicki, 2012;LaPlante, Kleschinsky, LaBrie, Nelson, & Shaffer, 2009;McCormack & Griffiths, 2011;Meyer et al, 2013;Zaman, Geurden, De Cock, De Schutter, & Vanden Abeele, 2014). A second limitation is related to the underrepresentation of female players with a low playing frequency, in the French sample in particular, where half of the female participants played at least once a day.…”

Adolescents and loot boxes: links with problem gambling and motivations for purchase

“…Some explicitly linked this to the randomized nature of the rewards in loot boxes; others even referred to these as ‘gambling feeling[s]’. There are parallels that can be drawn here between why older adolescents buy loot boxes and why gamblers spend money on games like Internet poker, in which excitement is often thought to be a key factor in determining engagement [46].…”

Would Chuck Norris Certainly Win the Hunger Games? Simulating the Result Reliability of Battle Royale Games Through Agent-Based Models

“…We again want to mention that a high involvement of luck is typically regarded as a negative thing in competitive sport or e-sports tournaments. However, a high level of short-term uncertainty as in, for instance, Poker games, offers increased excitement, which in turn fosters players’ motivation to keep playing (Wood et al, 2007; Zaman et al, 2014). Thus, there is no universal optimum for result uncertainty/reliability in terms of popularity or quality of entertainment and our results should not be seen as a criticism of the Battle Royale genre, but rather as a characterization.…”