The Record - Article from Saturday's paper (Part 2)
Chris Hogle, 20, said that was part of what attracted him to poker. He said he was drawn to the entertainment of playing and excitement of winning.
Throughout his second year at Wilfrid Laurier University, the communications student spent about three hours playing online every day.
Hogle said he was only ever a few hundred dollars up or down.
Looking back, he said it was time he could have spent studying, working out or hanging out with friends.
"Instead, you're sitting on your laptop computer, alone in your room," he said. "I was playing too much . . . I didn't have that kind of time but I played anyway."
Hogle said he quit because he wasn't getting anywhere and didn't want to get sucked in. He only plays on rare occasions now.
"After a while, it became so second nature it wasn't fun," Hogle said. "I couldn't explain why I was playing anymore. It lost the excitement."
But Hogle said the prospect of winning money definitely makes the game attractive. He used to watch other games online sometimes without getting involved, just to see how other players were doing.
Hogle said he was once astounded by a player who went from $1,000 to $16,000 in minutes. The consequences of the players' success didn't hit him until later.
"He had just crippled some other guy," Hogle said. "But you think about the guy who just won.
"You're not looking at what everyone else is losing."
McLaren said she has seen young gamblers who managed to dig themselves into significant debts over short periods of time with Internet poker. Many have used their credit cards or students loans to keep playing, she said.
She recently worked with someone who lost more than $60,000 over six months.
"More often than not, by the time someone comes in for treatment they're in financial trouble," she said.
Pearce said there's no question that poker can be cruel.
"It's the strangest game I've come across because, for the most part, everybody is your buddy," he said. "They're your buddy but they will take every dime out of you that they can.
"Once the cards start flying, every trick in the book is coming out, every name in the book, you name it."
That doesn't prevent some people from playing it for a living, he said. Pearce said he knows professional players who are quite successful.
"If you can handle the highs and lows it's, I would guess, a fairly easy way to make a living," he said. "There's not a lot to the game. It can be profitable.
"If you can handle the swings, hats off to you. I don't know too many who can."
Steve Paul-Ambrose, 23, is one of the game's success stories. After taking a few shots at an online tournament last year, he qualified for a tournament in the Bahamas, where he won $1.3 million US.
The tournament, in which the University of Waterloo student emerged from a pool of about 700 players, was broadcast on City TV a few weeks ago.
Paul-Ambrose later signed a six-figure endorsement deal with the pokerstars.net website. The contract has allowed him to play exclusive tournaments in California and Las Vegas. He will be back to the Caribbean in early 2007 for another shot at the jackpot he claimed this year. He also gets $1,000 each month just for being part of the PokerStars team.
Paul-Ambrose is the first to admit luck has played a huge role in his success.
"Just because a player wins a big tournament, it doesn't mean he is a great player," Paul-Ambrose said. "In any tournament, the player who wins is pretty much the player who got the luckiest."
Paul-Ambrose believes skill will always trump luck over the long term. But chasing the dream of the simple path to wealth through poker is probably a bad idea unless you're incredibly good, he said.
He said he has always played within his comfort level and kept the game as a hobby. Players should decide on their comfort levels away from the table and stick to them, he said. "When you start playing to the point that the swings affect you, it's not fun," the science and business student said. "I'm not failing any classes because I'm playing poker."
Paul-Ambrose said he has heard the concerns about addictions stemming from Internet gambling. He believes there's a tendency to place too much blame on the game and websites for the addictions that might develop.
"If it wasn't online poker, I think most of these people would find another gambling addiction."
Susan McLaren said gambling problems, like alcohol or drug addictions, are often related to other issues.
"It has nothing to do with a person not being responsible or intelligent," she said. "For most people, it's not about the money, it's about the escape from another problem.
"Often, it's an escape from depression, loneliness or boredom."
While a gambling addiction isn't always easy to define, there are symptoms to look out for, McLaren said.
If someone is betting more money than they have, borrowing money to make a wager, ditching other commitments to gamble or lying to friends and family about the money lost, they might have an addiction.
McLaren said the best way to avoid a gambling problem is to set reasonable limits on the time and money you spend. Poker, like other chance games, shouldn't be treated as anything more than entertainment, she said.
Pearce is still playing poker but he tries to stick to free Internet tournaments these days, where there's no option to spend money. His wife, Brenda, helps Pearce avoid being consumed by his gambling problem. She said she watches the bank account and holds onto the bank card whenever he attends a cash game.
Now, Pearce participates from the other side of the table. When friends call looking for a good dealer, he's happy to oblige.
His experience has left him with an ability to catch other players before they get carried away, Pearce said.
"I know when things are getting whacked out," he said. "I can sense it on other players . . . I can slow them down a bit."
Pearce has changed his lifestyle. He enjoys more time with his wife and children, volunteers at a weekly bingo night with the Conestoga Sailing Club and exercises with a personal trainer who has helped him lose 27 pounds.
Even with all the changes he has made, Pearce admits his addiction hasn't completely disappeared.
"I'm quite sure that if I had a bank roll I didn't need to worry about, I would do the higher limits again."
But with bills to pay and a family to support, that's not likely to happen. So Pearce keeps fighting his urge to gamble. For now, it looks like he is winning.
"I'm getting my addiction under control," he said. "It's not easy. But it's under control."
bwhitwham@therecord.com
Throughout his second year at Wilfrid Laurier University, the communications student spent about three hours playing online every day.
Hogle said he was only ever a few hundred dollars up or down.
Looking back, he said it was time he could have spent studying, working out or hanging out with friends.
"Instead, you're sitting on your laptop computer, alone in your room," he said. "I was playing too much . . . I didn't have that kind of time but I played anyway."
Hogle said he quit because he wasn't getting anywhere and didn't want to get sucked in. He only plays on rare occasions now.
"After a while, it became so second nature it wasn't fun," Hogle said. "I couldn't explain why I was playing anymore. It lost the excitement."
But Hogle said the prospect of winning money definitely makes the game attractive. He used to watch other games online sometimes without getting involved, just to see how other players were doing.
Hogle said he was once astounded by a player who went from $1,000 to $16,000 in minutes. The consequences of the players' success didn't hit him until later.
"He had just crippled some other guy," Hogle said. "But you think about the guy who just won.
"You're not looking at what everyone else is losing."
McLaren said she has seen young gamblers who managed to dig themselves into significant debts over short periods of time with Internet poker. Many have used their credit cards or students loans to keep playing, she said.
She recently worked with someone who lost more than $60,000 over six months.
"More often than not, by the time someone comes in for treatment they're in financial trouble," she said.
Pearce said there's no question that poker can be cruel.
"It's the strangest game I've come across because, for the most part, everybody is your buddy," he said. "They're your buddy but they will take every dime out of you that they can.
"Once the cards start flying, every trick in the book is coming out, every name in the book, you name it."
That doesn't prevent some people from playing it for a living, he said. Pearce said he knows professional players who are quite successful.
"If you can handle the highs and lows it's, I would guess, a fairly easy way to make a living," he said. "There's not a lot to the game. It can be profitable.
"If you can handle the swings, hats off to you. I don't know too many who can."
Steve Paul-Ambrose, 23, is one of the game's success stories. After taking a few shots at an online tournament last year, he qualified for a tournament in the Bahamas, where he won $1.3 million US.
The tournament, in which the University of Waterloo student emerged from a pool of about 700 players, was broadcast on City TV a few weeks ago.
Paul-Ambrose later signed a six-figure endorsement deal with the pokerstars.net website. The contract has allowed him to play exclusive tournaments in California and Las Vegas. He will be back to the Caribbean in early 2007 for another shot at the jackpot he claimed this year. He also gets $1,000 each month just for being part of the PokerStars team.
Paul-Ambrose is the first to admit luck has played a huge role in his success.
"Just because a player wins a big tournament, it doesn't mean he is a great player," Paul-Ambrose said. "In any tournament, the player who wins is pretty much the player who got the luckiest."
Paul-Ambrose believes skill will always trump luck over the long term. But chasing the dream of the simple path to wealth through poker is probably a bad idea unless you're incredibly good, he said.
He said he has always played within his comfort level and kept the game as a hobby. Players should decide on their comfort levels away from the table and stick to them, he said. "When you start playing to the point that the swings affect you, it's not fun," the science and business student said. "I'm not failing any classes because I'm playing poker."
Paul-Ambrose said he has heard the concerns about addictions stemming from Internet gambling. He believes there's a tendency to place too much blame on the game and websites for the addictions that might develop.
"If it wasn't online poker, I think most of these people would find another gambling addiction."
Susan McLaren said gambling problems, like alcohol or drug addictions, are often related to other issues.
"It has nothing to do with a person not being responsible or intelligent," she said. "For most people, it's not about the money, it's about the escape from another problem.
"Often, it's an escape from depression, loneliness or boredom."
While a gambling addiction isn't always easy to define, there are symptoms to look out for, McLaren said.
If someone is betting more money than they have, borrowing money to make a wager, ditching other commitments to gamble or lying to friends and family about the money lost, they might have an addiction.
McLaren said the best way to avoid a gambling problem is to set reasonable limits on the time and money you spend. Poker, like other chance games, shouldn't be treated as anything more than entertainment, she said.
Pearce is still playing poker but he tries to stick to free Internet tournaments these days, where there's no option to spend money. His wife, Brenda, helps Pearce avoid being consumed by his gambling problem. She said she watches the bank account and holds onto the bank card whenever he attends a cash game.
Now, Pearce participates from the other side of the table. When friends call looking for a good dealer, he's happy to oblige.
His experience has left him with an ability to catch other players before they get carried away, Pearce said.
"I know when things are getting whacked out," he said. "I can sense it on other players . . . I can slow them down a bit."
Pearce has changed his lifestyle. He enjoys more time with his wife and children, volunteers at a weekly bingo night with the Conestoga Sailing Club and exercises with a personal trainer who has helped him lose 27 pounds.
Even with all the changes he has made, Pearce admits his addiction hasn't completely disappeared.
"I'm quite sure that if I had a bank roll I didn't need to worry about, I would do the higher limits again."
But with bills to pay and a family to support, that's not likely to happen. So Pearce keeps fighting his urge to gamble. For now, it looks like he is winning.
"I'm getting my addiction under control," he said. "It's not easy. But it's under control."
bwhitwham@therecord.com
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