Playing poker online is just as addictive as real life

P laying poker online can never fully capture the experience of playing in real life with real human beings who have their idiosyncrasies that give them away. Nor can online poker ever approximate the sensation one gets right at the moment when one reveals a winning hand in full view of fellow poker players. But while online poker and the experience of playing poker in the flesh may very well be disparate, there remains one similarity among the tow and that is the unfortunate reality that playing poker online is just as addictive as real life poker. Gambling by its very nature is a set up for addiction, for it has the hallmarks that impel addictive behavior. It involves chance and the ever uncertain prospect of gaining more than what one puts in; it is the ultimate show of daring since the risk versus reward factor entices even the most conservative personalities, and finally there is seemingly no limit to the number of times one can engage in this pastime. All of these factors create the perfect recipe for losing control of ones grip on what ought to be a pleasant experience. And all these factors are present whether one plays poker online or in a room full of other players, making the propensity for addiction equally probable. Some may argue that the reclusive nature of playing poker online makes that medium far more addiction-prone since one has little incentive to remove oneself from the isolated environment that is the comfort of one’s private space. However the degree of addiction may exist between the two, they both remain equally addictive for poker lovers.