Background

There has long been a tradition of healthy skepticism about gambling in general. This has had some pseudo religious motivations whereby people of faith felt that the real world should reflect some of the ideals they aspired to as they worshipped. There was also an element of base snobbery that believe in the theory that naughty things belonged to rich people as they were the only ones capable of controlling their emotions in the face of such wicked temptations. In looking at the specific case of Texas holdem, I was particularly impressed by writers who identified some of the issues which can cause a conflict between the gambling policy and the game itself. In this article I will point out the main themes that drive this debate.

Read the rest of this entry »