Responsible Gaming
Although a lot of the marketing you see around poker focusses on professional poker players, they are in a very small minority. Poker should be primarily a leisure activity. The enjoyment of the game and the intellectual challenge it provides should be at the forefront of your decision to play.
At OnTilt Radio, we provide you with materials to become better at poker. Again, this is primarily about enhancing your enjoyment of the intellectual pursuit. Only a small percentage of players make regular income from poker. Although we believe there is a skill component to poker, there is also undeniably a gambling element. In the short term and when you are a new player, poker is essentially another form of gambling like the casino products we occasionally promote.
When you start taking the money amounts in poker too seriously and in particular if your poker spending exceeds your financial means, it can become a problem. This is where an addiction can form. A popular saying in our industry is pertinent here – “when the fun stops, stop“.
Guidelines for playing poker responsibily
- If you plan on depositing to play poker, set a personal limit before you do
- Poker sites allow you to set deposit limits to help you do this, which we advocate
- Some sites like PokerStars allow you to set buy-in limits for different game types so you cannot play too high stakes, which we also advocate
- All of our partners have a self exclusion option for when you feel you have been playing too much
- Set a personal goal for a maximum amount you are prepared to lose before quitting or dropping down in stakes
- Do not play tired, or under the influence of drugs or alchohol
- Do not play if you are under aged
- Do not borrow money to play, or play on an account belonging to somebody else
- Do not play as a way to earn a living, and only play with money you can afford to lose
- Do not play when you are tired or stressed and take regular breaks
- One aspect of both being a better poker player and also avoiding some of the risks associated with gambling is to improve your mental game and controlling your Tilt.
Useful links if you think you might have a gambling problem
If you think you or someone around you might have a gambling problem, you will find more information, self-tests and free counseling and support on these websites.
