Life is about taking chances. Some people risk more than others in hopes of great success. Patrick McAllister is one of these people.

He’s a poker player, and makes his living by taking chances. He competes in online matches five to six times every week and brings in close to $2,000 weekly.

Online poker has quickly become an international sensation, especially among the college age bracket. It’s a convenient and easy way for amateur card sharks to earn the big bucks.

Since 2001, there has been a substantial growth in the number of people playing poker online. Nine years ago, about one per cent of the general population was plugged in to this trend. But now, roughly five to eight per cent are laying their money on the line in hopes of landing that big jackpot.

Poker used to be just a game played in Vegas casinos and at a table with friends. But now television networks like TSN are showing games featuring some of the biggest names in the poker business. Viewers see the wealth and celebrity status these players have, and they desire to be just as successful at the game.

With an increased interest in poker, many people are speculating about the potential for addiction in these players, and many references to Video Lottery Terminals (VLT’s) have already been made. But for enthusiasts like McAllister, poker isn’t a problem.

“My problem with calling poker ‘gambling’ is the fact that calling something gambling gives the illusion that whether you win or lose is out of your control, in poker that’s just not true,” he says. “I know long term I will make money and every player I play against has the exact same opportunities I’ve had to learn the game, to take the time and study and improve.”

Jason Morrison agrees.

He is a student at St. Thomas University and his winnings are his main source of income. He claims to make close to 17 dollars an hour from playing poker.

“Poker is a mind game and has a lot of the same aspects as chess and backgammon. There are professional poker players just like there are professionals in pool, chess, backgammon, darts etc.. It is not a physical or psychological gift by any means. It is just practice, patience and learning from past mistakes.”

Morrison has a very Darwinian theory about poker. He said it’s really dependent on who he’s playing against. It’s about being better than the other players in order to keep winning. It’s this level of skill and strategy that he and McAllister believe separates them from those addicted to VLTs.

But is there really any difference between poker players and VLT addicts? Or is it just a gateway to a severe gambling addiction? Questions like these have prompted Anthony Hopley, a PHD student in psychology at the University of New Brunswick, to tackle this subject as part of his dissertation.

After scouring poker chat rooms online, Hopley found his volunteers and set his research gears in motion. Because this is relatively uncharted territory, he had to reference studies done on other areas of gambling to use as a guide for his foray into poker.

“I looked at all the different factors that could lead someone to be a problem gambler in those areas. And some of the ones that came up were: playing to escape, playing for excitement, to get happy,” he says. “People that tend to be more impulsive tend to gamble more. And so what I did was I took those variables that explain problem gambling in other kinds of gambling realms and tried to see if they apply to online poker.”

While these are all factors, Hopley says the main ingredient in this recipe for addiction is money. About 46 per cent of all people who play poker started because they were enticed by the financial gains. But in terms of developing an addiction to the game, he says he found the more time people spend playing these games the more they become disassociated, prone to boredom, and impulsive. Once even one of these side effects kicks in, the player is more willing to continue game play.

The average person involved in his study was playing up to 20 hours of poker every week. He also discovered about nine per cent of the population who are playing poker online can be described as problem gamblers.

Gambling addictions are one of the most common forms seen in Canada. About six per cent of all Canadians will face an addiction like this at some point in their life.

And considering the short amount of time poker has been on the rise, statistics like this will surely be a cause for concern for the families and friends of these players. It’s the effects on the families, as well as the players that addiction counsellors like Brenda Gustasven see on a daily basis.

“Usually the gamblers don’t come in to see me until they’re kind of in the desperation phase,” she says. “They’re at their wits end usually when they come here. That’s not in every case, some people come here before that, but usually they’re in the desperation phase. “

When gamblers have reached this point Gustasven says they’ve lost houses, ruined relationships, and have little to no money left to their names. She deals with addictions of every nature, but admits gambling is by far the most dangerous of them all.

“It’s a very serious problem. It can happen real fast to people,” she says. “They can spend a lot of money real fast. It’s much quicker and has more devastating consequences than somebody using drugs or alcohol because they can spend so much money so fast.”

McAllister has seen first-hand how quickly someone can lose at this game. A close friend of his lost every cent he won from playing the game. He was putting in 12 hour days in front of his computer, and got to the point where he was relying on other players to lend him money so that he could continue playing. But McAllister credits his friend’s poker demise to his poor bankroll management, not to chance.

“Problem gambling is an issue in any respect, but at what point do we take the responsibility off of the individual? I would love for the government to tackle problem gambling, but not by outlawing things like online poker, but by making money management a topic taught in school and educating the masses about the issues that can arise if people aren’t smart about risking money.”

Since the government won’t likely be pulling a hand like that together anytime soon, it will have to remain up to the individual to know whether to hold ‘em, or whether to fold ‘em.