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'This is just so unfair!': A qualitative analysis of loss-induced emotions and tilting in on-line poker

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  • Jussi Palomäki
  • Michael Laakasuo
  • Mikko Salmela

Abstract

Poker is a game of skill and chance, where players often experience significant monetary losses. Detrimental out-of-control poker decision-making due to negative emotions is known as tilting . A qualitative assessment of losing and tilting was conducted by analysing stories about significant monetary losses, written by Finnish on-line poker players ( N = 60). Thematic and narrative analyses uncovered five themes and a narrative structure underlying the aetiology and phenomenology of tilting. Tilting, in the narratives, was often instigated by dissociative feelings ('unreality', disbelief) following a significant monetary loss. Thereafter, moral indignation was experienced, followed by chasing behaviour, in an attempt to restore a 'fair balance' between wins and losses. In the aftermath of tilting, self-focused feelings of disappointment, depression and/or anxiety, and sleeping problems were experienced. It was also observed that experienced players, as compared to inexperienced ones, exhibited in their narratives a more mature disposition towards encountering 'bad luck', and losing in general. The results are relevant in better understanding psychological processes related to losing in the multifaceted game of poker, thus contributing also to existing knowledge on detrimental gambling behaviour.

Suggested Citation

  • Jussi Palomäki & Michael Laakasuo & Mikko Salmela, 2013. "'This is just so unfair!': A qualitative analysis of loss-induced emotions and tilting in on-line poker," International Gambling Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 255-270, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:intgms:v:13:y:2013:i:2:p:255-270
    DOI: 10.1080/14459795.2013.780631
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    1. Andersen, Torben M. & Holmström, Bengt & Honkapohja, Seppo & Korkman, Sixten & Söderström Hans Tson, & Vartiainen, Juhana, . "The Nordic Model. Embracing globalization and sharing risks," ETLA B, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, number 232.
    2. Steven D. Levitt & Thomas J. Miles, 2014. "The Role of Skill Versus Luck in Poker Evidence From the World Series of Poker," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 15(1), pages 31-44, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Manoj Kumar Sharma & Nitin Anand & Senthil Amudhan & Aditya Vashisht, 2022. "Online gaming and tilting: Psychosocial exploration for promotion of emotional regulation," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(3), pages 699-701, May.
    2. Jussi Palomäki & Jeff Yan & David Modic & Michael Laakasuo, 2016. ""To Bluff like a Man or Fold like a Girl?" – Gender Biased Deceptive Behavior in Online Poker," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(7), pages 1-13, July.
    3. Axelle Moreau & Émeline Chauchard & Serge Sévigny & Isabelle Giroux, 2020. "Tilt in Online Poker: Loss of Control and Gambling Disorder," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-14, July.

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