Poker Players Take Performance-Enhancing Substances

Move over Roger Clemens. Take a seat Mark McGwire. According to an article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times, researches from Nova Southeastern University found that poker players frequently ingest performance-enhancing drugs.

The Florida university surveyed 198 poker players and found that “28% said they took at least one prescription medication to improve their performance. Of those who took a cognitive and performance-enhancing medication, 73% said it was to help them focus or concentrate.” The medications, in order of popularity, were amphetamines (62%), benzodiazepines (20%), hydrocodone (18%), methylphenidate (18%), lisdexamphet (7%), beta blockers (4%), and modafinil (4%).

According to the Times, benzodiazepines are tranquilizers, hydrocodone is a painkiller, and methylphenidate is normally used in the treatment of ADD and similar disorders. Poker players, especially those competing in tournaments, are tasked with enduring long days folding hand after hand. It’s not uncommon for live and online poker tournaments to last well into the pre-dawn hours, putting a premium on being able to focus and remain poised.

Nearly 40% of those polled said that they obtained their meds through a prescription, while one-quarter received them from other poker players. Another quarter bought medications from their peers, while 10% acquired them online. Other substances ingested by players in order to succeed at the highest levels included caffeine, energy drinks, marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol.

Dietary supplements were also popular, as 46% admitted to taking them. Thirty percent stated that they took Vitamin B, while 23% took guarana.

Ongoing at the Bellagio at a $10/$20 No Limit Hold’em table is Unabomber Poker pro Phil Laak’s attempt to break the all-time poker endurance record of 78 straight hours. At the time of writing, which is about 24 hours into Laak’s marathon session, the longtime poker pro is armed with only a bottle of water. In a previous interview with Poker News Daily, Laak admitted that he doesn’t use drinks like Red Bull to stay awake. Instead, green tea is his beverage of choice.

In a thread posted on the TwoPlusTwo forums succinctly titled “Poker Players Take Drugs,” “SmartBugger” questioned, “Marijuana? Really seems more like a handicap to me.” A sample comment from the survey that appeared in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article implied that tilt control may be to blame for drug use: “I am a tilt monkey, then I smoke weed. I then stop being a tilt monkey.”

According to a breakdown of stats, which you can read by clicking here, two-thirds of respondents were online poker players, while just 18% were live players. A total of 59% of those surveyed hailed from the United States and 24% hailed from Europe. The average age was 26 years-old and a whopping 96% of those who responded were male. The survey had 38 questions and recruited respondents through invitations posted on poker forums, which may help explain the large number of responses from internet players.

Posters on the TwoPlusTwo forums questioned the study because of its small sample size. However, a representative from the research organization countered, “The total number is secondary to how representative the sample/frame is of the population of interest (assuming proper steps to avoid sampling error). When characteristics of interest are well-defined, it allows for relatively tiny samples to be used that represent huge populations.”

Of the nearly 200 players surveyed, 37% were amateur, 35% were semi-pro, 25% were pro, and the rest classified themselves as recreational. Read the entire poker player drug use study.