پروفایل انگیزش بازیکنان پوکر آنلاین و نقش تنظیمات اینترفیس: مطالعه در میان آماتورها و (نیمه) حرفه ای

Online Poker has become an increasingly popular form of gambling. In this study, the qualitative method of laddering interviews based on means-end chain theory was used to offer new insights in online Poker players’ psychological motives, and the way in which Poker website characteristics shape gambling preferences. A total of 18 Belgian young adults, experienced in Poker playing, were recruited via snowball sampling, of which 6 professionals (relying on online Poker as the sole source of income), 6 semi-professionals (playing for money, but not relying on it as a sole source of income) and 6 amateurs (not relying on Poker money for income). We focused on 2 Poker websites, PokerStars and Facebook Zynga Poker. Results revealed that an increase in the dependency on Poker profits shifted motives from learning towards monetary incentives. Yet, playing for real money could not be considered as a purely extrinsic motivation as it greatly determined the game play dynamics and experiences, and this both in the (semi-) professionals and amateur players. Finally, our study indicates that responsible gaming features should reconcile monetary worth with values of control, trust, entertainment and game play action.

In the last decade, the popularity of online Poker has surged. From the different types of gambling games played on the Internet, Poker is the fastest growing form (Griffiths, Parke, Wood, & Rigbye, 2010). In general, the rise of Internet gambling has resulted in a number of recent studies, of which many have investigated how new forms of gambling online differ from their offline counterpart (see, e.g., Cotte and Latour, 2009, Gainsbury et al., 2012, Jiménez-Murcia et al., 2011, MacKay et al., 2014, Szabó and Kocsis, 2012, Wardle et al., 2011, Wood and Williams, 2011 and Wood et al., 2007). Additionally, an increasing number of studies have assessed or predicted the potential risks of online gambling (see, e.g., Clement et al., 2012, Cotte and Latour, 2009, Dickson et al., 2008, Dragicevic et al., 2011, Griffiths, Wood, et al., 2009, Hopley and Nicki, 2010, Jiménez-Murcia et al., 2011, Johansson et al., 2009, Lloyd et al., 2010, Matthews et al., 2009 and Szabó and Kocsis, 2012). These insights have fuelled the debate on how to define and implement responsible gambling policies, regulation and consumer protection (see, e.g., Gainsbury et al., 2013, Gainsbury and Wood, 2011, Griffiths, Wood, et al., 2009, Haefeli et al., 2011, Khazaal et al., 2013 and Smeaton and Griffiths, 2004). Although the number of studies on online gambling is on the rise, only a few have focused on online Poker (Palomäki, Laakasuo, & Salmela, 2013). Most studies have drawn conclusions with respect to the more generic phenomenon of online gambling instead (see, e.g., Griffiths, Wardle, et al., 2009, Haefeli et al., 2011, Jolley et al., 2006, LaBrie et al., 2008, LaBrie et al., 2007, Lloyd et al., 2010, McBride and Derevensky, 2009 and McCormack and Griffiths, 2012), and therefore need to be complemented with studies particularly dedicated to unravelling how online Poker players construct their own experiences (Woolley, 2003, p. 17). In this article, we will show that the existing literature on the differences in motivations endorsed for playing Poker between amateur and professional players has not yet yielded univocal results, and therefore may benefit from further work. Hence, our first research question is the following: Research Question 1 (RQ1): “What are the dominant motivations endorsed for playing online Poker in amateur, semi-professional and professional players? Additionally, more research is needed to understand the role of website features, and the way these are being perceived and experienced in shaping online Poker motivations. Even though it is being acknowledged that website characteristics can be decisive factors for gambling behaviour (Dragicevic et al., 2011), how online Poker motivations are being mediated by both website characteristics and player characteristics remains a void in the research field. Therefore, our second research question reads as follows: Research Question 2 (RQ2): “How do online Poker motivations relate to interface preferences in amateur, semi-professional and professional players?” In sum, the contribution of this study lies within its focus on the scarcely studied subfield of online Poker. To our knowledge, this is the first study that analyses motivations of online Poker players in relation to the design characteristics of Poker websites. It hereby provides a qualitative, in-depth understanding of the online Poker experience in amateur and (semi-) professional players, which complements the majority of quantitative studies that have focused on assessing or predicting risk effects for online gambling in amateur players. By analysing the actual experiences with Poker websites, we will throw a more nuanced light on instances of what is likely to be a priori considered as problematic Internet behaviour, and formulate well-informed suggestions for responsible gaming features. Eventually, we will show that Poker players esteem legality and trust, and argue that responsible gaming features should cleverly respond to the players’ need to reconcile monetary worth with values of control, entertainment and game play action.

Poker behaviour is motivated by a number of interrelated psychological factors. In this laddering study, the motivations endorsed for playing online Poker were researched in relationship to website preferences via a means-end chain laddering approach. It was found that amateurs were mainly motivated by the desire to be entertained as well as for learning. In addition to entertainment, semi-professional players were looking for challenge, optimal gameplay and having a great time online with friends. Semi-professionals also became interested in earning money while playing, and preferred winning through skill as opposed to sheer luck, which are both values that they shared with their professional counterparts. Other dominant values in the group of professional players were action (by playing many opponents at the same time), entertainment and trust (with regard to the online service provided by the Poker website). Determining factors for (semi)-professionals’ online Poker websites preferences were the availability of additional features such as multi-tabling and personalization options to increase game comfort and monetary gains. For the amateur players, the user-friendliness of the website was important, as this was strongly associated with increased entertainment value and learning. The evidence presented in this article showed for the first time the linkages that exist between the characteristics of online Poker websites and the individual players’ psychosocial beliefs. Moreover, the results opened up a more balanced perspective on the professionalization of online Poker, which is not necessarily linked to negative emotions and behaviour. Results revealed that semi-professionals and professionals tend to engage in well-considered, structured and legal play instead, whereby the financial goal was clearly interwoven with motives of entertainment, action, skills, and trust. In this context, the role of playing for real money cannot be considered as a purely extrinsic motivation as it greatly determined the game play dynamics and experiences, and this both in the (semi-) professional and amateur players.