Poker and Youth
Many prevention experts believe that education about the risks and consequences of youth gambling is key in helping youth, parents, educators, and communities make informed and responsible choices about gambling. This section was created to help providers educate communities about the potential problem gambling concerns related to youth poker playing.
Tidbits on a Trend The U.S. Playing Card Company produced more than 1 billion poker chips in the last three years, nearly half of them since 2004 (U.S. Playing Card Company, 2005)
Worldwide online poker revenue jumped to more than $1 billion last year, up from $365 million in 2003 and is expected to hit $2.4 billion in 2005 (Christiansen Capital Advisors, 2005)
The “World Poker Tour ” series on cable’s travel channel drew an average of 1.5 million viewers in 2004 (Nielson Media Research, 2004)
A search on the word “poker” on Amazon.com (Hynes, 11/15/05) revealed: 2,738 links in “Sports & Outdoors” 264 links on “Apparel” 191 links on “Toys & Games” 170 links on “Software” 158 links on “Computer & Video Games”
A 2004 Survey of 16 and 17-year-olds revealed that 42% of the teens played poker in the previous month and 37% Watched the World Poker Tour on TV the previous month. (U.S Playing Card Company, 2004)
What is "Texas Hold'em"?
Texas Hol'em is a type of poker game that is extremely popular; it is the game featured on such TV shows as "World Series of Poker," "World Poker Tour," and others. How it is played: Each player gets two pocket cards, while five community cards are dealt face-up on the table.
The strength of a player's hand is the best five-card hand that can be made with these seven cards.
There are four rounds of betting: after the pocket cards are dealt, after the first three community cards (the “flop”), after the fourth, or “turn” card, and after the final, or “river” card.