Gambling Disorders

The beliefs of a society about a health condition can have a huge impact on the people who suffer from the disorder. Public opinion can influence public health policy, public and private harm minimization efforts, research funds and treatment support. At the individual level, negative public views of a disease and the stigma it creates can strongly discourage individuals from admitting that he or she has the problem and seeking treatment for the condition. There is little data available on public opinion of gambling disorders; however, a new study published in the Journal of Gambling Studies fills this void with a systematic examination of public opinion on gambling disorders.

Researchers conducted telephone surveys with 8,467 adults in the Toronto area and questioned people about their opinions of how to best understand gambling disorders. Researchers asked if gambling disorders should be treated as a disease or illness, a wrongdoing, a habit, not disease or an addiction similar to drug addiction. Researchers also inquired if people with gambling disorders can get well on their own or must seek treatment to improve and polled adults on whether people with gambling disorders can reduce their gambling to that of a social gambler or if they need to quit altogether. The survey also gathered information on the gambling behavior and demographics of the respondents.

The researchers found that most people viewed gambling disorders as an addiction similar to drug addiction, with one-third seeing gambling as a habit and 17 percent viewing gambling as a form of wrongdoing. Responses to whether gamblers needed treatment to recover showed a split jury, and three out of four thought that abstinence from gambling activities must happen for recovery. Examining the demographics, the researchers found that being female, married, younger and without gambling problems paralleled believing that treatment and abstinence were necessary. In addition, people who viewed gambling problems as a disease or addiction also believed that treatment and abstinence for recovery are necessary.

The researchers noted that public perceptions reported in their study mimic the results of a 2003 study that examined the views of the public on alcohol use, with 71 percent of respondents saying that abstinence must occur for recovery. This popularly held belief is also the view of much of the scientific community as reflected by the upcoming changes the American Psychiatric Association is making.

Finally, researchers concluded that people with gambling disorders were less likely to think that treatment and abstinence were necessary for recovery. This may be because many people who meet the clinical guidelines for a gambling disorder do not think they have a problem and even those who believe they do have a problem are unlikely to seek treatment.

Card Games Rules

A new card game starts in a small way, either as someone's invention, or as a modification of an existing game. Those playing it may agree to change the rules as they wish. The rules that they agree on become the house rules under which they play the game. A set of house rules may be accepted as valid by a group of players wherever they play, as it may also be accepted as governing all play within a particular house, café, or club.

When a game becomes sufficiently popular, so that people often play it with strangers, there is a need for a generally accepted set of rules. This need is often met when a particular set of house rules becomes generally recognized. For example, when Whist became popular in 18th-century England, players in the Portland Club agreed on a set of house rules for use on its premises. Players in some other clubs then agreed to follow the Portland Club rules, rather than go to the trouble of codifying and printing their own sets of rules. The Portland Club rules eventually became generally accepted throughout England and Western cultures.

It should be noted that there is nothing static or official about this process. For the majority of games, there is no one set of universal rules by which the game is played, and the most common ruleset is no more or less than that. Many widely played card games, such as Canasta and Pinochle, have no official regulating body. The most common ruleset is often determined by the most popular distribution of rulebooks for card games. Perhaps the original compilation of popular playing card games was collected by Edmund Hoyle, a self-made authority on many popular parlor games. The U.S. Playing Card Company now owns the eponymous Hoyle brand, and publishes a series of rulebooks for various families of card games that have largely standardized the games' rules in countries and languages where the rulebooks are widely distributed. However, players are free to, and often do, invent house rules to supplement or even largely replace the standard rules.

If there is a sense in which a card game can have an official set of rules, it is when that card game has an official governing body. For example, the rules of tournament bridge are governed by the World Bridge Federation, and by local bodies in various countries such as the American Contract Bridge League in the U.S., and the English Bridge Union in England. The rules of skat are governed by The International Skat Players Association and in Germany by the Deutscher Skatverband which publishes the Skatordnung. The rules of French tarot are governed by the Fédération Française de Tarot. The rules of Poker's variants are largely traditional, but enforced by the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour organizations which sponsor tournament play. Even in these cases, the rules must only be followed exactly at games sanctioned by these governing bodies; players in less formal settings are free to implement agreed-upon supplemental or substitute rules at will.

 

Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud poker is a casino table game with rules similar to five-card stud poker. However, unlike standard poker games, Caribbean stud is played against the house rather than against other players. There is no bluffing or other deception.

As a result of the popularity of poker, casinos created a house banked game known as Caribbean Stud Poker in order to lure poker fans to play more table games. The birth of the game is not well referenced, which is unusual for a relatively new game. Gambling genius David Sklansky has laid claim to formulating the game on a well-known poker forum, positing that he invented the game in 1982 using the name “Casino Poker”. When he developed the game the rules had some differences like, the dealer having two hole cards revealed instead of only one hole card revealed as in Caribbean Stud today. Likewise there was no progressive jackpot in the game he allegedly founded. Sklansky was unable to patent Casino Poker due to patent laws, according to the story. A few years afterwards he was approached by a poker player who brought the game to Aruba and had it patented. The poker player and a casino owner changed the rules slightly to form what we experience nowadays as

Another story details that many people claim they played the game under a different name on a cruise ship going to Aruba, before it was known as Caribbean Stud. The proprietor of the now 'Excelsior Casino' is believed to have bought the game after it was discovered on the cruise ship. The casino at the time was known as 'The King International'. This new game has developed a tremendous interest from tourists in its short history. Fanatics of the game flock to Aruba yearly to play some Caribbean Stud at its home.

The true story of how the game as it is played today came into being goes back to 1987 when a gambler named James Suttle learned the game from a down on his luck poker player while playing Texas Holdem at Binion's Horseshoe on Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. The Player offered to teach Suttle the game if he would lend him $5,000.00. James Suttle denies this. James who was a friend of casino owner and game developer Danny Jones, gave the man the loan because he knew that he could sell the game to Jones for a hefty profit. Jones owned the King International Casino in Aruba which latter became the Grand Holiday Casino. The casino was located in the Holiday Inn on Palm Beach in Aruba which was a favorite layover for many cruise lines. Danny began to market the game with minimal success to other casinos and cruise ships under the company D&D Gaming Patients. It wasn't until computer software engineer Michael Titus told Jones that his game needed a linked progressive Jackpot that the game took off. Titus was playing Poker with Jones at the Horseshoe when during a casual conversation about the game including discussion about the games strengths and weaknesses they determined that the game was too strong for the house and players needed an enticement to play in spite of the games favor for the house. It has been a long standing tradition in the gaming industry to add large or progressive jackpots to games that offer weaker returns to the player. The advantage of a progressive jackpot is that it almost always pays for itself through player contributions. In slot machine play this is easily accomplished as the gaming machine is such a key element to the game, on table games this had never been done in a real time environment. Poker games have had progressive Bad Beat jackpots for a long time, but these were calculated on a daily or weekly basis from a jackpot rake at a predetermined period of time. Jones and Titus roughed out the method by which the new game would be implemented and created the first live progressive linked jackpot on a table game which lead to the games rapid growth and popularity. Two days after the Horseshoe meeting Titus resigned from his job at the Las Vegas Hilton and went to work for newly formed Progressive Games, Inc.. Progressive Games started by sharing space with a Las Vegas Sign Company called City Lites which provided signage and jackpot meters for the game. Eventually the company split due to licensing issues in Nevada. Progressive Games moved to Florida and began Global Distribution of the game while Dane Jones, Danny's son, operated the Nevada company for about six months. Eventually, Dane made a deal for the Nevada distribution rights with a company called D.P. Stud. The million dollars that was to be paid to the Jones family for the rights to distribute the game was never paid in full and due to Jones licensing issues in Nevada he was never given just payment. The hardware that went into the Nevada version of the game was illegally knocked off by DP Stud for many years. This is part of the reason the history of the game became so clouded. Dane's fumbled deal ended the Jones family involvement with the game in Nevada. However, the Ft. Lauderdale based Progressive Games went on to distribute the game globally during the next two years. In a major consolidation move Mikhon Gaming bought out Progressive Games and the Nevada distribution company in 1995. The concept patent  for a progressive linked jackpot on a table game, that Titus brought to Caribbean Stud has stood many challenges. It is the Jackpot feature that has made the game a long time success among the new casino games.

The following rules are typical of U.S. casinos, but some of the details the payouts and limits vary from casino to casino.

To play, every player places his ante on a marked spot on the table playing surface the layout where indicated; all ante wagers must be placed prior to the dealer announcing No more bets. Each player also has the option to participate in the progressive jackpot feature of the game. This is also done before the dealer announces no more bets, by dropping a chip in the slot on the table which activates the progressive jackpot light for that seat and that particular hand of play. Each player and the dealer will then receive five cards, face down. The dealer will turn over one of his cards, then push the cards toward the players, after which the players may look at their cards. They may only look at their own cards, and may not discuss what they have with any other players at the table.

Players have the option to play or fold; if they choose to play, they place their bets twice the amount of their respective ante in the bet box. If they choose to fold, they forfeit their ante. After all the players have made their decisions, the dealer reveals his hole cards. The dealer only plays with an ace/king or higher; they then compare their cards to the other players' cards individually, right to left, and the players' hands that beat the dealer's qualifing hand wins.

There are some major rules in Caribbean Stud Poker that must be observed at all times while playing:

Only one hand per player. Players cannot hold or wager on multiple hands at the table.

Players choosing to play the Progressive Payout feature are responsible for ensuring their $1 wager has been inserted into slot and the Indicator Light is ON.

Players may not exchange or communicate information regarding their hands to other players or the dealer. Player violation will result in a dead hand and forfeiture of all wagers.

Incorrect amount of cards to the player constitutes a dead hand or push for that player only.

The decision of the table/casino supervisor is final.

If the dealer is dealt four cards of the five-card hand, the dealer shall deal an additional card to complete the hand. Any other misdeal to the dealer shall result in all hands being void and the cards shall be reshuffled.

Each player shall be required to keep the five cards in full view of the dealer at all times. Once each player has examined his or her cards and placed them face down on the layout, they may not touch the cards again.

If a hole card is exposed prior to the dealer announcing No More Bets, all hands shall be void.