I chose to play Texas Hold’em Poker on the iPhone app World Series of Poker for this week’s critical play. Texas Hold’em is a card game played with a standard 52-card deck. At the start of each round, the dealer deals 2 cards to each player. These cards are known as a player’s hand. The remaining players then get an opportunity to place a bet based on their hand. Once everyone has either folded — meaning to forgo the round — checked — meaning to continue without betting — or called the potential bet, the dealer reveals three cards called the Flop. A player can only fold or call if another player bets money. Once again, players can bet money based on the new information. After all participating players have folded, checked, or bet, the dealer reveals another card called the Turn. Players again have the opportunity to bet. Finally, the dealer reveals the final card called the River. The remaining players all commence in one final round of betting before their hands are revealed. The player with the best 5-card combination out of the 7 cards made up of their hand, Flop, Turn, and River wins the accumulated money called the Pot.
Poker is well known as an addicting game due to its luck factors and strategic challenges. The level of random chance involved in the hands a player is dealt along with the Flop, Turn, and River cards entices many individuals. Even if players are dealt medium to bad hands, the randomness makes players feel that a good hand is equally as likely. Players often fall down the sunk cost fallacy, believing that all they need is one good hand to win back their losses. Furthermore, determining a win condition based on a hand or deducing an opponent’s strategy adds a layer of strategy to the game not found in many other card games. Games like blackjack or slots are almost entirely based on chance. Poker allows the player to incorporate a level of skill into their gameplay, giving the player a feeling of control over the game. This feeling of control may diminish the feelings of randomness associated with poker, however, poker is still rooted in random chance. The misconception is often what makes players addicted.
While being virtual, all of these addictive factors are present in the World Series of Poker (WSOP). However, some of the app’s mechanics provide additional addicting qualities. The color choices in the app design for WSOP are very flashy which creates a sensation aesthetic. A lot of animations and notifications within the game are designed to appeal to users and keep them on the app as shown below.
Additionally, the app floods the user with manipulative messages with the intent of guilt-tripping the user to keep playing or spend more money.
Messages like the one above make the player feel as if they are missing out on something if they stop playing. Other messages like the one below are designed to keep the player occupied at all times and spend money on their app.
