Target Audience and Game Info: I played Poker on 247 Free Poker, a free browser game made by 247 Games. The platform is web-based and can be played on desktop or mobile. The audience is mostly casual players who want to enjoy the game without betting real money.
Central Argument: Poker shows how people mix ideas of luck and skill in really personal ways. Some players talk about luck as part of who they are, like saying “I am not lucky” or believing in hot streaks. But these feelings are not random, they are built into the game and culture around it. As someone who grew up in Las Vegas, I have complicated feelings about gambling. Poker is one of the better games when it comes to chance because it is social and has more interaction. But it still plays into the same emotional loops that make chance games addictive. People believe they can control or predict luck, and that makes the losses feel more personal and the wins feel more deserved, even when it is just probability.
Analysis and Ethics: When I played, I saw people in the chat say things like “My luck is garbage” or “You are on fire.” These comments show how players talk about luck like it is part of their personality or like it runs in streaks. In poker, even when people win from a lucky card, they often explain it as skill or strategy. This is something the reading Designing Chance talks about. The design uses chance to create emotional responses and keep people invested. That is what makes it fun, but also risky when money is involved.
Growing up in Las Vegas, I have seen the darker side of gambling. The main Strip casinos are flashy and are mostly for tourists who know they are spending money for entertainment. But in the neighborhoods, local casinos are everywhere. Because there is not much to do for adults and it is hot outside, people go to these casinos just to be inside. They are looking for something to do or for a chance to win money, and these casinos take advantage of that. The way chance works in these games makes people think they can maybe win enough to pay for what they need. It creates a sad cycle. It targets people who already need help and gives them a false sense of control.
Poker is different from something like slots because it includes human interaction. That makes it more emotional. Decisions happen fast and the tension can be high. It feels like you are in control, even when the cards are just not in your favor. That makes it easy to dig yourself into a deeper hole, especially when money is involved.
One thing I think the game could do better is show people how much of it is actually chance. It could offer stats or reminders about probabilities. That way players do not fool themselves into thinking they are in control all the time. Also, showing players a replay of a hand with some analysis could help them see what was chance and what was strategy.
Ethical Reflection: Gambling can be fine when it is just entertainment. Putting something on the line makes games more exciting. But where I am from, gambling is also about survival for some people. It is not just a game. It is a way people try to make ends meet, and the system takes advantage of that. Poker might be better than other chance games because it involves other people and some strategy. But the emotional pull is still there, and it can still be harmful. The reading about live service games being like the living dead made me think about how poker stays with you. Even when you are not playing, you remember the big hands. You think about the one you lost or the one you almost won. It sticks with you, just like those games that keep going even when they should not. That emotional loop is what makes it fun and dangerous at the same time.
Learning and Evidence: Using the MDA framework, Poker has mechanics like betting rules and card values. The dynamics are about bluffing, reading other players, and trying to outsmart them. The aesthetics are the tension, the emotional highs and lows, and the feeling of challenge. According to Designing Chance, randomness can be used to create surprise and excitement. Poker does this by mixing rules with chance. And like the live service games described in the other reading, Poker keeps pulling you back in with unfinished feelings. That last hand you folded or the one where you bluffed and it worked or failed stays in your mind.
Overall, Poker is a good example of how games can use chance to create emotional investment. But it is also a good example of how that investment can go too far, especially when people are already vulnerable. Playing it for free is fun. Playing it for money, especially in a city like Las Vegas, can be dangerous.
