Allowing Kids to Gamble? (5 Viewers)

[emunster18]

How much do you teach/allow your kids to gamble? Poker and casino games have been a part of my life off and on for about 20 years. We first started teaching our kids blackjack around age 7-8 or so, because some of their cousins were playing on a family vacation together. Since then we have taught them Craps and roulette.

Earlier this week, we had some adult friends over to learn how to play craps. We stood around the table chatting for about an hour, then proceeded with a short lesson and play. Once the game started, it piqued the interest of my 11 y.o. son. He had a friend over, and we let both of them play.

Fast forward to the next day, I get a text from his mom thanking me for teaching him the game. Now, I wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not. Turns out she was being sincere, he had a lot of fun and wants to play again as a family.

Anyway, that exchange made me realize that not all parents want their kids exposed to gambling. Am I setting my kids up for an unhealthy relationship with gambling or casino games because of how young they were when they learned to play?

 

[DrStrange]

I played poker with the scouts at summer camp. The parental response was mixed.

Sometimes we played for rocks - you lose your rocks and you lose your seat at the table to the next boy who wanted to play.
Sometimes we played a tournament with prizes I bought from the camp store.
Sometimes we played for pennies. Dollar buy-in one cent / two cent blinds.

Plenty of kids and their parents were fine with it. Even when we played for cash, it was small stakes relative to a two-dollar soda or a three-dollar ice cream.

Not every parent agreed. There were strong religious objections to poker from some, even playing for rocks & sticks. Let's just say the parents felt that Jesus didn't approve.

Fortunately, our sponsor was the local VFW post. If we had a religious sponsor, it might have been another matter.

Tread carefully. There will be parents who get very testy about such sinful things -=- DrStrange

 

[emunster18]

Thanks for the commentary, lines up with some of my thought process. We live in Utah, the neighbor friend that we taught is not active in the predominant religion. Thus the reason I was less concerned about teaching him. However, I may need to be more cognizant of it with other friends...

On a different note... would you play a craps game with Paulsons? I have an IOC set or a BRPro ceramic set and can use either. Should I be cautious about using my IOCs and having them be thrown around a craps table?

 

[DrStrange]

Poker chips are built for this exact sort of use. You don't need silk gloves to handle them.

Perhaps someone might be extra cautious with some rare single worth a fortune. Only then though, otherwise the chips should be fine.

 

[emunster18]

Poker chips are built for this exact sort of use. You don't need silk gloves to handle them.

Perhaps someone might be extra cautious with some rare single worth a fortune. Only then though, otherwise the chips should be fine.

Thanks for the reassurance. I mean, they are used in casinos every day... this forum just makes me a little more aware of usage of nice sets. I'll put my silk gloves back in storage...

 

[Frogzilla]

Poker is a fantastic strategy game and have no problem playing with my kids. Winner-take-all sit-n-gos require no stakes at all any more than a chess or Stratego game requires stakes.

Gambling itself id be a little more cautious. The pits can be very addictive. Craps/baccarat may not be the best interest to stoke. As I’m typing this and thinking of the of the ever growing ubiquity and constants of sports betting and casino apps, maybe it’s actually better to let them learn to control problem gambling urges and manage bankroll while it’s cheap mistakes.

 

[ekricket]

I’m pretty sure that faced with everything they are being exposed to nowadays gambling is way down on their list of things that even make a lasting impression.

 

[Bronson]

As always; you’re trying to be responsible adult and have a healthy approach to the topic. However many modern computer games are having loot boxes and other random items you can buy for real money; they aren’t far from real gambling; more like scratch cards or lottery.
Fare more dangerous than friendly game of poker with nice chips on the table.

 

[upNdown]

Maybe I'm overcomplicating things, but are there really two questions here? Because I grew up playing gambling games - poker, blackjack, roulette - but I don't think I ever actually gambled until I was an adult.
Anyway, I've heard that 1% of people have a severe gambling problem and another 2-3% of people have a moderate gambling problem. Those numbers seem so low to me that I wonder if it's even something worth worrying about.

 

[GodStillBlesses]

It is never to early to teach a child to NOT bet, put up…… something they do not want to lose. It could be their teddy bear or their nerf gun…. Life is cruel and can destroy you if you are not armed and prepared. If you have a sensory disorder in a child……. Slots are great. They can teach hand eye coordination, the sounds can trigger the child to associate the “madness of a win” as being a good thing. The colors …….. the positives can go on and on. I come from a strong religious background…… my grandfather would not play cards….. My grandmother, however taught me how to play a lot of card games. My grandmother kids are going to be wrote up for pitching quarters with their lunch money, playing LRC, throwing dice and the such. I can hear my grandson now, “What do you mean? Your granny didn’t teach you how to play craps?”. You can teach positives in any situation……… it also helps with Math. Lol

 

[BKisback]

We haven't introduced money into the discussion, but I've introduced my six year old to it and he loves all the math-related concepts. He has gotten pretty good at identifying strong starting hands - the other day he told me it would be a bad idea to put all his chips in with a 9d8d because even though it looked good, the other player probably has bigger cards or two of the same.

 

[ekricket]

but I don't think I ever actually gambled until I was an adult.

lol nobody had any money, they spent what little they had on candy and comics. Until you hit maturity, instant gratification rules over chancy outcomes.

I remember playing “poker” with a mixed group of kids when we 10-12. We didn’t have money and we didn’t know poker hand rankings. Nobody taught us. We also didn’t have money cause we were kids. So we just drew cards out of a hat to determine the winner of each hand. The only thing of value we had were our clothes. So we used that.
Never occurred to us children that we could substitute common objects for money.

I certainly wouldn’t play poker like that with the groups I play in now. Much better knowing the rules and using proper betting equipment.

 

[RagingAZN]

I think it really depends on how you teach them. As long as you teach them in a way they can learn the positives and negatives, I think there is no issue.

It’s the same as taking your child to the gun range and teaching them how to shoot. Teaching them how to shoot in a safe and controlled way doesn’t mean that they’ll turn into a murderer.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

I understand the worry. Gambling is being pushed hard on lots of streaming and social media platforms, DraftKings and Stake are huge sponsors and they've got influencers winning and losing tons of (sometimes fake) money for viewers. I think gambling will generally increase in popularity in the generations below ours, but we'll see.

Id talk to them and keep the stakes low, make sure you all value the game and the decisions. Everything in moderation.

 

[drdr]

Philosophical about this. In its way Snakes and Ladders is gambling. Roll dice and get lucky (ladder) or unlucky (snake). Not much control over what happens. Yet parents are happy to let children play it.

I think the key difference is involving money. Poker without money is a game rather than gambling. A really complicated one where skill matters. And it is rich with lessons for any age. Toughest I've found for kids playing poker is learning how to lose; poker can be cruel. Rewarding lesson though.

 

[emunster18]

Thank you all for the responses. I think that I may have been thinking about it in the wrong way. We haven't exposed them to actual gambling with any value yet. They goof around playing blackjack, with no money involved. Same goes for the other games. I never really thought of casino games and poker as a way to learn and think about strategy for a kid. You have definitely opened my eyes a bit.

 

[allforcharity]

I started learning when I was 8. From my grandma. And there was a mild language barrier.

 

[dpeks13]

My kids are all way smarter than me. The quicker I teach them game theory, the quicker they buy me a vacation home.

 

[GodStillBlesses]

I started learning when I was 8. From my grandma. And there was a mild language barrier.

Granny’s to the front!!!

 

[KingHigh]

A great gateway gambling game for kids is Left, Right, Center using dollar bills. We played with my friend’s kids (7)&(9) and they became what I can only call “over-stimulated” (squirming, laughing hysterically and clinching the bills with crazy eyes). We cut them off from L,R,C after that night but now they’ve become hooked on racing ponies.