Why do many of the best poker players in the world smoke weed? What is it about marijuana that gives the smoker an advantage in tournament poker? These are questions that get asked more often than you'd expect and not just at online poker rooms such as Reefer Poker, which obviously, by it's namesake, cater to the hoards from the cannabis culture, who are in their own homes and have chosen to play with other like-minded individuals but what about the Poker Pros we see on TV?
Many Professional Poker players who compete in high-stakes tournaments, often televised, such as the World Series of Poker on ESPN, are known to be chronic marijuana smokers. California and Nevada have booming businesses in medical marijuana, it's fast, simple, and affordable to acquire a license in Las Vegas to smoke marijuana legally and once licensed an entire catalog of medicinal marijuana is available to the patient/card player. Various cannabis strains have recommendations for various ailments as well as reviews and testimonials of the effects of smoking, plus a qualified bud-tender is always on hand at the cannabis dispensary, to suggest certain types or strains that are best suited for playing poker.
Let's drop the Hollywood stoner stereotype for the sake of this discussion and consider that a Poker Pro has been smoking weed for 10 years or more and is good at bluffing (that he's not stoned) and after a break only his closest friends, or whomever he's been smoking with, has any idea that he's just quaffed (ie. Smoked) a reefer of the strongest, medicinal grade cannabis, known to mankind, and now he has his Poker-face on, behind a relaxed nonchalant looking, often smiling face. However his heart is beating slightly faster but more importantly a part of his brain that is usually not very active has now kicked-in to high-gear and the Poker Pro is collecting detailed information about his opponents that they're not even aware he can read. In short, the Card player high on marijuana is like a poker scientist in stealth mode. As a side note: I've referred to the Poker Pro as "he" because the vast majority of Pro's are male but I happen to know that female poker pros also regularly play high, especially online.
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