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ETD Abstract Container

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The Dirty Work of Poker: Impression Management and Identity

Vines, Marcus
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1337351989

Abstract Details

2012, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Sociology.
The Dirty Work of Poker: Impression Management and Identity Poker has penetrated mainstream popular culture in recent years with the emergence of internet poker sites and television coverage of poker’s largest events. However, images of seedy, back alley poker games and riverboat gamblers persist when someone identifies themselves as a poker player. How do poker players deal with the preconceived notions about who they are and what they do? What are they willing (or have) to do to maintain this identity? How does being a poker player affect their family life and their personal relationships? There has been little literature that has examined this world. In this thesis, I draw on the literature on identity, stigma and “dirty work” to examine how poker players negotiate an identity on poker playing and how that identity is maintained and managed both within and outside of the poker community. Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted in order to see how poker players managed their identities within the poker community and how they managed their stigmatized identities outside of the poker room. Five themes emerged through analysis of the data: poker is work, gender matters when poker players talk about their impression management within the poker community, poker players view themselves as “better” than other types of gamblers, players were concealers before they became converters, and they have poker friends and “real world” friends. Future research projects should use participant observation in order to see impression management strategies used within the poker room.
Annulla Linders, PhD (Committee Chair)
Steven Carlton-Ford, PhD (Committee Member)
41 p.
Sociology
poker; dirty work; identity; stigma; ; ;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Vines, M. (2012). The Dirty Work of Poker: Impression Management and Identity [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1337351989

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Vines, Marcus. The Dirty Work of Poker: Impression Management and Identity. 2012. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1337351989.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Vines, Marcus. "The Dirty Work of Poker: Impression Management and Identity." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1337351989

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1337351989
1,042
© 2012, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.