CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2012
| Author | Istrate, Andrada-Mihaela |
|---|---|
| Title | Negotiating Reality through Play - the Case of Romanian Poker Players |
| Summary | Rather than seeing play and gambling as insulated activities, this thesis engages with gambling trajectories, namely the process of becoming a professional poker player, as well as the way in which players negotiate different orders of reality in light of the games they play. Through the conceptual lenses of play and game as a continuum of modes of experience and attention - where play is interactional and collective, and game is probabilistic - I analyze different gambling endeavors that players recount,highlighting the importance of beginnings in articulating gambler experience. Against the background of previous gambles, players either become totally engrossed in one reality (as with roulette playing), or recuperate their sense of worth, by managing both chance and money (as with poker). By introducing the notion of “community of practice,” (Jean Lave) I show how acquiring knowledge through solitary study, collaborative learning and legitimate peripheral participation are essential in becoming a professional poker player. |
| Supervisor | Fabiani, Jean-Louis; Naumescu, Vlad |
| Department | Sociology MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2012/istrate_andrada-mihaela.pdf |
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