Charity Guide for Poker Fanatics

A quote from Psychology Today: "Altruism feels good because it stimulates dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin." In other words, when you are helping others your brain is flooded by happiness hormones. Supporting charities is the best drug in the world, without side effects. OK, that's not completely true, frankly there are some side effects - you are more liked by people and you are helping others.

Poker players who have been playing for many years often suffer from professional burnout. One of the reasons for this is the nature of the profession - poker pros don't create anything that would improve the lives of other people. A doctor or paramedic saves lives, a shop owner provides products, a poker player at best provides entertainment to recreational players.

One of the methods that helps poker players to protect themselves against professional burnout is helping others. Professionals often say: "I'm active in charity organisations, because it helps with finding meaning in my work".

Don't underestimate the fact that professional burnout can affect you. If you help others because of poker, you will enjoy playing a little more.

In the 21st century, finding a charity that you can support is trivial. In just a minute on Google, you'll find thousands of organisations to which you can donate - local hospices, animal shelters and funds for those who don't have money for medical treatment, church charities (Caritas), organisations that provide medical help to the most needy (Doctors Without Borders), human rights organisations (Amnesty International), environmental organisations (Greenpeace). This list goes on.

If you have a PokerStars account, one of the easiest ways to help is donating to the charities in the PokerStars store. If you have StarsCoins in your account, instead of buying another gadget or converting them into tournament tickets, you can simply transfer money to one of the organisations supported by PokerStars.

Poker fans should remember this gentleman from the picture above - Antonio Esfandiari - who won $18,346,673 in a tournament organised by the charity organisation - 'One Drop'!

The entry fee for this tournament was $1,111,111 of which 90% went to the prize pool and 10% to the One Drop charity. There are hundreds of charity poker tournaments around the world every year with a buy-in available to us mere mortals. Even One Drop itself organises tournaments with €1,111 buy-in every year at the WSOP.

There are also charity tournaments, of which 100% buy-in goes to a person or organisation in need of cash, and participants simply play for fun and win souvenirs. During such tournaments, when no financial reward is involved, the atmosphere is fantastic, which is why celebrities often appear play in them.

If you are struggling to find a local event, why not organise a charity tournament yourself for a local cause?

Even in countries with the strictest gambling regulations, there usually is no problem with organising a charity tournament where the buy-ins essentially donations. Remember, however, to be aware of the local law, and don't accidentally organise an illegal tournament or an illegal collection.

There is one more, quite new, and original method of supporting charities - Contest Crowdfunding. The most popular website that organises Crowdfunding Contests is Omaze.

Long story short: by donating money to charities with Omaze, you receive lottery tickets, where you can win really UNIQUE prizes!

Most often you can take part in competitions where you can win: cars, VIP meetings with stars, holiday trips, VIP tickets for sports events (often combined with meetings with participating athletes), VIP tickets for premieres of cinema and serial hits, combined with meetings with actors (for example Marvel's films or Game of Thrones).

To give you a taste what you can win here are some current prizes:
- Win a One-Of-A-Kind Lamborghini® Blessed and Signed by Pope Francis
- Win Tesla Model S P100D
- Win 2019 Aston Martin Vantage

- Grab Pizza with Jennifer Lawrence in New York City
- Join Julia Roberts for Lunch & Score a Shopping Spree on Rodeo Drive
- Eat Cookies with Cookie Monster and Visit Sesame Street

- Explore the Okavango Delta on a National Geographic African Safari
- Explore Buenos Aires During the Total Solar Eclipse

- Be Dana White's VIP Gues at UFC 232 in Las Vegas
- Score All-Access Passes to Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta
- Win a Trip to Vegas for the Pacquiao vs. Broner Fight

Let's GAMBLE (and help)!

Poker players are people who think in terms of equity and expected value. Liv Boeree, Igor Kurganov and Philipp Gruissem, who also have this mindset, created REG - Raising for Effective Giving.

Their goal is to maximise the impact of charity donations. They choose charities from over the world who spend money wisely and effectively. If effectiveness is also your main goal, you should check their site and find a charity which you want to support.

Some people think that this method is reserved for players with a larger bankroll or with considerable poker experience, which is not the case.

Occasionally poker players put their poker trophies up for online auctions - for example, cups and "shiny jewellery" (you know what I'm talking about) received for winning tournaments. Sometimes such auctions are organised because the seller needs cash for himself, but some poker players organise charity auctions where the money paid by the winner is transferred to the chosen charity.
If you have a suitable budget, you can try to take part in such an auction. Also, if you have an "unnecessary" bracelet or maybe some SCOOP watch in your drawer, you can always put it up for a charity auction.

Another thing that can be auctioned are poker lessons - sometimes poker pros (even those who usually don't coach others) conduct charity auctions with coaching packages as their prize. You don't have to be a high stakes player to organise such an auction by yourself. Beginners may even be interested in training from a poker player grinding NL50 or NL100. For charities every dollar counts.