05-09-2002, 02:37 PM
Hey everyone,
The post below *What if your family disagrees* got me thinking back to my own past.
I've done a fair bit of what I would say was serious gambling over the years, and had pretty much fought with my family along the way. It's a difficult thing for them to understand. I can't count the times that I've been told, "Damn, you lost a new fridge/stove". They just don't understand that you don't relate to things that way. /images/smile.gif
Finally, the now x-wife snapped when I was on a trip to LA and the marriage had ended. I did a lot of one-on-one counselling and actually quit playing poker for a bit over a year without a problem. I always maintained that I play for the money and for no other reason.
Anyhow, I did the entire nine yards. To answer questions for myself, I even went to a gambling counsellor and went through a battery of test.
The end result was the difference between what I was doing (and continue to do) and someone with a *gambling problem* was that I am a winning player and had multiple years of records to show for it.
She felt that the worst thing that I could ever do was to go to the WSOP because if I lost,I would need to try again, if I won, I would need to try and repeat. I'm obsessive/compulsive, so I would never be happy.
She also felt that while I'm winning now, I would eventually lose when I became older and the brain was not functioning quite as quickly.
Finally, I was advised that I should never try cocaine because I'd be a gonner. Poker was my cocaine and it produces in me the same chemicals that are found in an addict.
The long and the short of it is, things are better, I have a terrific gal who stands by me all the way, who plays a pretty good game on her own. I have a better perspective of what is important in my life. I just play now to pay the child support. /images/smile.gif
Later
Lar
The post below *What if your family disagrees* got me thinking back to my own past.
I've done a fair bit of what I would say was serious gambling over the years, and had pretty much fought with my family along the way. It's a difficult thing for them to understand. I can't count the times that I've been told, "Damn, you lost a new fridge/stove". They just don't understand that you don't relate to things that way. /images/smile.gif
Finally, the now x-wife snapped when I was on a trip to LA and the marriage had ended. I did a lot of one-on-one counselling and actually quit playing poker for a bit over a year without a problem. I always maintained that I play for the money and for no other reason.
Anyhow, I did the entire nine yards. To answer questions for myself, I even went to a gambling counsellor and went through a battery of test.
The end result was the difference between what I was doing (and continue to do) and someone with a *gambling problem* was that I am a winning player and had multiple years of records to show for it.
She felt that the worst thing that I could ever do was to go to the WSOP because if I lost,I would need to try again, if I won, I would need to try and repeat. I'm obsessive/compulsive, so I would never be happy.
She also felt that while I'm winning now, I would eventually lose when I became older and the brain was not functioning quite as quickly.
Finally, I was advised that I should never try cocaine because I'd be a gonner. Poker was my cocaine and it produces in me the same chemicals that are found in an addict.
The long and the short of it is, things are better, I have a terrific gal who stands by me all the way, who plays a pretty good game on her own. I have a better perspective of what is important in my life. I just play now to pay the child support. /images/smile.gif
Later
Lar