MY son lost everything

Hi


i am bricktops mom and my son has lost everything in poker. Please guys leave him alone, hes feeling very depressed and lonely.


I just wish he would quit poker and go work for his father on the ranch.


marene

Hi Mom. I empathize with what you are going through. While I have not lost everything, I have lost far more than I should have and more than I care to admit over the years. In this, bricktop can know that he is not alone.


Contrary to what you might believe from reading this forum, there are far more losers than winners, and many who claim to be winners can't count. Further, some of the winners will do whatever they can to make the losers lose more, regardless of the impact on their personal lives. Knowing this is critical to survival in the internet poker world.


My advice to you would not, however, be to push your son to completely quit playing and just go to work. Instead, I advise him to find a way to fill his need to gamble and compete that does not include risking money. I have been playing at pokerschoolonline for months, and this fulfills the need to play and compete without the risk. Another avenue would be something like pogo where there are many games that provide the competition (spades, hearts, dominoes, bridge) without the loss of money. Or...join a softball team, bowl...but don't simply assume that work can replace this need. It will definitely help, though, and I would agree that work should be part of the recovery process.


In my opinion (and I'm no doctor), the desire to gamble is different from an alcohol or drug addiction. With alcohol or drugs, people get a physical addiction to the substance. The real addiction here is emotional, and is really an addiction to competing. Winning provides a special charge, but is truly not a requirement for someone to continue on. I personally found it difficult to stop gambling without a replacement, but when I did, the money truly became a small factor. Some might say that I wasn't truly addicted (and I hope this is true), but if someone is, I would think that this replacement charge would be even more important.


While I may be setting myself up to some heavy scrutiny on this board for this, I don't mind. If this in some way helps you or your son, I'll consider it well worth it. Hang in there, and be there for your son. This will pass, and a brighter day is ahead.

WHAT A JOKE!