Expensive habit

[mewhoelse]

I am a smoker. Well I guess I used to be. Ever since the first cough filled drag in the boys bathroom 10 years ago, cigarettes were always around. I depended on them for more then just a fix, they were great for sitting back and trying to see it all from the outsider's perspective.

Now since the time has come to quit, the outsiders perspective is hard to attain. I begin to take the check-raises on the turn personally. The suck outs on the river are not followed by the exhale of the smoke and mild irritation, but by muttered S.O.B.s and MO.FOs and determination to "get them back". No smokes - no calm indifference - no profits. Thus quitting smoking truly has been expensive.

So a question to all that have been through this. How long did it take before the return of the enlightenment with out the crutches?

[Ray Zee]

all the more reason to quit as the smokes determine how you react to things around you. basically you are saying they rule your life. no good, my man stay off the stuff, and when it does get better, you will wonder how you let yourself be ruled by a lousy addition.

[PokerBabe(aka)]

[Dave in Cali]

Not only are you addicted to smoking, and not only does it rule your life, you're also decreasing your own chances of "favorable" encounters with those of your preferred romantic attraction. After all, Babe says "LGPG." Look good play good. What goes without saying here is that LGPG also includes "don't stank up the place with your lousy schmoky cigarette breath." After all, has anyone ever gotten offended by the fact that someone is NOT a smoker? Doubtful. But many are automatically eliminated by the fact that they ARE a smoker.

Think about that. And ditch the habit.

Dave in Cali (ex smoker)

[snakehead]

this probably isn't what you want to hear, but it took me about 6 months before I started to feel somewhat normal, a year before I felt really normal. but after 2 years, I couldn't even remember what it was like to be a smoker, and my game improved to the point that I started moving up in limits.

[Phat Mack]

This is just how addictions work: they don't sit around and say, "Smoke! Smoke!;" instead, they say things like, "If you smoke, you'll play better!"

On some level, you know this is pure BS. Smoking has nothing to do with the cards you get nor with the way you play them. But your addiction is giving you plenty of outs to backslide.

Smoking may be the toughest addiction to break. It takes a while to get over it, and in some ways you never will. But in a week or so you'll have a lot clearer head about it. Is there smoking where you play? Be aware that breathing second-hand smoke triggers the addiction and makes it tougher to beat. But being cognizant of what's happening will allow you to overcome. Here's a suggestion: print out Zee's response and read it when you go on tilt. You'll always be glad you stopped letting them get their hooks in you. Also, anything you do to exercise your self discipline will make you a much better poker player than you ever were. It's the name of the game.