I love poker, but I have a gambling problem (Long).

[Johnny123]

Okay, so now I admitted it. I have a gambling problem. I'm posting here, hoping that someone could provide some ideas on how I should deal with this problem.

Here is my situation:

1. My life is, frankly, rather dull at the moment. I work part-time. I have too much time on my own. I spend a lot of time in front of my computer.

2. I play a lot of poker, and make money doing it. I am by no means a great poker player, but I am a consistent winner at microlimits and small stakes.

3. I whore casino bonuses. I use big bets to clear the bonuses fast.


I think that my problem basically is this: I find it hard to resist gambling. I sometimes don't quit when I should. I often take stupid risks, such as a $100 wager in blackjack hoping to get back to even after having lost lots of $5 bets. I sometimes become indifferent to a big poker loss, letting it become even bigger by sloppy play.

More and more often, I start to compulsively chasing losses. I know it's stupid. I know I should leave the poker table when I'm playing poorly. I know it's -EV to keep playing at a casino after clearing the bonus. Some months ago, these things did not happen very often. But now they do.

Today I blew $1350 at an online casino AFTER clearing the bonus. A few hours later, I did a similar thing at another casino. And this is a lot of money to me, so it's quite a big deal. I can do things such as telling myselt that if I am up $100, I'll quit. Then when I am up $100, I still don't quit. Then I lose, and think that "No matter what, I will not let my balance drop below $400." And then it drops below $400. And I still don't quit.

It's not like this happens everytime I gamble, but it happens and that's bad enough. I feel really bad afterwards, like some stupid, worthless addict.

When it's blackjack I get a big kick out of making big wagers, and sometimes I just can't stop myself from doing it.

When it's poker these things does not happen as often, but sometimes I keep playing far too long when I'm stuck and/or steaming, and sometimes I keep playing for a completely different reason - that I don't care. I sit with my stack and know that I'll probably lose it all. And I don't care.


So, what should I do about this? I know I gamble too much at the moment, but I don't want to stop completely. I like poker a lot, the strategy aspects, the psychology, the maths etc. And it has become a source of income that I more or less rely on at the moment, since I don't make that much money at my part-time job.

Maybe I should stop doing casino bonuses, but then again it's +EV and very easy money. Despite my crazy losses, I have still made a few thousand dollar through this.

I would simply like to be able to gamble rationally. Which I usually am. But then it happens, perhaps after a week of solid, winning poker play, I go on supertilt again and lose half of what I had won that week through sheer stupidity. And tell myself that this was the last time. But I know in my heart that it isn't. And I would like that to change.

I don't want to talk to an organization such as GA (although I have seriously considered it) since I don't want to stop gambling. I have been thinking about seeing a therapist for this. Some years ago, I saw a therapist for other problems, and that helped.

I am going to take a week off from all non-poker gambling right now. And after that week, I have promised myself not to wager more than $10 on any one hand when playing blackjack. And to always try to stay focused and controlled when I play poker. Try to go back to what I used to be able to do, which was focusing on studying and improving my play rather than short term results. I'm convinced that I need to do these things for the sake of my bankroll and sanity, but I do not think that it's enough to overcome my problems.

So.. if any of you who bothered to read this has any thoughts about what I should to, I would appreciate your comments. Thanks.

[the_rookie]

Yup, you have a gambling problem. It's good that you're able to identify the problem before something drastic happens. You need to quit poker and stay away from casinos period.

You said that you spend most of your time in front of your computer and that isn't healthy. Go fishing, watch a movie, get laid, but do something other than staring at the computer screen all day.

I hope you reconsider seeing a therapist as that is clearly the best choice for you.

Good luck, bro.

[SNOWBALL138]

If I were you, I would hide some money somewhere, forget where you hid it, and then remember in two months. That way, you won't lose everything. If you continue to involve yourself in situations where you are not able to control yourself, you are certain to go broke.

I would definitely talk to a therapist and go to a GA meeting.

Good luck!

[IcarusFalling]

jeeez .. if you absolutely can not control yourself you should play the game ONLY for fun.. .02/.04 or 1 dollar nl ... this way you can play the game with virtually next to no loss.. if you absolutley can not stop gambling at the higher stakes then you really do have a problem and should consider giving up poker and gambling alltogether

[Transference]

You seem to be asking how can I stop gambling irresponsibly when you should be asking how can I stop gambling.

[kslghost]

Interesting post. You seem to make smart decisions in that you look for +EV opportunities but cannot stop until you have lost a significant amount of money.

While you may need to stop gambling altogether until you learn control, you should follow the restraints you give upon yourself.

Don't think twice about it. Get up and walk out of the room and go grocery shopping or to the gym. Don't even pause. Say if you clear your bonus, just stop immediately, not even taking a single extra hand. Don't even bend your own rule one bit, and you'll hopefully learn the correct feeling of walking away while ahead.

Good luck with your problems.

[ghollywood57]

I am facing similar problems and the only thing that counts in these situations, is to understand that YOU are the key to solve this.find inside you the power you have and be willing to fight for your self day by day.you cannot imagine how many people are losers just because they don,t want to be winners.is a tough way but is the only way.good luck

[TheCroShow]

in a similiar thread others suggest finding extra cirricular activities..join a running club, join a gym, go for a walk every single day, start reading a book (NON POKER BOOK!), drag a friend out to a movie...find other things to do other than poker and other forms of gambling.

the beauty of gambling is that it gives you a high and that is so addictive. if gambling is your only source of a high or happiness, it's time to find other things that make you happy or feel energized.

[HentaiGaijin]

Go buy World of Warcraft. Cheap, easy addiction.

[Johnny123]

I realized I was going to get these "Go to GA and stop gambling period" replies. And while I do respect and understand your opinion I don't think I need to do that.

Maybe I need to quit casino games (including promotions and other +EV opportunities). That is possible. But poker? No, I don't think so. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough in my original post, but 95% of the time I play solid winning poker. Not world-class poker, but good enough to beat the internet lowlimits. Combining the poker bonuses and poker playing, I make sligthly more playing poker than at my job. I like it and I make money out of it.

I started playing poker because of the money. I had heard that the players on Party Poker were horrible and that it was easy money. To my surprise I got really interested in the strategy aspects - there was so much more to the game than I would have imagined. I used to read poker books all the time and think about the strategy aspects, and (honestly!) not very much about the gambling aspects. In the beinning I was a breakeven player at Party 0.5/1. Then I got better, and after a few good months I realized I was a winning microlimit player. I started playing 1/2 and 2/4, and kept winning.

Then, gradually, things changed to the worse. I kept thinking more and more about the short-term results. My emotional control when playing got much worse. Still, I only tilt away money a small percentage of the time I play poker, but it happens. And I know I'm far too results-oriented. I don't study the game as much as I use to, because I think it's more fun to play, and I have poor self-disciplne.

I think this has three causes:

1. I have an addictive-compulsive personality. I easily get "too much into" things, if you know what I mean.

2. My life is boring at the moment, and I wanted excitement.

3. The casino games has shrewed my sense for money. After winning or losing a few hundred dollars in half and hour, the money in a $2/$4 limit hold'em seems like nothing. The reckless, tilty sessions has become far more common after I took up casinowhoring.

So.. if you got the impression that I have no control when playing poker, that was wrong. I usually have decent emotional control and I am a winning player overall. But I feel that I need more emotional control when playing poker.

Blackjack, however, is another story. I feel that I am close to becoming addicted to it. And that's not about the strategy. It's abouth the gambling. The excitement and the money. And I hate it. Maybe I need to quit doing it, maybe I can keep playing for the bonuses as long I can restraint myself from taking stupid risks. I'm not sure. We'll see.

I have promised myself not too play any casino games for money this week. I will not be playing any poker until wednesday (Party Reload bonus) becaue I realize that I need to take a step back from this to gain perspective. We'll see what happens after that.