Is this normal behavior??

[cocarondelle]

Been playing online for about 8 months and i feel a lose of self control at the tables. I was wondering if anybody experienced these same things, and what did u do to combat the situation.

I feel the need to win back money after a lost at any costs including playing blackjack.

I sometimes lose sleep thinking about playing poker.

I neglect my studies to play poker.

I began to get extremely upset after busting out of tourneys.

Are these normal feelings that most players have or am I headed to the dark side of gambling?

I'm still up, but i feel that I'm losing a little bit of control I had when i first started. I guess when i began it was for fun, and I think i went to the gray area of "well i made the correct play.... I should've won" and throwing little tantrums around the house. So I'll go get them back or let me play an SNG so i can win it all back. You guys catch my drift?

Any replies are welcomed , but please no flaming. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[fnord_too]

That sounds bad. I am no pshychologist, but I think you hit several tell tales for compulsive gambling. I'm sure others with more competence in this area will respond to your question.

In any case, it seems that poker is having a negative impact on the rest of your life, and that is never good. My pedestrian advice would be to quit, and seek proffesional help if you can't. Getting help straight off may be a better alternative.

Here is a thread with a link to a self test.

[toots]

Geez, I thought he was intentionally paraphrasing that self-test.

Sounds like normal behavior for someone who might have a gambling problem.

[cocarondelle]

thanks for replying guys, yeah i'm gonna take a break from poker for a while and see how it goes.

[onegymrat]

Hi Mike,

I feel the need to win back money after a lost at any costs including playing blackjack.
If you do this often, I don't think that poker is the culprit. It seems more like an obsession with gambling.

I neglect my studies to play poker.
Your school work will not wait for you. Although many say, "You're never too young to learn." That may be true, but it is not smart to blow off school when you're young. You will feel much more uncomfortable when you attend college when all the students are 10+ years younger than you. Poker will always be here. The game will wait for you. Concentrate on your studies, and use poker as a reward for your hard work.

I sometimes lose sleep thinking about playing poker. Well, I don't LOSE sleep, but I sure think about hands and stuff while I'm in bed. I've often dreamed of hitting the bad beat jackpots and being dealt pocket jokers.

Are these normal feelings that most players have or am I headed to the dark side of gambling?
Well, it sure looks that way. No, this is certainly not normal behavior. It is certainly more common than you think, but nevertheless, this may lead to worse consequences in your life if you don't get a hold of this. If you find yourself not being able to accomplish your normal daily/weekly activities because you're playing cards or by the effects of the cards, you should definitely seek some help. Don't be too proud to do so. A gambling addiction can be stronger than a physical addiction, it is all mental. There are experts that can help. Life is just too valuable to be caught up in a game that's played with plastic cards. Good luck to you.

[onegymrat]

Hi Mike,

The fact that you are identifying your symptoms and questioning yourself is a big step. Hang in there. There's a lot of things in life outside of the cardroom/computer.

[Al Schoonmaker]

I agree with the others. It looks very much as though you now have or could easily develop a serious gambling problem.

The good news is that you recognize it.

I urge you to quit, period. A break is NOT a cure.

You are very young, and you should not risk messing up your life.

Regards,

Al

[MicroBob]

I think these are some really unhealthy attitudes/behaviors.

I agree that it's a good thing that you are at least able to identify the problem. For your sake, I'm hoping that you are able to stay away from the cyber-tables for awhile (or forever, or whatever is necessary).


If you have similar attitudes/behaviors in other areas of life also I might suggest anger management type counseling or other professional help or something like that. It just doesn't sound good.

note - i'm not a professional....or even an amateur... and have no idea what I'm talking about.
To this observer what you're describing just sounds pretty bad.