8 thoughts on “Advice on Quitting Poker”

1. Move down to the lowest limits and prove you can win X amount of buy ins in X amount of hands. Then slowly move up. If its about poker and not chasing money then can hit these lines.
   There's gotta be some people playing too big, and have no clue theyre a huge underdog in every game they play and just completely don't understand the game. They get hurt the most. Simliar to someone who shows up to play slot machines everyday with intentions of winning some money back.

2. The problem is simple, just like drugs.

   Winning pots provides that dopeamine hit, just like a person's favorite drug (if they do them). Then they don't know when to stop riding on the merry-go-round.

   If the really good players don't get them, the rake will.
   Always.

3. @philgalfond, I'm glad you helped promote to someone that it might be best to do this. Most people would not take that route. Taking the to explain the why's, most people would say just as you did, maybe I was unlucky, most take that and it hurts them more.

   Thank you for this. Poker is not for everyone

4. Speaking as somebody that has suffered a gambling addiction, it’s rough. I was 18, just moved into my first house, had maybe 6k in savings in my bank had a job and a kid on the way, things were looking good for me. I got into roulette, and the first bet I ever placed on a drunk night out after playing fruit machines won, 7 on zero. Which doesn’t seem like much, but £252 was a really nice hit, paid for the night, enough left for a takeaway etc etc. I kept playing on it the next day, and that day I won £3000, (in English) and within a few hours of winning it I lost it all. I cannot describe how desperate I felt in them moments, all I knew was I wanted to win all that money back and it would be fine I’d just get the lucky hits that i had before. The thing about gambling addictions is when you’re winning you feel untouchable. You feel like you’re going to win every bet, every time you make a gamble on anything fortune will send it your way. Well, that’s not true at all. I had lost that £3000 and within the course of the month lost my entire life savings. Looking back it’s all a blur, but it happened so fast. At the end of the month I got my paycheck, and had decided that I wanted to try blackjack. Again, I did almost the same thing, £3500 ish up this time in the space of an hour or two. All I needed was to do it again and I’d have all my savings back plus an extra bag right?? So wrong, never been more wrong in my entire life. Lost all of it, and my wage, and I couldn’t pay rent or anything like that. I went on to borrow, and gamble away more money, and i would constantly have no money in my bank. Then I started playing poker, and honestly it was therapeutic to me. I’ve always been a smart guy to be honest, just one of them brains that adapts very quickly to learning new skills and then mastering them, so poker felt really good. It was gambling, with a skill edge. I started to fade away from table games, because I was winning at poker, and after she was born I promised her I’d do my best to gain control over it. Even though she couldn’t understand, I still knew the weight of that promise to a pure soul. I have calmed down a lot with it, the addiction to winning feels less when I focus on my daughter, she keeps me centralised, when before, when losing or winning I barely even felt like a person, all that mattered was the next bet, it was all I could focus on. Now? I’ve worked my way up in stakes as my skill level has progressed, I’m a very profitable player and have gained control over my addiction. I think a good thing to take away from my story is, you can stop. You can get there. If it’s poker that you’re struggling with an addiction to? Put gamblock on. When you’re in a clear mind, and you have that moment of clarity to stop, put gamblock on and ban yourself from all of your accounts. Don’t think about in the future of wanting to try again when you’ve got more money, focus on the you of right now, that wants to stop. Because how many times could you have walked away before it was too late? How many times COULD you of, but never did? It’s a question that I force myself to not ask, you have to think of that one thing in life that keeps you grounded, that makes life worth living, and focus on that. I really, really hoped this help someone get through a tough time.

5. Online is a FIX these days.. GGpoker is probably the only trusted site left

6. The problem with gambling addiction often isnt the game itself, its everything around, i've played against some players that have a higher intellect and is a better game theory player than some pro's, they just dont have the ability to control themself and their bankroll.

   I myself have the problem that i often is better the higher games i play, people tend to respect my plays more and my reading ability in live games is probably better than 90% of everyone, however i have a problem with alcohol and anxiety, my bankroll management is the worst possible, i grew up with little money so as soon as i have some i feel the need to spend it before its unevitably (in my head) is gone.

   I have this weird thing that if i have money i need to spend it, its a love/hate relationship, i want to have money but just so that i can spend it on unessesary stuff, its burning a hole in my pocket when i have them, i have trouble sleeping when i know i have alot of money, because ive developed this things that its gone soon anyway.

   Sometimes i feel relief when i lost all my money because then i'm not able to play and can focus on other things.

7. Gambling Addiction is funny

8. All addiction is pain. Phil's right about the thoughts that go through your head, that's what it sounds like. It's the distraction from your regular thoughts, where you find a lot of comfort not thinking about the pain. That is what's behind all self destruction. Address the underlying pain, and you will either forget about your addiction, because now you don't need to be distracted, you are lovin life, or you will play at a reasonable rate which you can afford. That's why it's so hard once you fall to deeply, as in homeless, living on the street. For those people there is no getting away from it, the pain, they have 24/7 to think about it, then the failure starts to add on to th pain, and pretty soon, you need 24/7 just to get though it all.

   Peace

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