Gambled after one year in the clear

Snooker tricky . Can only get in the mid 40’s and not all the time . Played a few pool tournaments at Great Yarmouth in the national competitions but that was blighted by me gambling . Crazy what we do to ourselves

I used to play at Merlins in Great Yarmouth. Got a load of tables, 2 nice ones in the bar area for matches.

We were at Vauxhall holiday Park was playing super league for my town and we played against teams from all over the county . To anyone just reading my diary welcome to the pool forum! It’s only cost thousands of pounds and years of stress to join ....8-)

lol, nice. Im heading off to bed, up at 5:30 for work :K

Cya soon, take care

Day 26

All going well no thought of gambling . My friends dad died earlier in the week and today I was thinking myself about my life and how much time we have here . It’s all over in the blink of an eye and I don’t want the rest of my life to be ruined by gambling . On tv joe public was describing how they buy an outfit when they go out or another guy on the net talking about the different cars he is into . Before I felt things like that were out of reach with my subconscious telling me I could never afford them . Only thing that stops me is my gambling and it’s not going to anymore . Got my pay slip for next week and instead of planning what I would have left to spend gambling , I’m planning on what short term debts to clear . Progress !!!

So good to read your upbeat posts vulture. Great news on the remortgage front.
Really hope you can stay strong and enjoy your new 'income!'
Your hard work and perseverance has paid off, proving that without gambling in our lives things really can only get better - long may it continue x

Thanks little miss I am starting to see the light ! Don’t think about it at the moment but having gambled for over 25 years i am sure my brain won’t forget !

Day 27

Will keep it brief . All great spent time with kids took them for a milkshake , played monopoly gave them proper attention. Tonight played my friend who knows my story at snooker . No thoughts of gambling until I actually come on this site .

A valid point Vulture. Visiting the diaries will bring gambling to the forefront our mind. That might not always be for the best.

We can however use our diaries as an ongoing journal of our recovery, without getting too entrenched in the battlefield around us. Maybe on occasions we can linger for a while, if it feels right to do so.

No doubt you will agree that life is to be enjoyed. There should be fun, adventures, and happy days. This is your adventure, your recovery and your journey into the unknown.

One thing the diaries do well, is in reminding us of the horrors associated with compulsive gambling. One might be forgiven for thinking we don't need reminding, but deep down I think we do.

Wishing you well. ..stephen

Cheers Stephen . Agree what you are saying . Well I played snooker for around 2 hours(got a 39 break not too shabby but missed an easy pink and all colours were on so could almost be 70) had 5 pints and took a Chinese home (kids were blooming still awake so shared it ) all for less than £30. Money goes so far when not gambling

Just had a casino email me saying my time out was over . Logged in and self excluded myself straight away. Was horrible even logging in as things like that can catch you off guard . Stark reminder that the threat to my happiness is real and we are under attack

Thanks for the post on my diary and great to see you offering such good advice to everyone. Know what you mean about being under attack ... reading a lot of the diaries on here, it’s amazing how long some people last before relapsing, so we definitely have to keep our guard up, and keep posting on here, offering support and being supported. You must be pretty useful at snooker ...I thought I was ok at pool but snooker is (literally) a different ball game .. my potting is ok but the cue ball control the top players have is incredible .. think my highest break is 27 ,. All the colours with most of them over the pockets! Know what you mean about my net going a long way when you’re not gambing ... in the last month have about a dozen entries on my bank statement ...previous 9ne had over 100 insouts from gamblin* alone! I get your point about reading on here bringing back gambling thoughts, but it does counter act all the adverts etc ... also helps to think that if I stray i’ll feel like i’ve Let others down on here, particularly people like yourself and Scott who are on similar number of days to me and have always been supportive. Keep posting! Rich

Hi Rich . I enjoy snooker was so close to a 50 break last night as the pink rattled for a 45 and I was on the colours that were all drop ins (on their spots !) oh well it wasn’t to be . Had a good time anyway . I will keep posting on here and trying to assist where I can . I do have a character that would help anyone I could . I just hope that I can try and stop one person going through things that I am I am sure you have been through . Problem is as I have posted before is that no one I have seen on this site have had a massive win , made loads of clear money and just decided to stop while they are ahead . Glad you are focussing on yourself although you would dearly love to help your sister . Flip that around and you know that someone can only stop these things when they are ready to stop themselves . When you were playing roulette if someone turned off the computer , you would boot it up straight away and carry on . Same rules apply at the moment I guess

Hi Vulture,

How are you getting on? It’s great that you try to help others on here. It’s something I have seen from a lot of people and it’s part of what keeps me posting on here. Incidentally, I played snooker today. I don’t think I am anywhere near your level though. My best break was 20. I won the guy I played 5-0 mind :). Scott

Hi Scott thanks for the post . 52 days you have done , great effort hopefully you can see the fog clearing . I’m doing great actually . More engaged with everything in my life than I was before . Spoke to the wife more about it and she has seen a difference in me . I don’t want to be a slave to it but on the flip side I need to be aware of something that has been with me all of my life and I need to keep on top of it . What’s the 5 best things in your life that have improved since 52 days ago ?