Hi I’m John. I hope everyone is well. I am now currently held in the *** of an online addiction to Poker. I have the odd football accumulator bet but Poker is my demon. I am obsessed with it. I watch videos, I read books, it is constantly on my mind. This naturally affects my work/life balance and naturally my bank balance. I started playing online after learning to play poker in our local pub. I became quite good (or so I thought) and won quite regularly. I also had a pretty good record when I attended casinos/Poker rooms. Then I discovered online poker and I was hooked. I learnt pretty quick however that the random number generating software obvoliously isn’t as random as expected. Anyways to cut a long story short I have joined and excluded from a number of sites but there are always new sites springing up. I am blessed to have a really good job, fantastic wife and kids and I am risking them all for my stupid “habit”. In the last month I’ve lost over £700. Luckily I’m not at the stage were I will gamble everything (bills etc are always paid first) however our savings plans have gone amiss over the last two months. I’m losing, tilting, getting frustrated with the constant bad beats and suck outs. Vow never to be “so stupid” again but then a nights sleep and a fresh perspective appears and I’m logging back on. What I would please like to ask is that has anyone had a similar addiction and if so could you please offer advice on how to overcome it before I destroy my life please. Thanks for taking the time to read my post. Regards John.
Hello John,
Welcome to the forum. I also started off going from the pub to online poker. I too obsessed about it. Being a compulsive gambler i couldn't stand the losing part of the game. I would play bigger and bigger games just to instantly try get my money back. Playing way above my bankroll/skill level. I also got good, im good with numbers it felt like the perfect game for me (the only numbers i struggle with are £'s).
I progressed to sports betting for my biggest losses but i lost many £1000's on poker over 10 years.
The truth is, based on your story and how you tell it. Like me its going too far. Its effecting too much of your life and finances in a negative way. The fact is once we can't control it we have to stop, TOTALLY.
Time-money-location remove one and you can't gamble. This is where you have to be fully honest with yourself. You know what allows you to have the option to keep playing, your addicted and you can't trust yourself to control any part of gambling now. Self exclude, instal blocking software on all devices, hand over credit/debit cards, tell someone to have someone to be accountable to, ring gamcare and see if you can get counselling. You might not think you are that bad to have to take these strong measures but you are here and it can and does get worse. It took me over 10 years to start spending rent and bill money and i never thought i would be that person, its progressive and the amounts we risk increase. It really can get bad qucikly if you allow it to.
Forget about the fairness of the game. It is what it is. I never thought there was anything dodgy about it myself but that itsn't the real issue. Win or lose one hand/tournament makes no difference, we can't win becuase we can't stop!
Keep posting here about what you are doing/feeling, it helps. There are a lot of good people with good advice on here that will offer you support.
All the best.
Hi john, I played online poker for ten years, then casino poker for a year, then pub poker for three years opposite of you. I started by losing soo much online that I would exclude myself then six months later I would start again on a different site untill I blocked myself from online gambling. This is where I found casino gambling untill I self excluded and then finally pub poker where I would win a lot but put hundreds in fruit machines each month. Theres no way to exclude from betting in pubs tho unfortunately. My point is untill I actually couldn't gamble in these places I would go back after the losses in my mind had healed. Sooo cut the years of learning I had out and block yourself from everywhere and give control of finances to someone else. Anything that helps.good luck adam
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Thanks very much for you’re insight gents I plan to take everything you’ve suggested fully on board.
No probs heally and welcome to the site
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I was / am addicted to slots but the end result is the same . As others have mentioned we can’t win because we can’t stop . It seems that you haven’t hit rock bottom which I am happy for , but make no mistake you carry on and you will . Ask yourself why you have arrived at this site? If you were winning and playing responsibly you probably wouldn’t be here . So that to me is proof enough that you acknowledge you have a problem like all of us here . It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you can beat it and improve those savings . In addition I would imagine you have spent more that just money . Your time . That’s important to us and you need to find something else to focus on . I would also imagine that you haven’t always been honest about your losses to close ones and have lied about it . That stops from day 1. You become a much better person and a more relaxed and happier person . Good luck and use this site as much as you feel you need it
Every morning, log on here and read these stories in the NEW MEMNERS forum and the DIARY forum. It'll help fortify your mind not to gamble. One day at a time..
Gamban downloaded onto my phone and laptop. Best £20 I’ve ever spent. 5 days. No access. No urges. Fingers crossed this could be a corner well and truly turned.
Healy74 wrote:
Gamban downloaded onto my phone and laptop. Best £20 I’ve ever spent. 5 days. No access. No urges. Fingers crossed this could be a corner well and truly turned.
Another tool, which is free is GAMSTOP. Register with them and you will be excluded from every gaming site which operates in the UK, for a length of time of your choosing.(Actually it is not EVERY site just yet, but the vast majority, and any others not on the list will have to join soon to keep their lisence)
I can't do links, but either look around on this site or Google GAMSTOP self exclusion.
Congrats so far and good luck in your continued abstinence.
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