blonde poker forum

For some annoying reason, people ( friends, family and people I hardly know ) seem to think I have a gambling problem.  I don't have a gambling problem.  I don't know how to put a bet on at the bookies and can't even read a betting slip.  I only play online poker at small limits.

Today I met friends for lunch and I got asked constantly about poker,  "how much do you win?" ,  "how much do you lose?" ,  " why do you play?",  "what makes you think you can win and beat others?".  I know this is genuine concern and their way of helping me ( I don't need help  :D ) ,  but regardless of what I said, in their view gambling is destructive and poker is as bad as any form.  I was actually getting abit pissed off at them.  I dropped out of University a couple of weeks ago and they are convinced the reason is linked with my poker playing.  I quit Uni because I found it very boring and I didn't enjoy my Geography course at Strathclyde, no other reason.

I met a couple of former lectureres on the way home and they started on the same rant about my gambling problem.  The annoying thing is whatever comebacks I have, it is just black and white as far as they are concerned. Gambling is bad, poker is bad. End of Story..

I am close to being disowned by everyone now  :D.   I hate comments like " if you are not addicted to poker, then take 1 month off and don't play".  I obviously don't want to do this, it is my intention to get good and win large games. Money is not a motivation for me to be honest,  my goal is to win famous tournaments like the EPT and WPT.  If I was a wannabe tennis player, I would be wished good luck and given support.  I am abit annoyed with everyone right now.  My phone is off and my door ain't getting answered for the rest of the night. I am just waiting for the gamblers anonymous leaflet to be slipped under my door by a person thinking they are doing me a good turn.

I don't want to fall out with everyone over this, and I am trying my hardest to keep cool while they are asking their stupid questions repeatedly. However it can get very boring answering the same question time and time again. Friends, family and others won't leave me alone.

Sark, If you need help with your addiction/problem PM me

were all here for you mate

Sark, admitting your problem is the first step on the read to recovery mate, just let it out!

Don't you lot start  :D

Just try to take it a day at a time mate. Maybe you could get someone to change all your passwords or something.

Sark mate, here is the Questionaire from GA, if you get more that 7 yes' your friends are correct:

1  Did you ever lose time from work/school due to gambling?

2 Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?

3 Did gambling affect your reputation?

4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?

5. Did you ever gamblle to win money to pay back debts?

6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition/efficiency?

7. After losing did you feel you must return asap to win it back?

8. After a win do you have a strong urge to return and win more?

9 Did you gamble until your last dollar was gone?

10 Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?

11 Have you ever sold anytihng to finance your gambling?

12 Were you reluctant to use gambling money for everyday purchases?

13 Did gambling make you care of your/your family's welfare?

14 Did you gamble often longer than you had planned?

15 Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?

16 Have you ever committed an illegal act to finance gambling?

17 Has gambling caused you difficulty sleeping?

18 Do arguments and disappointments create within you the urge to gamble?

19 Did you ever celebrate good fortune by gambling?

20 Has gambling ever led you to contemplate suicide?

lol,  I think all of us on blonde would score over 7 on that one . 



Edit, I  misunderstood one question  - I scored 4 

Only got two. I clearly spend too little time with you kids..

Sark,

A few random thoughts for you;

They're probably more concerned at your dropping out of uni than your gambling. You can't give a reason that satisfies them so them so they rationalise it by blaming your poker playing.They are worried about you and need some reassurance that you are capable of being succesful at something. These people are your friends try not to cut them off.

To my regret I needlessly blew my chances at a university education. My penance was to spend ten tiresome years working in the casino industry. I was lucky that my decision to give up work was supported by my friends and family. I am pragmatic about my poker career, if I can make a good living and be in control of my own decisions then I'm happy.

Aiming to be a poker superstar may not be the most sensible of approaches. It probably won't happen. Even if it does happen you'll need another focus in your life to keep you sane.

Ask yourself some questions: How long have you been playing? How much have you played? (Not the same thing) How successful have you been so far?

You chose to do the uni course and said that you found it boring. Are you sure you don't find it boring because you find poker more interesting? Your friends concerns are valid, at least in their own eyes.

If you have to get a job now you will have less time to play poker than if you were studying.

Lecture over. Good luck whatever you do.

Chin up Sark, don't let the non believers get you down.

The word 'poker' is always going to ring alarm bells for those who are ignorant about the game. You can't put people who have 'closed' minds at ease about your motives for playing so you're better off letting everyone know where you stand and just accepting that they've made up their mind about the subject already (often with little or no thought). Trying to share the beauty of a game like poker with people who see 'gambling' as demonic (while they themselves invest in stocks/shares etc) is a bit of a lost cause.

I 'play the player'. I tell my father I'm off for a game of cards with mates (knowing he'll smile and think about his days of travelling the country gambling in his younger days) I stress the social side to my mother (she likes to know I'm enjoying my time with friends in regular home games, having the odd win and well out of reach of knife weilding gangs) With friends (Including non players) I can share my thoughts and feelings about the game and the people. Over the past few years poker has provided me with some of the funniest moments In my life. If those around me started to offer unwanted/unwarranted 'advice'/opinions I'd happily tell them it's probably best we don't raise the subject as there'd be no 'middle ground'. That someone said you couldn't stop playing for a month is a bit of a joke. Take a break when YOU want to take a break. 'The Game' will still be here but don't do it to 'prove' you don't have a problem. False thinking, methinks. Did they preface their statement with 'I'll bet you couldn't...' If so you could tut,tut, shake your head and ask them in grave tones whether they had a 'gambling problem'.

Bit longer than Dewi's reply and not half as funny but those are the thoughts I had.

:)

I didn't quit to play poker,  I know I am a fish right now and couldn't support myself even for a week from any winnings I make  :D .  I just want a change and to get a job instead

When I went to see my contact at the Uni to quit, I was advised to opt for 1 year voluntary suspension rather than pulling the plug completely. I did this and if I have changed my mind next October then I will have the option of moving into year 3 like I would have this month.

I agree with you and know they are just concerned, but I wish I could find a quick answer which would stop me getting abuse each time I see anyone ( friendly caring abuse, but annoying abuse nonetheless  :D )

thanks boss

I just say it is a hobby, but I always get  " If it's just a hobby, you should be able to give it up".  I never tell anyone to give up watching football or playing a round of golf

Good luck next year. Assuming your 3rd year will be your final year then you've already done most of the hard work and for 9mths more study you could get that bit of paper. I don't know you but if a mate asked for advice on whether or not to bite the bullet and qualify in a subject they'd fallen out of love with I'd say follow through. The degree subject isn't important, it's more about making the statement to future employers that you lasted the course.

Within 2wks of starting a PGCE I knew I didn't want to teach in secondary schools but figured I'd be better off finishing the year and getting the qualification (especially ).given my crap cv

My two penneth, gl :)

Move to London and once you've earnt loads of poker money and are surrounded by poker babes, send them a postcard :D

There's no way to convince someone that's got a fixed negative image in their mind about a typical poker player that it's not all sad stories and that you aren't one of them.  They're the ones that need to change - open up a bit.  To a certain extent, I get the same - the people I know aren't anti gambling, but they all comment about the poker playing and are shocked at the money I play for.  If they knew that my limits were nothing in the scheme of things, they'd have kittens!  I don't tell them about the guys that sit with thousands in real money (even if it's only dollars ;)) playing.

Poker getting more coverage will help you.  Once they realise that it's actually a common and fun game, they may even try it themselves.

Sark,

Go out and get a job. this will feed your addiction and keep the creditors off your back :)up

Aye and to rub it in to your friends and family get a job in a betting shop!!  :D

Poker isn't gambling

Gambling is a style of playing poker

Scotland has 4 year degrees, he's done the easy peasy bit. The hard bit is to come.

Can you not swap courses?

1  Did you ever lose time from work/school due to gambling?

No. I would return home at 3-5am and head off to work at 9am the next day. By midday I was downing coffee and popping proplus.

2 Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?

Only when family try to berate me for "having a gambling problem". So yes.

3 Did gambling affect your reputation?

Yes, it causes my family to berate me for "having a gambling problem".

4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?

No. I have no regrets. It was +EV.

5. Did you ever gamblle to win money to pay back debts?

Well, I suppose this is yes. I needed to play outside of my bankroll so I borrowed some money for buyins. I needed to win to pay back the buyins.

6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition/efficiency?

Not at all. My ambition to win a major poker event increases every day! My ROI increases too so I suppose my efficency is getting better!

7. After losing did you feel you must return asap to win it back?

I feel I play enough as it is, so "returning asap" is a moot point. So no.

8. After a win do you have a strong urge to return and win more?

See point 7. No.

9 Did you gamble until your last dollar was gone?

No, I am aware of proper bankroll management, and aside from a few "loans" here and there to play bigger tournaments, I am self sustaining.

10 Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?

Erm, I guess this is a yes.

11 Have you ever sold anytihng to finance your gambling?

No, I buy stuff with my winnings, why would I want to sell it again?

12 Were you reluctant to use gambling money for everyday purchases?

I have money for every day purchases, this does not come out of my bankroll. So no.

13 Did gambling make you care of your/your family's welfare?

I care of my familys welfare at all times, gambling has nothing to do with it. What a stupid question.

14 Did you gamble often longer than you had planned?

No, tournament times are published in advance, and if I am playing live then I plan to play until the final table ends. If I am out before then, then I gamble shorter than planned. So no.

15 Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?

Not at all. Whilst its true that at the table you can "escape" reality, its probably true to say that gambling has caused me trouble! If it wasn't for gambling I wouldnt have done hard jail time.

16 Have you ever committed an illegal act to finance gambling?

I guess this is yes. I drove whilst disqualifed in order to get to a poker event.

17 Has gambling caused you difficulty sleeping?

No. I use proplus to stay awake.

18 Do arguments and disappointments create within you the urge to gamble?

Stupid question. I haven't a clue what it means.

19 Did you ever celebrate good fortune by gambling?

Thats a bit arse over tit. I rejoice in my gambling winnings by celebrating!

20 Has gambling ever led you to contemplate suicide?

No. Gambling enriches my life to its fullest, so why would I want to die?


I answered 5 yes. So I dont have a gambling problem.

:D:D::D:D:D:D::D:D:D:D:D::D:D

lol

4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?

No. I have no regrets. It was +EV.

:D

I tried to switch to politics, but I was too late as I had already done two years.

lol Dewi .  Cheers Billy

Yep Graham, I tried to tell them all that I play for tiny amounts of money and other people play  for many times what I do on one hand, this didn't work  :D.  " Poker isn't a real job, you can't do that for a living".  Even telling them I have no intention of playing for a living has no effect, it is like talking to people with selective hearing.   

I have decided I will start dressing and acting like an Amish person. Unfortunately I can't ride a horse and if I parked my cart outside it would get nicked by the local neds.  That will give them something else to talk about   :D

sark

Here is the number u were looking for

Gamblers Anonymous (UK)

Helpline:
020 7384 3040

Good Luck :D

Been there mate, got the T-shirt.
When accused of gambling, I always say this:
"Poker is not gambling, it is financial strategy based on mathematical theory whereby odds can be calculated and probablitity deduced. It is actually more reliable than playing the stock market. If you would care to indulge me for a few hours, I would be more than happy to explain the concept in simplified terms."
At this point, doubters usually back off.

I will commit that to memory  :D


lol  Whufc65   

My ass, its punting, yer a punter.

Them: You have a gambling addiciton

Me: Yes

Them: What are you going to do about it

Me: Nothing.



That usually works.

lol 

got a phone call from my mum last night.

mum: a bloke at my work was telling me about how he has got addicted to online poker and got into a lot of trouble with his credit card company....it gave me a feeling that you might be the same....

me: no, don't worry about that.  I don't spend too much and I never use my credit card

mum: are you sure......? I just got this feeling......you hear so much about people getting into trouble with online poker these days.....

me: no, I promise you I'm not in any trouble

mum: so how much are you spending on poker then

me: a lot less than you do on bingo

mum: oh, ok.

:D

Accoring to my (ex)wife, bingo is "just a night out" and "everyone plays the lottery, its not gambling its just a chance of winning millions". But me playing poker meant I was an addicted gambler.

She's maybe got a point.

Bingo is just a night out, but poker has as habit of taking over people's entire lives.

ah - but she plays online bingo too!

She went to bingo four times a week. I went to play poker once a week. She spent 50-60 quid a week (factoring the drinks). I played the twenty quid freezeout.

Of course when I was living away I spent more time playing but thats because I had more time to kill.

Oh, and she played the stupid thing online too. Aswell as those stupid late night TV quiz programmes where the answer is not the correct answer.

Yeah, but you left the toilet seat up.

You dancer, you can play bingo online?  ;woohoo;

Do they have like bingo forums as well, that would be a right laugh  :D

When my gran was alive, she was a brilliant bingo player ( almost pro level ).  She used to come home each night with a bundle of cash and even after she had tiped various people on the way home. £10 to the door guy, another tip to the taxi driver, etc.  She was like someone out of goodfellas, only she had  a blue hair rinse.  I wish I had asked her the secrets of her success when she was alive  :D

 rotflmfao

yeah, kind of!  they have chat rooms you can join whilst your playing, and they have little bonus games in the chat rooms :)

best way to get people off your back IMHO is to win a medal

when i told my mum after I won the masterclass freeroll her first words were "are you sure they didn't rig it?"

just stuck 'bingo forum' into google.  There are shedloads of them!!!

Full of tat advice like this.....

The paper cards with smaller card numbers often have the numbers closer together. Longer games being played such as Coveralls are likely to draw numbers in spurts that are close together. In order to win extra coveralls, come in the beginning and be sure to buy one of the first sets of paper cards handed out. Usually when there are big nights, managers will supply the counter with an abundance of cards. Frequently the cards on the top are the smallest number cards. You may verify the next coverall by checking yourself. You will notice the flashboard with the luminous lights lighting up the numbers that are typically, after 30 numbers have being called out, in sets.

My gran loved the bingo as well, she was a black belt 7th dan

I won £3.3k in a week at bingo once.  I am obviously better at bingo than i am at poker.

Hey Sark,  Never mind what your friends and family think about your gambling, that's nothing compared to their reaction if they only knew about some of your Covenant activities!   ;)

lol,  my only dodgy activity is gambling .    Why what have you heard?    :D

Well you keep nicking all those Rambaldi items and also repeatedly getting into fights with Sydney Bristow for a start!!   ;nana;

...not to mention pretending to be a plumber.  that's fraud.

potting cactus, i'm sure thats illegal

making bombs is also illegal ;tk;

lol,  I was going to pick Rambaldi, but someone had already used the name on Pokerstars when I joined

Potting cactus is a relaxing hobby, as is all horticultural and gardening activities

Can't make bombs. I was terrible at chemistry at School  :D

I used my plumbing skills recently to turn off a pipe at someones house. It's great, I have now learned turning the valve anti-clockwise normally stops the water flowing. This was learned through trial and error though. 

Sark,  the pipes in my bathroom make a godawful noise every time I turn on the hot tap.  What should I do?

turn them off?

ohhhh,  terrible problem Claire.   I have seen this before.  What you have is air in the system.   I would bleed the radiators





















Please Note, I am not a qualified plumber and cannot be held responsible for any injuries/damage/death that may result from my plumbing advice .  I am a fake and actually know less about plumbing than the average Grandmother does  :D. I make it up and hope for the best

hey sark,
i think i took the opposite route that you did, deliberatley telling as few people as possible why i always looked wrecked staggering into work, late again.
when i started playing poker regularly peoples perceptions of my latest hobby was always a delicate matter for me and even today i shy away from telling most people i meet what it is i do.
if asked now i normally mention that i do some poker related work for william hills.
over the years the guys i used to work with eventually all found out i was a poker player and whilst some were fascinated i used to dread the "how did the cards go this weekend" questions every monday morning - let#s face it, tournament poker has alot more downs than ups.
over the years tho, family, wife and friends have all come to respect what i do, but of course that is in part because i have been fairly successful.
this probably ain#t much help, but if you want some advice i would recommend getting a job, anything to pay the bills and take the pressure off your game - take a long term view, as very few start coining it in overnight.
good luck

 rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao