Do you ever worry that you are addicted?

[way_too_tight]

I'm not addicted - I can fold anytime.

[BigTomatoes]

 i must be addicted then
 cos i cant. 

[yt]

I love it, and as I have got older I find I worry less and live for the day more and more.....

I've done the "career stress" thing for twenty years and found it made me unhappy, a pain to live with (or so she said  and affected my health.)

LOL been there, done that and won the biatch back.
In fact she even supports my poker playing because 1) I make a little bit of cash and 2) it makes me happy and not the stressed out career driven pr@t i once was.

I'm addicted but love it. If you make time for the family and are fair with your time spent poker playing then whats the problem?

[GlasgowBandit]

Nope!

Monies for spending.

As a socialist I firmly believe that the only way for society to prosper is spend money its a cycle.

I would prefer it more if the moneyw as coming back to me more often though.

[thetank]

As much as we dress it up as being a game of skill, (which of course it is) it is also a form of gambling. Gambling can be very addictive, especially if we know we can win over the long haul. Poker is probably one of the most addictive forms of gambling there is for this reason.

The argument is that a gambling addiction is not a problem if you are winning money. It's important to recognize that while this may be true for now, there may be a compulsion there, and things could change in the future.

We need every (honest) advantage we can get at the table, one of these is understanding yourself. Do some reading into gambling addictions, a better understanding of how these things come about can help prevent you leak money at the tables. Also, it helps to know where some of your opponents are coming from.

Good to see so many people on this thread admit to being addicted. Jokingly or not, it's a good thing to own up to it.

My name is Thomas and I'm addicted to poker. Right now I'm a winning player so that's no problem, my addiction helps my personal finances rather than hinders them. I recognize that it is not outwith the realms of possibility that this will change, and then I will need to address my addiction before it is too late.

One thing I'm trying (although not very hard admittedly) is to do more things outside poker. At the moment I play as a job from home, I spend countless hours on a poker forum, I socialize either playing poker, or with fellow poker players.
The only time I stop playing poker is to perform bodily functions.
(Oh dear.. just realised I keep the latest copy of Poker Europa in the bathroom, not even that's true.)

I'm the wrong side of the balance and should really do something about it. I am, but I'm not going to tell you what is.
After all, it's off-topic 

[Sark79]

You make alot of good points there Tank.

I don't feel I could ever become addicted to poker.  So I can't really understand how others feel. 

I am addicted to the idea of becoming a better player. To be honest, it is more the thought of being a 'someone' than winning loads of money. I have always respected sports heroes the most out of everyone. Even though there are real heroes like charity workers, scientists attempting to find cures for cancer and firemen who save peoples lives. It is the sports people I always wanted to be like.

I always wanted to reach a high level as a sports star as far back as I remember.  I wasn't good enough at cycling and never had the money to get very far in motorsports.

Poker is the opportunity I have waited for my entire life. I just wish I had found it sooner than 26.

I may be wrong but there are different types of addiction in gambling terms. I don't get overly excited about winning money from gambling. I have put one bet on in my entire life at a bookies. I won £800 on a tennis match. When I won the money, I wasn't hyped up at all. Because there was no skill involved, it was just luck.

The control we have over the result is the great thing about poker. The more a person is able to learn. The better a player they become.

It is the skill factor which hopefully will prevent me from becoming addicted.

Winning is the greatest feeling in the world. This dosen't just apply to poker. It can apply to everything, even trying to swing higher on a rope swing as a kid than one of your friends. It is a fantastic feeling.

I am not really sure if I would call wanting to win, an addcition.

Does addiciton mean ' getting a buzz from winning money'  or ' wanting to beat everyone else' ?

I can't really understand how this must feel for someone who is addcited. Whoever they are, admitting to their addcition and taking the neccessary steps to defeat it, makes them a very brave person in my eyes. I wish them all the best.

[scottm]

 i must be addicted then
 cos i cant. 

You got that problem as well   >:?

 I'm not alone  

[ArtHound]

When job searching, the first thing I do is search for 'poker' on indeed.co.uk.

I think I may be a tad addicted.

Also BUMP

[tikay]

Cripes, 7 year bump, congrats Sir!

[ripple11]

......well, we are due an update from Silo  

[sovietsong]

As much as we dress it up as being a game of skill, (which of course it is) it is also a form of gambling. Gambling can be very addictive, especially if we know we can win over the long haul. Poker is probably one of the most addictive forms of gambling there is for this reason.

The argument is that a gambling addiction is not a problem if you are winning money. It's important to recognize that while this may be true for now, there may be a compulsion there, and things could change in the future.

We need every (honest) advantage we can get at the table, one of these is understanding yourself. Do some reading into gambling addictions, a better understanding of how these things come about can help prevent you leak money at the tables. Also, it helps to know where some of your opponents are coming from.

Good to see so many people on this thread admit to being addicted. Jokingly or not, it's a good thing to own up to it.

My name is Thomas and I'm addicted to poker. Right now I'm a winning player so that's no problem, my addiction helps my personal finances rather than hinders them. I recognize that it is not outwith the realms of possibility that this will change, and then I will need to address my addiction before it is too late.

One thing I'm trying (although not very hard admittedly) is to do more things outside poker. At the moment I play as a job from home, I spend countless hours on a poker forum, I socialize either playing poker, or with fellow poker players.
The only time I stop playing poker is to perform bodily functions.
(Oh dear.. just realised I keep the latest copy of Poker Europa in the bathroom, not even that's true.)

I'm the wrong side of the balance and should really do something about it. I am, but I'm not going to tell you what is.
After all, it's off-topic 

I thought tank was back...