Advice on quitting gambling?

Quote: buzzpaff

Difficult, but not impossible. The bigger question is why he is compelled to take his poker winnings and piss them all away on other forms of gambling? Why not save those winnings and use them as a stake in tournaments? Might actually have a chance to win life changing money and do something other than deal !

I know... I know...
It is sick. Like. Lets say I have a poker session.. playing 2-5 nL.. and I leave the table after 3 hours with say a 400$ profit.. Then I'll buy into craps for say 200$ (that way I'll still leave with 200$ profit).. but then it will run like.. Point 7.. that or perhaps.. I'll Pass Line.. Buy the 4 and 10. Place the 9.. and I roll. (Point 6) 5-11-11-12-2-5-5-6-5-3-8-5-7 ... and whole time thinking.. man I keep crushing these 5's how come i was not doing COME bets.. why. How many times do you see no action on say Hard 8.. then a guy throws 4 in a row. That or a Yo 3 times in a row. So I end up dumping the 200$ at craps fast... instead of leaving with the 200$ profit as intended... buy in for the other 200$ to chase back the loss. Lose that money.. Then end up buying in for more...

Quote: NicksGamingStuff

If the OP is in Vegas and ever needs a friend to spend time with there are a bunch of us on the forum who live in LV that he can meet up with just to hang out.

I live in the Midwest. Thanks, though

I was a heavey gambler in my twenties. I mean betting thousands of dollars a week and losing of course, on sports. I was addicted as were all of my friends. All of them were betting and losing these sums of money. We maxed out credit cards, stole from our parents, cashed in whatever stocks our grandparents had set aside etc... As we got older and found better jobs and made more money and met our future wives, the gambling continued but it was not our sole source of enetertainment, which it had been before. We now would go to shows, nice dinners, weekends at the shore etc... We still gamble twenty years later, and love it just as much, however, our bets have decreased dramatically where I bet $20 a game on the internet where I used to bet $250-$500. Somewhere with all my and our losing we learned after years of debotchery how to gamble responsibly. I live in Maryland and there are dozens of casinos within a two and half hour drive and I go maybe ten times a year with my wife. Take a break and reasses your priorities. Oncy gambling wasn't the only thing in my life , the losing and betting decreased substantially. I learned the action was fun, so for me to win a $20 bet is almost as exciting as winning a $250 bet. Once it consumes you, its hard to get out from under it. Trust me I know first hand. Once I matured and took it for the ENTERTAINMENT that it was, I actually enjoy now more than ever. I don't want to throw up when a guy misses a FG to cover the spread and I am much happier for it.

It is great to see that there are actually other forum members on this site who have gone through the same thing that Minnesota and I go through. There are plenty of problem gamblers out there. It really becomes a problem though when it starts affecting your work life, your financial life, and your home life.

If you can't cut back, then you really do have a problem.

Quote: boymimbo

If you can't cut back, then you really do have a problem.

+1

Try this: go "cold turkey" for six weeks, just to prove to yourself that you can do it.

Reassess things after six weeks.

" It’s been nearly one month since I’ve done any gambling…not much to brag about, I know, but just wanted to encourage you and tell you that it is possible to take a breather and break the cycle. Good luck! "

GOOD LUCK to you as well. Look forward to the future posts from someone with such an imaginative screen name.

I know some (maybe all ) casinos don't allow their employees gambling in their own casinos.
So if you find a job in a casino with no nearby casino, let's say 3 hours driving, then you probably will be forced to quit gambling.
I know a guy just did that and succeeded.

I would say I am hooked just as bad as you...
except I found the answer...
Video Poker..
I play STRICTLY video poker..and right now I only really play triple play SuperTimesPay for nickles. I can put in my "quota" for maintaining "Diamond" status (to get the perks I want) and still have a small edge OVER the house (might have a losing trip, MAYBE a losing month, but never a losing year)

Quote: minnesotajoe

Keep in mind that - I refuse to join GA or go to a GA meeting or self exclude myself from casinos. I would purchase literature, read online articles, watching movies/videos on gambling. Perhaps shared stories. Anything out there.

I know it's rude to comment to the original post without reading all of the replies, but my answer is simple, and you should disregard it if five people have already said similar things above me, so apologies in advance.

Anyways, IF YOU'RE SERIOUS, then what you said above is a very bad idea. It's like an alcoholic who decides to quit drinking, but says from day 1 "I'm not going to stop going to bars and I'm going to keep working in a liquor store."

You may not have a problem, in which case treat it like anything we humans commit to that isn't of life changing importance, loosing 10lbs vs getting to enjoy dessert for example.

But if you DO have a problem understand your attitude above is almost certainly doomed to failure. There is an almost infinite number of examples of people who have broken free of or at least held off addictions using a surefire method: admit you have a problem, get in a program that causes real change. Those people often say they weren't really inspired to change until hitting bottom, and that process of hitting bottom is what gets you past "I'm willing to do X but not Y to help myself."

Quote: TIMSPEED

Video Poker..
I play STRICTLY video poker..and right now I only really play triple play SuperTimesPay for nickles. I can put in my "quota" for maintaining "Diamond" status (to get the perks I want) and still have a small edge OVER the house (might have a losing trip, MAYBE a losing month, but never a losing year)

Lovely game. I played it today. Hit a Straight Flush 5x, DEALT quads 8x, and a Full House 10x. It was a good session. (Mind you, usually I get nothing).