How much would it take to make you quit gambling forever?

[MikeLowry]

Sounds like a very basic question that has nothing to do on the psychology forum. However, I believe your answer greatly defines the reason you gamble in the first place. I have heard Daniel N. say that there is not a dollar amount that could make him quit playing cards. If his statement is true then it looks like making money is not Daniel's main motivation for playing poker. Agree? Disagree? So ask yourself this question and think deeply of your true answer. You may find out that you are not playing for reasons you orginally thought, which in turn could plug some leaks in your game. BTW I am not in anyway claiming to be a wealth of knowledge in this subject but, I recently thought this question over and came to see where the biggest leak in my game was. In turn I hope that making others aware of this I could possibly help someone else in making correct decisions at the table.

-ML

[Sephus]

im sure this exact thread has been done before. my number is around $500,000. if all of a sudden i made little to no money gambling i would quit entirely and not miss it at all. if i had fun gambling i'd be doing it right now instead of this.

[BigPoppa]

Why would I quit just because I fell into some money?

I like gambling.



However, if you would like to pay me to quit...........

[vypremik]

I would not quit simply because of money. As a matter of fact I would probably play more. My style would change and playing probably would be more about fun. I also would probably take fewer chances. Any table can be fun if you don't care about winning or losing.

Now if someone was paying me to stop, then I suppose I have to put a dollar amount on it. To stop playing I would need two things: 1) More than enough money to live on. 2) Something to replace poker (and other forms of gambling, right?).

I don't think a million would do it. It is not enough money to substantially change my life. I would either have to work or budget my money and that wouldn't fulfill the requirements.

I think around 6 million would do it for me. I could start up a nice business, hire a few people to do work when I didn't feel like it, have a nice nest egg, and leave gambling in the rear view mirror for good.

But only if I was paid to.

On the other hand, I would freely give it up if I thought it was seriously hurting someone I cared about. So maybe my price is not so high after all.

Hmmm. This could use some more thought. You may be right, it could possibly change my game.

[raze]

I won't quit for any dollar amount. What will a gift of a million dollars do for you psychologically? I don't want anything just handed to me. To me, poker is both income and a long(ish) term challenge. The only way I see myself quitting this game is

a. a major occurrence in my life that pushes out poker
b. I go completely broke and end up on the street
c. I reach & conquer the highest of limits & seek a new challenge

Actually, no, I lie. If I was offered something like $10 million plus, I would quit, because I would be able to spend my time doing something very productive for the world with that kind of money.

[Aceshigh7]

I'd give up all forms of gambling, including poker, for the rest of my life, for $500,000, tax free.

[Hellmouth]

[ QUOTE ]
Sounds like a very basic question that has nothing to do on the psychology forum. However, I believe your answer greatly defines the reason you gamble in the first place. I have heard Daniel N. say that there is not a dollar amount that could make him quit playing cards. If his statement is true then it looks like making money is not Daniel's main motivation for playing poker. Agree? Disagree? So ask yourself this question and think deeply of your true answer. You may find out that you are not playing for reasons you orginally thought, which in turn could plug some leaks in your game. BTW I am not in anyway claiming to be a wealth of knowledge in this subject but, I recently thought this question over and came to see where the biggest leak in my game was. In turn I hope that making others aware of this I could possibly help someone else in making correct decisions at the table.

-ML

[/ QUOTE ]

To give up playing poker for the rest of my life I would take roughly 50% (tax free) of what I would earn over my life playing poker. Then I would invest now and have spent no effort to earn all that $$$$$.

I would then learn some other form of gambling game (eg backgammon).

Greg

[_TKO_]

[ QUOTE ]
To stop playing I would need two things: 1) Exactly enough money to live on. 2) The inability to have any more than this amount.

[/ QUOTE ]

FYP.

If you couldn't afford to lose a single dollar ever, then you wouldn't be able to play.

I would think that the more money you have, the harder it would be to quit.

[Reef]

500k sounds alright.

[_TKO_]

[ QUOTE ]
500k sounds alright.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this number depends a little bit upon your age. Personally, this only gives me about 11.5k/yr until I retire (age 65). First of all, if I played professionally, this means that I would have to find another job. Second, I don't play professionally, yet could still earn more than this per year playing recreationally, making the dollar-value of quitting less attractive than the dollar-value of playing. On top of all this, I enjoy playing, so I would enjoy life less, unless quitting poker would give rise to an even more enjoyable hobby (that costs less than 11.5k/yr).

After thinking about it, I think that it would take about 3 million (though I *might* accept as low as 2) to get me to quit poker (estimated at about 50k/yr until I die). This way, I wouldn't have to quit my job, but it's enough money to spend on other hobbies that I think I could handle not playing anymore.

[nhsir]

I think this is a very interesting question. Everyone plays for different reasons and this helps reveal those reasons. I find it hard to believe it would take so much money to get people to give up the game. I enjoy playing quite a bit and I've dedicated a lot of time to learning the game, but I also enjoy it because I make money doing it. For $100,000 tax free, I would give up the game in a heartbeat. I'm sure I could find other hobbies to fill my time. I think I'm still improving and moving up in levels though, so a year from now my answer could be a lot higher.

[AlanBostick]

I enjoy poker a lot, but the money I win is a factor.

I think three to five million dollars is about the right ballpark for me ... returining an investment income of rather more than I could reasonably hope to win by playing.

With a luxurous independent income, I'm sure I'd be able to find some other ways of amusing myself.

[Allinlife]

3M for me

[galahad_187]

2.5mil and i'd quit never to look back and be /very/ happy with it. then again atm i'm stuck playing online poker which i don't really enjoy/do that well with ask me in 5 years when i'm in a casino i may change my mind.

[Coffee]

Some people in my life have been worried that I may have a gambling addiction. I disagree with them. I have a winning addiction...I am 100% addicted to victory.

For that reason, I don't play any losing expectation games for very much money...the only reason I do it is to break up the monotony of a long poker session. So...in terms of table games, my answer would be cheap...I'd do it for 25k and not look back.

Poker's a different animal, though. I answer this in two ways: 1)I refuse to be put in dire financial straits from poker, so I would quit forever if I was irreparably in debt, or had declared bankruptcy, or something else catastrophic. That said, I have quit for several months in the past when things got too tight for comfort(not necessarily due to poker). So, I don't think I'd ever quit permanently if I was losing, because I never put so much money at risk that I HAVE to win. OTOH, if I was playing well, then someone would have to offer me a TON of money to quit forever...because I simply enjoy playing too much. It's my hobby, and as long as it's not a problem, I would want to play. Poker itself is not worth very much. My freedom to choose, however, is.

[GottaMuckIt]

No there isn't a dollar amount that would make someone with desire like Daniel N's. He would have to be so battered from playing and losing; a losing streak that would break his competive sprint. It's not a dollar amount that makes anyone quit, it's a feeling of constant frustation that comes with losing that constantly. When all the angst leaks into your personal life, and starts to prevent you from enjoying the part of you that isn't a poker player; that's when people start to think about quiting for good. No one likes to feel like all they do is wrong. It's a mind set, not an amount of money.

[KaneKungFu123]

I would stop for about 1.5 million given to me now.

[Apathy]

If I quit could I still do poker related things as a means of generating income?

Like coaching, writing etc.?

If so I would quit for 1 million.

if not, 2 million.

[nhsir]

I'm curious. For all the people saying it would take at least a million dollars for them to quit. Is that because you love the game so much, or because that's how much income you believe you would be giving up?

[Dave H.]

If you ask me this question during an extended downswing...about $100 would do it for me.

[AlanBostick]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm curious. For all the people saying it would take at least a million dollars for them to quit. Is that because you love the game so much, or because that's how much income you believe you would be giving up?

[/ QUOTE ]

A million dollars is equivalent to an income stream of about $50K/year. That's well within the reach of any winning player who can play $30-$60 for twenty hours a week.

[_TKO_]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm curious. For all the people saying it would take at least a million dollars for them to quit. Is that because you love the game so much, or because that's how much income you believe you would be giving up?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's a combination of the two. If I was either a breakeven player that loved the game or a professional player that lived on the income, my answer would be lower than 3M. The fact that I am giving up both income and a hobby, the equivalent dollar-value is much higher than either one alone. When I calculated my answer, I used three values:
1. The amount of income I expect to earn from poker for the rest of my life;
2. The amount of money required to start and maintain additional hobbies to occupy my time; and
3. The dollar-value I place on the enjoyment I get out of poker.

[Vincent]

I would quit for either:
1) a minimum of somewhere between $500k to $1 million untaxable dollars
2) a minimum $100k/yr career that I have a strong passion for

But I'd rather be addicted to poker, which unfortunately I'm not.

[creedofhubris]

That seems kinda low, Kane.

I'd hold out for 3, I think.

[_TKO_]

[ QUOTE ]
I would quit for either:
1) a minimum of somewhere between $500k to $1 million untaxable dollars
2) a minimum $100k/yr career that I have a strong passion for

But I'd rather be addicted to poker, which unfortunately I'm not.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your answers don't really seem to agree with each other. 1M now, or 5M over 50 years? I think the latter is much much better.

[donkeyradish]

Only losing my bankroll would make me quit.

[RydenStoompala]

100 Skillion dollars...NOT A PENNY LESS! http://http://www.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/06/fall.tv.report/michael.richards.show.jpg

[creedofhubris]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm curious. For all the people saying it would take at least a million dollars for them to quit. Is that because you love the game so much, or because that's how much income you believe you would be giving up?

[/ QUOTE ]

A lot of the "one million dollars!!!!" guys are high stakes NL players, so a million bucks is a reasonable expectation for a few years of poker.

[timex]

If I could force myself never to gamble again, I gladly would!
/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Toonces]

I think I'd be willing to give up poker for about $200K if I was still allowed to play other gambling games like BJ. Poker is just one form of pos EV games. For about $1M, I'd give up all gambling and just play bridge full-time.

[Alex/Mugaaz]

2.5 million dollars. I wouldn't even visit this forum again.

[12AX7]

Yeah, I'd bet there is a dollar amount that would get him to quit.

"-his current net worth"

I.e. if he completely busted out, LOL!

Out perspectives change based on where we stand.

[someone447]

He is saying a just 500k to 1M just for quitting. With #2 he is saying that for a job that payed 100k a year that he enjoyed he would quit.

[_TKO_]

[ QUOTE ]
He is saying a just 500k to 1M just for quitting. With #2 he is saying that for a job that payed 100k a year that he enjoyed he would quit.

[/ QUOTE ]

My point is that the latter value (in dollars) is significantly greater than the first.

[Mr_J]

2 mil. Unless you define 'gambling' as investing of any sort, including the stock market, businesses etc, then obviously the amount would be much higher since I couldn't put that 2mil to use.