BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Hi, I have been a winning live 20-40 to 50-100 player for the past 2-3 years (playing live fulltime). I have had great success in poker, but my biggest downfall is my apparent addiction to blackjack. I have lost close to 125K during this period on blackjack and I dont understand why I keep doing it. When I go play poker, I have no intention of playing blackjack, but it seems I always find myself playing while I am waiting for my poker seat to open up, on my way to/from the bathroom, etc. Its almost like I dont even realize what I am doing until after I am down a couple thousand. I have lost over 15k a couple of times and it just sickens me and I dont know how to stop. I tell myself I am seriously going to quit BJ, but the most it ever lasts is a couple weeks. This is surprising to for me because I am extremely disciplined at the poker table, but just lose it when it comes to BJ. I used to brag about how much I dumped because I thought it was "cool" that I had so much money to blow without it affecting me, but now it just disgusts me.I am sure there are others who have similar problems. I need suugestions on what to do, I really need help. Thanks in advance

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Gamblers Anonymous.

It is good that you are seeking help. Now plug this leak before it crushes your $$ situation.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

I actually tried going to GA for a couple of weeks earlier this year, but it was no help at all. They just told me to stop going to casinos, but they didnt understand that it was impossible since thats how I make a living. So I need advice on other things I can do. thanks

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

This isn't exactly a rare problem for poker players.

Here's my suggestion: learn to play winning blackjack. Then one of two things will happen - either you'll be banned from the pit and your problem will be solved, or you'll make money and your problem will be solved. Either way, you win.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

[ QUOTE ]
This isn't exactly a rare problem for poker players.

Here's my suggestion: learn to play winning blackjack. Then one of two things will happen - either you'll be banned from the pit and your problem will be solved, or you'll make money and your problem will be solved. Either way, you win.

[/ QUOTE ]

Bingo. Counting cards is hella easy. FTR, they don't ban you from the whole casino if they catch you counting cards do they? I haven't done it seriously enough to ever get caught.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

there is nothing you could do you are doomed just like me

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

you really felt it was necessary to make that post?

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Id say find a book or books about using affirmations to get rid of ur addiction. I used to be a drug head and a smoker all thru high school and college and always tried to quit but I always came back. I found a book about doing affirmation exercises (basically like reprograming ur head) and it helped me quit ciggarettes and drugs.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Thanks demon, I will definitely try that. I understand that there are MANY individuals with similar problems, but mine is unique in the fact that I never intend to play blackjack on my way to the casino;infact, it is quite the opposite. I just seem to repeatedly find myself playing BJ while waiting for a seat to open up, going to/from the bathroom, etc. Does this situation come up with others? And why BJ and not other games such as roulette or craps? Hopefully someone can help me make some sense of all this. THANKS

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

not too sure if this would work becuase at the casino i play at, when you do it you cannot enter the casino....a friend of mines father had a bad gambling problem and he had himself barred from the casino, i am wondering if you could bar yourself from the pit only, but allow yourself to enter the poker room, i dont really see a casino allowing this but its a suggestion

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

i am so GLAD i read this post.

i am a 6-12 to 15-30 player and NEVER play black jack unless im on vacation in vegas. last night on the way through the casino to the poker room, i walked up to a 25$ blackjack table and slapped a $500 bet down. long story short i walked out with $6500.

i hope to god that i have the discipline from now on to not try and make that easy buck again [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

There is nothing wrong with playing BJ every once in a while as form of entertainment. I have a problem because I cannot seem to stop when I start, even when I am winning big. Its all good as long as you have it under control.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Good to hear a couple of things.

FIrstly, you are a winning poker player. THis is a very hard thing to do, as we all know.

It sounds as if you are a horrid blackjack player.

I find this interesting on a cerebral level. I remember reading one blackjack book when i was eighteen and basically broke even, forgetting about cards. I think with basic strat you are about a 1% dog? So, if you are betting 50 at a time, then you should be theoretically losing a dollar.

Learing poker has been sooooooo much more difficult for me on so many levels. Everything depends on everything else, and of course, the answer to everything is 'it depends'

How exactly are you tilting off your blackjack money? Is it not realising the massive variance, or ignoring basic strategy?

I truly sympathise with your situation, being a pro gambler, basically living in a casino, winning in one portion of it, and then losing it in another.

Do you have anyone who you can trust to keep you away, a poker buddy, or female friend?

Is there a self exclusion policy available at the casino?

I suppose that one could always play at the lowest table, but the problem is that gamblers love to gamble, to feel the joy and the pain, which you dont feel at a $5 table.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

[ QUOTE ]

Bingo. Counting cards is hella easy. FTR, they don't ban you from the whole casino if they catch you counting cards do they? I haven't done it seriously enough to ever get caught.

[/ QUOTE ]

Based on the fact that Andy Block (sp?) is playing the poker circuit without difficulties, I believe you'd probably be ok.

Of course, someone less famous might not be extended the same courtesy.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

learn to beat the game or go ask the supervisors to ban you from black jack if u want and they will do so

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Playing winning blackjack isnt that hard.
Search amazon for some Arnold Snyder, stanford wong, sklansky books.

all it takes is dedication.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Omaha, I understand the basic strategy of BJ. I am HORRID when it comes to betting. I bet more when I am losing than when I am on a roll. Basically, I tilt off my money when I start losing many hands in a row because I just increase my bets which gets expensive. I have several good friends who will watch out for me if they see me, the problem is most of them are usually never around the pit area; hence, dont see me playing there that often. I cannot get myself barred from the pit area, I already tried asking about that. I understand my problem is pretty pathetic, but I am serious about getting help or finding ways to cope with this before it gets MORE out of control (which would be pretty hard as it is already out of control). Thanks

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

r3vbr, thanks for the suggestion, but I am trying to stop playing BJ completely, I don't want to learn how to beat it. I would love it if I could get to the point where I never played another pit game for the rest of me life, thats the goal.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

I know someone like this - he is a great high limit winning player and will be up 8 or 9k and lose it all within 10 minutes at the BJ table. My suggestions come from observing him, just my 2 cents.

In several of your posts there seems to be a helplessness factor i.e., 'I seem to find myself playing' etc. If you are willing, I think you need to bring more conciousness and awareness of your mental state from the minute you walk in the casino. It sounds like you feel like you are on auto pilot and that is usually related to a subconcious urge. There are many reasons that people feel the need to gamble/lose - a need to punish yourself being one, a need for action another. You are succeeding in an area where 90% of people fail, when you consider that, what thoughts come to mind?

Even if you still play BJ the next time you go to the casino, pay close attention to everything you are thinking/feeling while this is going on. If you are unable to focus, it is time to consider what else you are avoiding in addition to considering what is it that you are getting out of playing BJ.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

jorge reread my op in this thread

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

I have the same problem with video poker machines. The only way I can think of is to avoid them all together. Haven't been able to do that yet.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

count cards

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Well, considering you are spending way to much time at the Blackjack table, you should really learn to beat it. As soon as you start playing BJ professionally and get pit heat, you'll soon NOT want to keep playing BJ. Why do you think so many former Blackjack APs are now poker players? Any monkey can learn to count cards. Go get Professional Blackjack by Wong or Knock-Out Blackjack by Fuchs and Vancura and don't play until you have learned them. If you don't have the discipline to beat the game, then you don't belong in a casino.

How did you learn to beat poker? Ah, it didn't all come to you? You actually read some books? Interesting. Now, why can't you apply that principle to blackjack?

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Thanks for the reply jorge, at least you know basic strat!

Okay, so the problem is your betting, and escalation of bets.

I think, firstly, that you are vastly more intelligent than me. You are a winning high stakes poker player, and i am a winning very low stakes poker player.

Just apply one one hundreth of your poker talents, into the bankroll management that you do in poker, into bj.

Check out gambling theory and other topics by mason. It has a br section on bj

In summary, if your average bet size is $25, and your win rate is

.2%, your roll is $34k
.5% your roll is $13k
1% your roll is 6.8k

If you are a losing player, then the higher roll and much lower limits would be better.

I still kinda cant put my finger on your problem, so Ill throw a curve ball at you, which you probably dont wish to hear.

Have you read any of the sharemarket trading books by Dr Alex elder? Trading 4 a living, etc?

Basically, he is a russian psychiatrist, who explains the sharemarket under the mind (psychology) method (trading ie when to go long/short, close positions, etc) and the money (managing your roll)

The psychology section is a must read, and he has many examples which will reverberate with ALL poker players. The tilt, the tilt, the denial, the vig, the negative sum game.

He talks about the massive similarities between the thought processes of alcoholics (and, losing poker/bj players) and the time he would lose money in the market. He changed his philosophy os THINKING, which helped him immensely.

He also relates a few stories on SELF SABOTAGE, where we subconciously deliberately set ourselves up repeatedly for failure in life.

WHy? Well, he gives the examples of someone finally becoming their own boss, buying a truck, and totalling it without insurance in the first week.

A woman remarries for the fourth time a violent alcoholic husband.

Most interestingly, he had the story of a market player, who would make a bucketload of money of the stockmarket in the first hour, then give it all back with interest over the next few hours.



The stock market dude is the most interesting case of self sabotage that i hadnt thought of. He was trading stocks that moved quickly out of the gate, and based his thought processes on news, earnings, speculation, etc. Problem was, he had no advantage after the initial surge.

Why?

Well, the truck driver wanted the security of a regular paycheck, and

the woman wanted to feel as though she could change her man, and get heaps of sympathy from everyone for her suffering.

and the stock market fellow had it drummed into him by his immigrant father that one had to work long, hard hours. Unfortunately for him, his only advantage was in the first hour, and he was a dog after that!

He also quotes many stories of people not being able to emotionally able to cope with pulling money out of 'thin air'. As a poker player, you do not build a wooden table and sell it, nor do you perform services that most of the populartion would find exciting and rewarding, like open heart surgery or being an astronaut. You, (through your skill, basically set out to deliberately fleece your fellow humans) apply your advantage, and (seemingly) pull money out of thin air, just like the stockmarket guy.

I think there is quite possibly the self sabotage factor. How do you feel about being a pro gambler? I found out a long time ago, if you go looking for self esteem on the poker table, you will wind up broke and hugely tilted.

SO, if you can figure out why you feel that you dont deserve the $ you earn (through your skill and expertise at the table), then you may just find that you will be able to accept the fact that you DO deserve to earn and KEEP the $ from the poker table.

As a poker player, consider the advantages that you provide to society.

You directly employ the dealers, the floor pit, and the janitor. The sexy waitresses would be out on the street, instead they just have to smile and bring you a drink.

Indeed, you even provided and paid for the mortgage of the guy that laid the carpet on the casino floor a decade ago.

You provide a massive amount of entertainment for the donks, and they are willing to pay you dearly for it. WHy do people sit down and play jenny harman and doyle brunson in cash games? Its for the brag factor, more than anything else. Would you really go into a boxing ring with mike tyson???????

You provide a huge revenue for the state and federal governments by way of their taxation. THis allows them to build more schools, hospitals, and roads, all of which benefit society greatly


Best piece of advice in this forum i ever read was the HALT factor, dont play when you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

[ QUOTE ]
r3vbr, thanks for the suggestion, but I am trying to stop playing BJ completely, I don't want to learn how to beat it. I would love it if I could get to the point where I never played another pit game for the rest of me life, thats the goal.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't really like the ups and downs of gambling. But when playing winning poker I'm willing to suffer through them knowing that in the long run I'm trending up. So, it's bad enough having to suffer that emotional whipsaw but to pay the damn Casino for the privalege of doing it is just nuts. That's essentially what I'm doing if I play House Games.

If I'm betting $50/hand, -1% edge, 200 hands an hour at blackjack I'm losing at a rate of $100/hr. That's what I'm paying the Casino for the privalege of feeling lousy a good part of the time after I'm done. Playing 50-100 live holdem I fight tooth and nail to maybe achieve a $100/hr win rate. And here I am at the blackjack table just pissing away that earn?

Playing a hand of -EV Blackjack, or making a bet on any House Game, makes about as much sense as raising under the gun with 7,2 offsuit. I wouldn't do one. Why should I do the other.

PairTheBoard

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

increasing the bets is the problem. I bet if you only played $5 every hand you wouldn't have started this thread. I find that my typical variance with flat betting is about 10-12 bets up or down within an hour.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Honestly, I don't know what to tell you, b/c the GA thing is going to be about quitting ALL gambling, which is going to hurt your $ flow. It would be like going to NA and saying help me get off coke, but I still want to smoke weed.

I'm curious as to how you could have the discipline required to playing winning poker at 50/100, but can't stop yourself from throwing $ away at the blackjack table as your returning from the bathroom????
I guess i just don't get the allure of BJ. It's SOOO boring, IMHO, and never yielded any kind of winning pattern for me the times I've played. Every time, I get hammered by the house, so that was enough negative conditioning for me to never play again. If I wasn't a winning poker player, I guess I wouldn't play that either. Losing is no fun.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

How much do you typically bet when you play blackjack? Playing while you wait for a seat or something really wouldn't be that big of a leak if the stakes you were playing for weren't too high. The other question is why?

If it was just waiting for a seat, that would be one thing, but the coming back from the bathroom thing really sounds like an addiction though in that you could be playing poker at the casino, but are choosing to play blackjack instead because you prefer it. Is it because you're bored from sitting around waiting and are looking for some action? Is this the kind of thing that would otherwise express itself in you playing more hands at the table, etc.?

I've got some compulsive gambling tendencies myself so I can sympathize to some extent. Maybe you should just bring an iPod with you to the casino, so you don't get bored so easily. The "waiting for a seat" one's tough because you really have nothing to do and are just sitting around waiting, but you should be able to overcome the bathroom, after session stuff, etc.

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Omaha, thanks, that was the best advice anyone has ever given me. I will definitely look into the books you recommended. You gave me tons of things to think about that I have never really thought of before in my poker career. As for my career as a gambler, I am not sure how I feel about it. Obviously, I never would have envisioned myself doing this 5 years ago; it was just something that gradually happened until I got to the point where I was making enough to support myself fulltime. Even though I "feel" I work hard at my job and put in a lot of hours, there is a sense that the money comes very easily and maybe I don't really deserve it. As most, if not all gamblers, I have little regard for money which, in ways, helps me be successful at the poker table because I rarely tilt or steam when taking a beat because I don't think of the money the way others do. This trait also hurts me when it comes to BJ because I was able to lose large amounts of money over time without it making a big impact on my financial situation; however, it now makes me sick just thinking about how much those numbers have accumulated. I have never had a "real" job and wonder how I would handle my money if I worked "hard" for it. I still haven't found the answer,(although I was able to put in a 10-hour session of poker tonight without playing BJ!!!) but you have given me lots to think about, not only in regards to BJ, but my life in general. I thank you for that.

Jorge

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

iggymcfly, my betting, when it comes to BJ is all over the place. I usually start out betting 25-100, but the problem is it gets out of hand when I lose a few hands in a row and start going crazy with my bets. It sounds like an addiction because it is and that is why I am desperately trying to stop. I am not really sure what it is that makes me play BJ, it just happens and its like I don't even realize what I am doing, its pretty sick. Maybe its my way of not going on tilt at the table, I don't know. Its funny that you brought up the iPod because there was a rule forbidding iPod use at the table until just recently so maybe that will help, as I used it the whole session that I played in tonight. Thanks for your help.

Jorge

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

PairTheBoard, everything you say is clear as day and I realize that, but why is it so hard for me to actually do?

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Honestly, like I mentioned earlier, I did try going to GA for a while, but it was useless because they want you to quit all forms of gambling. The thing that I feel makes BJ so attractive for me is that it is the complete opposite. In poker, I am grinding, trying to find edges and exploiting the mistakes of others, while being patient enough to wait for the correct situations in which to utilize them. BJ is a fast paced game where you are just "Gambling it up" with no edge, at least not for me. The fact that I have lost so much, should make it so easy to stop, but why can't I?

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Because you addicted to gambling, and this includes poker. The only difference is you win at poker but you are still addicted. Some people are addicted to alcohol, but they live well enough.

I would seriously consider quitting poker and all forms of gambling altogether as you clearly have a problem - an illness even

This is a bold statement but if you are serious about it you should quit and get a regular job

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

[ QUOTE ]
Omaha, thanks, that was the best advice anyone has ever given me. I will definitely look into the books you recommended. You gave me tons of things to think about that I have never really thought of before in my poker career. As for my career as a gambler, I am not sure how I feel about it. Obviously, I never would have envisioned myself doing this 5 years ago; it was just something that gradually happened until I got to the point where I was making enough to support myself fulltime. Even though I "feel" I work hard at my job and put in a lot of hours, there is a sense that the money comes very easily and maybe I don't really deserve it.

Jorge

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Even though I "feel" I work hard at my job and put in a lot of hours, there is a sense that the money comes very easily and maybe I don't really deserve it.

Jorge

[/ QUOTE ]


BINGO

[ QUOTE ]
Even though I "feel" I work hard at my job and put in a lot of hours, there is a sense that the money comes very easily and maybe I don't really deserve it.

Jorge

[/ QUOTE ]


Bingo


[ QUOTE ]
Even though I "feel" I work hard at my job and put in a lot of hours, there is a sense that the money comes very easily and maybe I don't really deserve it.

Jorge

[/ QUOTE ]

BINGO

[ QUOTE ]
Even though I "feel" I work hard at my job and put in a lot of hours, there is a sense that the money comes very easily and maybe I don't really deserve it.

Jorge

[/ QUOTE ]


BINGO

[ QUOTE ]
Even though I "feel" I work hard at my job and put in a lot of hours, there is a sense that the money comes very easily and maybe I don't really deserve it.

Jorge

[/ QUOTE ]


BINGO!

Simple, really, isnt it? You simply do not truly think that you deserve to keep the money. SO you dont. You give it back at the table.

SO why the self esteem issues?

Lets compare you to me. I dont know a whole heap about you, so ill just add two and two together (please excuse any judgments I make about you, but i will prolly be close to the mark!)

I worked my butt off during the last two years of high school, came in the top 2.3% of the state. Went to uni and became a dentist, a borderline fail student in all years. Graduated, fell in love, had three kiddies, got divorced.

PIcked up a book about limit and 7stud soon after the divorce, read it a few times before going to the casino. Went and played $5/10 limit. Played very well, was up, then stayed far too long, game went short handed, and i got slaughtered (the book was too weak tight for a full ring, and shocking for shorthanded) Lost about 200 all up. Only a year later (after not returning) did i realise I only lost by the rake, which was a shocking 75cents per hand, ie 7.5bb/100 hands . THey have jacked this up to $1 per hand now, a shocking 10bb per 100 hands!

So, i whack 500 into party and start losing gradually. Read the book again and again, still going down. So i find out about 2+2, and everyone says to get SSHE. SO, i get it, and continually read and reread it. Needless to say, my graph starts to point north, and i clear bonuses on party, paradise, pokerroom, and sidestep a couple of others that I am outclassed in.

I learnt o8, and plo8, and have just learnt nlhe, particularly tourney plays. Profitable in all (breakeven in limit o8), but very low stakes. There is no use in being the tenth best player in th e world if the other nine are across from you on the green felt!

Have about 30 poker books, and spend far too much time playing. But I love it, am good at it, and wish to learn. At the stakes i play for, even if i was a solid loser all week, I would blow less money than my exwife would in one morning shopping for nothing!

Play a bit live at the pub, have come second in a freebie night, and just won two cash game buy ins $22, for a win of $946 and $230

COmpared to the other donks at the pub, I am soooooo far ahead of them in all areas its not funny.

SO, why do I tell you all this?

To brag, or to make myself look good

On the contrary, it is to make YOU look good.

You see, currently you have a real bee in your bonnet. Okay, you didnt come in the top 2% of your year, didnt go to uni, probably didnt study even remotely hard at school, and turned your part time enjoyment and fun (ie poker) into a small winner, then a bigger winner, and then a part time and full time job.

But, heres the rub, I KNOW how bloody hard it is to even win at small stakes, and the huge difference in ability and skill in just moving up one level

I cannot personally even begin to comprehend what it is like at a level 100 times what I can play profitably.

That is your skill level. If you were to compare yourself to me, (in poker ability), it would be similar to comparing myself to the fish at the freebie nights.

And how much extra work, practise, reading, hand posting and thinking have you done about the game?

I would consider the amount of work that you have done at poker to EXCEED the amount of hard slog and effort that it took me to obtain my dental degree.

And you have problems realising that you earned that money, by outsmarting and outplaying people who are much smarter than myself??????????

You obviously have a talent, much like brain surgery, yet significantly less socially acceptable to the majority of retards that walk this earth

I am very happy that you spent ten hours on the poker table without pissing your hard earned, god given talent away on the bj tables

My further advice

Count your blessings

Get a part time 'real' job. This will cure you of the social stigma of living and sleeping on the casino floor, and will get you out and about.

Reassess your female relationships. My mega mega tilt session on plo8 was due to a huge number of personal issues. Trust me when I say to sort these out.

Ever considered some sort of volunteer work? Personally I am heaps to busy and far too lazy, but you need to feel as though you are putting something back into society, rather than just sucking all the money out from the table

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

[ QUOTE ]
PairTheBoard, everything you say is clear as day and I realize that, but why is it so hard for me to actually do?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know Jorge. With me, if I make a $1000 bet at blackjack with a -1% edge I don't think about winning or losing the $1000. I think about the fact that I'm spending $10. Maybe one time for a thrill I can afford to do that. But not hand after hand. I just can't afford it.

PairTheBoard

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Alex424, i have read and reread all of my previous posts and have a hard hard seeing why you think I am addicted to poker as well? The only thing I ever say about poker is that I am a winning player, play for a living, and play about 50 hours a week. Maybe you see something that I don't, but it puzzles me how you can give someone career advice ("This is a bold statement but if you are serious about it you should quit and get a regular job") without knowing enough about that person. I only have a problem because I have not given nearly enough information ablout my poker life for you to come up with these ideas. I would appreciate it if you would enlighten me with your thought process. Thanks

Jorge

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Is there a way to explain your situation to the casino and ask them to not allow you to play BJ?

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

nope, tried that already

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

Jorge, you seem to have taken my response very sensitively.

The fact of the matter is that you gamble away large chunks of your money on a game where you know you are going to lose. That is a GAMBLING ADDICTION whether you like it or not. I have seen it first hand.

I realise we have never met, but this is pretty obvious to all concerned. You do not have the ability to stop losing large chunks of your money on a game that cannot be beaten.

I do not believe there are any words of wisdom that any of us can say that wil make you stop. YOU have to want to stop more than anything and the only way is to stop going in casinos.

I realise i sound like a GA representative but i have seen this first hand. You cannot control yourself in a casino environment, and playing poker IMO is just adding to that fact.

Many poker players would say they are not addicted to poker, but i believe many would seriously struggle to stop playing poker altogether if if they wanted to. The fact you are a winning poker player to me is disguising the fact that you have a gambling problem. Some of the top poker players in the world have admitted to having a serious gambling addiction.

I know this sounds blunt, but i am genuinely trying to help you. I have seen first hand a friend of mine with a similar problem and the only way he could stop was to stay out of the casino environment. It does no good to be in a gambling environment, if you struggle with gambling. This is not just a blackjack problem, but a pschological problem with money in general.

Please don't take this as personal attack, but from advice from somebody who has seen this problem first hand.

I would give serious consideration to listening to GA again and following their advice.

Good Luck

Re: BLACKJACK PROBLEM!!!!
 

I think i would take an opposing view to Alexs

If you were a losing poker player, and played bj like the way you have in the past, then you certainly qualify as an addict.

Yours is a very interesting scenario, where you are a winner in a difficult, hard game, yet seem to throw it away on another.

Check out the trading for a living books i was talking about, the psychiatrist who wrote is -alexander elder is just brilliant at distilling ideas, feelings, and the tilt scenario.

BTW, what did you think about my last post, particularly about getting a 'real' part time job, even if its just flipping burgers at minimum wage at maccas two shifts a week?