This is my story (long, boring)

[bhiatt]

The OP's story may seem egregious, but as poker players (and perhaps as gamblers in general) all of us are playing with fire, no matter how disciplined we consider ourselves. Who among us hasn't felt the urge to take our entire bankroll to a higher-limit table after a particularly bad session, hoping to make it all back? Some of us possess more self-control than others, but this should be a cautionary tale to everyone as to the compulsive and destructive behavior any form of gambling is capable of engendering.

[spino1i]

www.gamblersanonymous.org

[krazyace5]

[ QUOTE ]
The OP's story may seem egregious, but I play with fire, no matter how disciplined I consider myself. I have often felt the urge to take my entire bankroll to a higher-limit table after a particularly bad session, hoping to make it all back. Some of you possess more self-control than I do, but this should be a cautionary tale to myself as to the compulsive and destructive behavior any form of gambling is capable of engendering.

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FYP

[Xellos]

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I spoke to my father and told him that with this big fat bunch of debt at 22% interest on the credit card I could see no way out, so he told me he’d give me the 12k, and I could just pay him back each month at 0% interest instead of the high credit card rates. This was perfect, a way out – my parents are not wealthy by any means but my father saw this as an opportunity to help his son, and he knows my wife and I both have great jobs, are true to our words and good for the money.

I paid off the credit cards on January 2, 2006. On January 3, I was down 6k to sports betting again. I then went on a sick heater, and won about 12k gambling sports and playing table games at the casino. Enough to pay off what I blew in January and make a good chunk in paying my father back. But I blew that too.

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This is pitiful.

[nooob]

wow. good luck man.

at least u realize now. better now than later, when u can't dig urself out.

46K is a lot of money. but it's also not an impossible debt.

[Little_Jim]

This story is so cliche, and one we have heard a million times. Look, you are an irresponsible idiot, and you get EXACTLY what you deserve for your stupidity. You knowingly take -EV gambles, and you get what you expect in the long run. Don't shine a negative light on my source of income because you are too dumb to be able to handle the freedom offered to you. "Bla bla addictive, cant control myself, bla bla, I'm a MORON". I hope your wife leaves you and your kids hate you, because you deserve it for what you have done. I also hope I am the one contributing to your ruin every time you are at one of my tables taking a shot.

Good luck at being less of a moron,

Little Jim

[MicroBob]

pretty harsh and unnecessary little jim.


oneofyou - seriously, gamblers anonymous has to be considered at some point because you obviously don't seem capable of controlling your sports-betting urges. But the problem here is that you really probably are good enough to make back the money in poker and obviously GA would frown on this.

Perhaps partly depends on what kind of job you have and how much it pays.
If you are making a pretty good salary there then you should probably give up poker also. Even if you're +EV at it I think it's probably too much of a trigger in your brain to lead back to the sports-betting.

If your job pays so little that there's no way you'll be able to pay off the debt then I guess your best shot is to grind away at the poker tables and hope you can control your sports-betting impulses. But I don't think this is very likely to work as you haven't had any success doing that before.


I don't know anything about financial stuff but aren't there options to work some of this stuff out with the CC companies or declare bankruptcy or stuff like that?

[detruncate]

Condolences on your situation. I grew up around addiction and have some insight into just how difficult it can be for all involved.

Seek help immediately for your serious gambling problem. Call GA. Enter a recovery program. For the sake of your health, your family, your finances. Do it now.

As for the rest, I'm not an expert by any means, but I do have some suggestions:

Close all your gambling accounts, and make clear it's because you have a gambling addiction. Most definitely include poker sites. Addiction can damage the lives and relationships of even proven +EV players, and you are not in that category despite your ability to show profits for short periods of time. +EV players play within their means. You clearly don't possess that ability.

Purge your computer(s) of gambling software and grant your wife sole administrator access, protected by a password known only to her, so that you can be prevented from installing software.

Do your local casinos have provisions for dealing with problem gamblers? If so, make them aware of the situation.

Have your wife immediately contact all your credit card companies to change all numbers and get rid of the cards that don't have a balance. Removing your name from the cards would also be a good idea. You shouldn't have any access to credit or large sums of cash for the foreseeable future. Henceforth all cards live with your wife, and make sure she knows she needs to be very careful about not leaving bills lying around -- set up electronic billing, if possible, with everything going to through email and bank accounts you don't have have access to.

All major withdrawals/financial transactions should go through your wife for the time being. Get her to change your online banking passwords and give up your ATM card(s) for your existing accounts. You should also consider closing all existing personal accounts and requiring dual signing (if possible) on joint accounts. Set up a new bank account for you that she can monitor the balance of. She can transfer relatively small amounts into it as necessary.

Sit down with your wife and come up with a concrete plan to reduce expenses and systematically pay down your debt. Talk to your credit card companies about repayment options. Visit a financial planner or non-profit credit counselling service if you need assistance.

I'd also stop visiting all gambling-related sites, including this one.

Best wishes to you and yours. I hope your recovery is successful and that your finances recover in time. Baby steps.

[pureklas]

[ QUOTE ]
This story is so GOOD, and one us true gamblersshould hear a million times. You knowingly take -EV gambles because of your gambling problem , and you get what you expect in the long run.

Moreover, Little Jim is a MORON". I hope his wife leaves him and his kids hate him too, because he deserves it for what he has said. I also hope I am the one contributing to his ruin every time he is at one of my tables taking a shot.

Good luck at being less of a moron Little Jim

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Time to come clean to your family and yourself.

[Banks2334]

[ QUOTE ]


Perhaps partly depends on what kind of job you have and how much it pays.
If you are making a pretty good salary there then you should probably give up poker also. Even if you're +EV at it I think it's probably too much of a trigger in your brain to lead back to the sports-betting.

If your job pays so little that there's no way you'll be able to pay off the debt then I guess your best shot is to grind away at the poker tables and hope you can control your sports-betting impulses. But I don't think this is very likely to work as you haven't had any success doing that before.




[/ QUOTE ]
Micro,
I disagree. If he has a poor paying job, the last thing he should be doing is playing poker. Thats what got him in this mess in the first place. If he isn't making much, he should either get a better job or a second job so that he has a guaranteed income that he can put towards paying down his debt.

OP,
Stop the gambling right now. Talk to an addiction specialist to get your head straight and get a plan together for paying off the debt. Good luck.