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Well said! Before I was into poker, I was into booze - I've not written about this enough in my blog, I really should - and for six months after I quit, I went to AA. I think I internalised the line about having "no mental defence" when it comes to my addiction. Like I can't listen to the little voice telling me that perhaps depositing my rent money when I'm steaming (or even when I'm not) isn't a good idea. I need to start believing in my own willpower a bit more, that I am the active agent in my life, and every day is about making choices. Right now I'm mainly making bad ones, but it needn't be that way.
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IMO, the biggest problem with AA is the way that it teaches people that they are powerless over alcohol, and have no ability to make good choices due to their 'disease'. If this were true, then nobody would ever stop drinking. AA can provide people with wonderful social support, but it's actually a quasi-religious cult that completely ignores all the modern science regarding addiction and dependence.
I've been thinking about you a bit lately. On one of the earlier threads, somebody recommended Mitchell Symons book, 'All In' about a degenerate gambler and poker player. It was pretty good and is well worth a look.
However, I suspect you'd enjoy Terence Blacker's biography of Willie Donaldson far more.
You cannot live as I have lived and not end up like this.