Friends "concerned"

[deluz35]

I am that point where I am so hooked by poker, I have no interest in "going out" with my friends. I have a girlfriend, and that is my whole social life. I play online poker for hours.

There is no right answer, other than what leads you to a sense of fulfillment. Poker is like an endlessly fascinating puzzle. It is hypnotic and addictive, especially if you are making $. At some point in the future, you will get over it and move on to something else.

There is a fine line between healthy and unhealthy addictions. But it sounds like your friends need you, so you have to make some tough choices. Just remember that poker isn't going away, but your friends may not always be there if you neglect them. Relationships are like plants, they need attention to grow, otherwise they wither and die.

[mordecaibrown]

Well bud here goes something/nothing.
The first two yrs I played more than 25hrs a week it caused a ton of problems in my life. For one I didn't just play 25hrs it was more like 35-70.
I haven't had a losing yr since 1998 but I lost a three yr relationship, family time, and "my time".
I didn't have time for anything but poker.
The more I won the more reason to play. Made sense at the time.
Things were falling a part. Damn the woman for being upset-she was being selfish. Damn the work because I'm making a week/months wage in two or three days. Damn the family they will always be around.
Damn ME for being a fool...

I let a GAME take over my life.

Be careful and learn how to balance things.
You can take all the bad beats on this site and write a book that nobody would read.
Don't bad beat yourself. Don't write a reply post like this in a couple yrs.
You've only got one life so don't miss it because of a poker game.
It's all balance my friend.

[swingdoc]

[ QUOTE ]
I let a GAME take over my life.

Be careful and learn how to balance things.
You can take all the bad beats on this site and write a book that nobody would read.
Don't bad beat yourself. Don't write a reply post like this in a couple yrs.
You've only got one life so don't miss it because of a poker game.
It's all balance my friend.

[/ QUOTE ]

[dfbuzzbeater]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm "pro" and don't even play 30-40 hrs a week .. I think you've got some addiction issues.

How much you making (or losing) a month anyway?


[/ QUOTE ]

i think you - like my friends - are overreacting. just because there is a "problem" does not mean there's an addiction. an addiction would signify an inability to control yourself.

results: a couple of my friends are sociology majors, and said that three weeks is the allotted time that one should give up a certain activity. if the subject is able to abstain from said activity for the duration of three weeks, then there is not an "addiction". therefore, to appease my friends, i'm on a three week hiatus. next quarter i will have more free time because i won't be working so i'll have more time for my friends. i don't plan on spending any more time on poker than i did this quarter.

oh, and to answer your questions, i make enough to have spending money...

[zac7179]

I ran into this problem a yr or so ago. I was going through cancer treatments. So it was alot of laying around on the couch watching TV and playing poker. At the time my gf(now wife) was very concerned that this was going to be a big part of our lives even after I got better. I told her a few times that it was like that because I couldn't do much else at the time. Sense then I haven't played nearly as much. U have to chose whats important to u. Me, it is her and my family. Poker is a fun hobby, even if I depend on it for a income it is still just a income or a hobby. U don't marry either of them or live with them. U can always turn the computer off or clock out. Family and marriages are two things that are there forever or at least should be.