Being Told "you have a problem"

[demon102]

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A guy once told me I had a online gambling problem--- but his name was David Benyamine, so I told him to stuff another donut in his pie-hole and STFU..

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brilliant stuff sir [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[demon102]

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My stock answer when someone suggests I have a gambling problem:
"Problem? Baby, I got the gambling solution!"

Usually gets a laugh, and then we change the subject.

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I like to use "Problem Gamblers that Win are called Professionals."

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I like this Im gonna have to steal it

[demon102]

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I've been told "you have a problem" hundreds of times...used to bug me, doesn't anymore.

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its wierd Ive never gotten this or any other negative comment about poker except from my mom who was just concerned at first but now know I make money doing this, other than that people are indifferent or find it interesting and have a good for u atitude about it

[yellowjack]

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I've talked about this with my classmates and they seem to have an idea on why I win and why I won't go broke. I explain how I win more than I lose by playing well, which amounts to +EV spots. Then I outline why a bankroll prevents me from going bust. They all seem to have to various grasps of this.

Oh yeah, they're all stats majors.



As an aside though, I must not get out enough. Of the people I talk to (not just classmates), I can't recall the last time I talked to someone about poker and they walked away thinking poker was pure luck. Must be something I'm doing wrong, or right. I use a handful of analogies to common games to define a +EV edge and extend it to poker.

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How about not trying to impress people that really don't care about you or your "gambling problem?" You're just tapping the glass, after all....

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I'm trying to impress people? You're a complete idiot, GFY.

[Seth Money]

My conscience has told me that I have had a problem for like 3 years. So yes I do have a problem and its partly why I don't have a single account that is active in my name anymore. Self-exlusion, perma-ban really is permanent. thank fully I have loving family members that have given me there accounts and the urge to play hasn't really been there. But i do love this place and its hard to get away from that.

[Choparno]

Sounds like most of you have really uncool parents and friends. Either that, or you do a poor job of explaining what poker is all about, perhaps secretly enjoying the status of being successful at something most of the rest of society misunderstands, and happy to keep it that way. That's the impression I get from a few posts on this topic. Then again, perhaps it's a cultural thing.

For me, my dad was sceptical at first ("if anyone could win, don't you think they would be doing it?") so I taught him how to play and we started making weekly trips to the casino. Now he beats 200NL online in his spare time and we review hands together. Mum was always unconditionally supportive and trusted that I knew what I was doing.

Friends don't really get it but are respectful and curious. I'm not uncomfortable sharing how much I've made and it doesn't seem to make them uncomfortable. Never once have I got the "but how much did you lose?" line.

FWIW I'm Australian though and perhaps we have a more relaxed attitude to gambling here, I don't know.

[ACG2x]

I actually use the line House does (on the show House LDO) when speaking about his Vicodin addiction-

"I have an addiction, not a problem."

FWIW, I'm a PT player who puts in between 8-20 hours per week in addition to my 40 hour FT job. Poker has become a nice added stipend even though I primarily play live and for low-middle stakes. I don't need the money to live on, I choose to try to earn a little extra when playing.

I get asked several times by my family about how I do at the poker table and my answer is usually along the lines of "I hold my own". I know that like others have said before, if I say I'm winning, they'll think I'm just getting lucky and if I'm losing, they'll do an "I told you so", even if it's not directly to my face.

My wife, who has green lighted all the way me playing basically whenever I want, has been told stuff from some of my family members like "you don't really think he could play professionally do you?" or "what if he gets unlucky and you can't pay your bills?"

First, I have no real desire to play professionally right now, only PT. Second, yes I do really think I could play professionally if I devoted as much time to it as I do my current job.

My immediate family, bless their hearts, I'm pretty sure are always subconciously worried that they'll be getting a phone call from my wife or I asking for money because my playing has bankrupted us. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Actually, we've borrowed some of my other family members money because they have needed it and haven't had to ask for a handout to pay our monthly bills once since moving out.

I really believe with PT players that discplined PT players may go busto from time to time, but they never go broke.

[Hoi Polloi]

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...one cousin, who works two part time jobs and goes to school...

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Your cousin has a problem, too.

[[Phill]]

My parents to this day dont like me playing poker - they dont see it as a job and tbh i dont really blame them for their opinion.

Most of my friends think in similar ways - i remember explaining bankroll building to a few in a pub, how i turned like £100 into £500 - they just didnt get why i didnt cash out the 400 profit and then do the same again, instead of playing higher stakes.

I also had a conversation where my friend who is a total loser who works in a supermarket as a shelf stacker on min wage said he wouldnt want to play poker, sitting in front of the computer all day as it was a pretty crappy existance.

Last Christmas time i also had a great one where a friend tried to define my poker play as an addiction because if i didnt play poker i wouldnt be able to play rent. Somehow he couldnt accept that his job in IT was an adiction because if he didnt go to work and got fired he couldnt pay his bills.

People who dont gamble dont understand gambling on +EV propositions. They just dont get poker as a positive thing, especially the variance of the game - the times ive said i lost money that day and they forget that last time i saw them i was up a big amount is just lost on them.

Basically you have two option - explain it in full or dont explain it all. There is no middle ground.

[THENSIDER]

Someone told me I masturbate way 2 much