A question about degeneracy in winning poker players

[darom03]

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What's your interpretation of degenerate?

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That is part of the problem. I have no real knowledge to which ways degeneracy shows itself in winning players. I know some online tests and I score pretty high on degeneracy with those. But that doesn't tell me much, as I treat poker as a job and therefor answer questions like "Do you think about gambling a lot?" and "Do you feel a need for gambling?" pretty high.

To be honest with you guys, I don't really feel I am a generate gambler, but I fear that I may be on the verge of becoming one. And that scares me, as poker really is an ok source of income for me (I pull out about 1000 taxfree dollars a month from poker currently, so I am not a huge winner by ana lot of standards) and the money is sorely needed.

If I have to stop playing poker, I would be forced to get another second job, and that would probably involve me during some menial work for many more hours than by which I spend playing poker (I do, however, spend a lot more time thinking about poker than actually playing it).

I also feel that poker is one of the reasons I have trouble motivating myself to finish my education. In order to finish it, I have to spend about six months working on my final exam, which I don't feel I have the mental capacity for at this stage. So I use poker as an escape, since I am not short for money as long as I keep playing.

Finally I should stress that I have no ambition about me being a highroller. I am comfortable playing the low to mid stakes, and I have nor the nerve or the stomach to play much higher than I do now... So I can't use poker as a full time career choice. I have excellent bankroll management which contribute a lot to my immidiate success at the tables (my risk of ruin (ROR) is well below 1 %).

I don't want to consult an anti-degeneracy consultant as I am sure he would say I am a degenerate and therefor should stop playing poker, and I don't want that solution crammed down my throat.