Are you addicted to Poker?

[Matty H]

I mean really addicted? Not just that you really enjoy your weekly game etc.

I'm at the stage (and have been for some time now) where I would play a live game every night of the week if I could. That doesn't mean to say that I'm going to give away all my money, my wife and kids and my house. I know my limits, always have. To be honest it's not even winning the money. It's just winning!
I've always been very competitive at everything and Poker is no different, but, apart from football, I've never felt so compelled by any other pastime as I do with Poker. I think about it all the time. I've even got a poker game downloaded to my phone for christs sake!

If I had to play every game for nothing other than the exhiliration of beating another player, with no money ever involved, I'd be happy. The money's a bonus of course, and helps spur you on, but it's undoubtedly the thrill of the game that has me so totally and utterly engrossed

Does anyone else feel quite so overtaken by this game? Or do many of you just see it as an enjoyable pastime/hobby to pass an evening? I'd be interested to hear your views and opinions on what Poker means to your life

[Dice Man]

I think I'm addicted to poker and not addicted to gambling, and that that's much better than being addicted to gambling and not poker. I only rarely play for money, and even then it's small stakes. Hence my "addiction" isn't a problem, it's just a hobby. It's not unhealthy because I don't lose anything. In my poker career I think I'm up about £20 or so, yet I've played it for over a thousand hours.
When I play at home there's a lot more emphasis on the skill rather than the gambling aspect of the game. If you have to bad beat someone to beat them then you should be humiliated to the max. It feels great to win even if the first prize is only a tenner.
I play a lot of poker at the moment because it's easy and I haven't got all that much to do to be honest, it's not really obstructing anything else in my life. I think in the future I will maybe play about 4 big poker tournaments a year, and several home games. You get more pleasure from a pastime if you indulge in it less frequently but more intensely in my opinion.

[Top Pair Ace Kicker]

I was. Sort of.

Ive posted this up somewhere before, but basically when I started to get into poker properly it took up virtually almost every minute I was awake. It would basically be that when I got home from work I would say hello to the wife, sit down at the PC. Log on, then play solidly until about 2 in the morning. sometimes not even bothering to eat.

Then I would stagger up to bed, lie down, run over hands in my head, sometimes dream about poker. Wake up, drive to work thinkng about poker hands and strategies. Get to work. Sometimes log on for "a quick five minutes" when I thought I could get away with it. Drive home thinking about how I would play that evening, and start the cycle all over again.

Now I'm not so bad. I have moved from online play to live play and now play at least 3 times a week, sometimes 4 or 5 (is that addicted lol ?) but I hardly ever play online any more. For me it is so much more enjoyable to play face to face, even against muppets, and have a craic, a drink, and (most of the time) a good evening. It is still about the poker, and like you I enjoy the combat, the trying to win every tournament I play, but it is also a lot more about meeting new friends and a sociable experience.

I now no longer worry about missing hands by not playing, I dont go to bed thinking I should play "just one more tourney..." Although I do like to browse websites, and read up on the latest news from time to time.

I could if I wanted to, play every night of the week, but my mind gets overloaded, and I like to give myself at least 2 nights off to recharge.

So if you class playing poker 3-5 times a week addicted then yup. If thats an enjoyable hobby, played with friends, then nope.

[trustme]

I dont think im addicted to poker, its something that I enjoy and has been profitable over the last year or so. I play live once or twice a week and have been on a losing run for the last few months but that doesnt matter, its all experience. Online I can play 50-60 hours a week and make a decent amount of money so its worth that time. To some that might seem excessive and trying to explain it to people who dont play poker can be difficult. Im not interested in other forms of gambling, sometimes I will play the odd fruit machine.

Over the last two weeks I've played poker a lot less that i would usually and I havent really missed it. I played one live game this evening, the forum freeroll and a couple of stts.

So really its just a great game that I enjoy playing live + online and its not caused any problems in my life, in fact its been much the opposite.

[manchestermurph@fsmail.ne]

I tend to play the freerolls,allthough i have played cash games online but for now that suits me,i really enjoy them but i find myself entering too many games at once.then i get muddled up or have to pf a couple.I think i have become addicted,i get in from work quick wash pc on thats meall night till about 2 sometimes staying up and going to work with no kip,and as im a scaffolder its dodgy working at heights with no sleep,when im not working i can play 2 days solid, my name is murph and im addicted, good post by the way red or black,hi or lo, im allin ive got to go oh nearly forgot i think the only time i stop is when i come here, what a lifesaver

[jjh]

I've only recently (about 2 months ago) started playing poker online and I have to admit, I got addicted fast, and often went to bed getting stressed out about bad beats I'd had or something.

Since then I uninstalled the software because I was losing too much money at first, I've read up a bit here and there, reinstalled it about 5 five days ago and just play it less. Im still losing but now losing what I can afford and I play far less hands. ((At first I would deposit £100, play a few hands, reasonably well, end up losing on a bad beat, then deposit another £100 and so on- far too much for me to play with and as it is only numbers on a computer, I feel many people like I did, just don't treat it as money.))

I've been working a lot of overtime recently as well so that has stopped me playing as much, but if I hadn't have uninstalled the software and composed my self, it could have been a horrible addiction!

I think the danger with online poker is that it is accessible 24 hours, a horse racing addict has to wait for a race, a fruit machine player has to leave the house, a poker addict can just sit there day and night playing away in the comfort of their own homes! Fortunetely I wisened up to myself pretty quickly and now play in moderation- haven't played for about 3 days already, just been reading about it to improve my game a bit. Although have to admit, the opportunity to play against other people from around the world, your wit against theirs (plus luck of course) is an addictive one!

[Matty H]

Thanks lads. It's not just me then?

Some good points about being addicted to poker rather than gambling. Technically poker is gambling I suppose, but I don't view it like that at all. With Poker there is very much an element of skill (I'm still striving to achieve some of this ). You don't need good cards to win at poker (although it helps There's an element of luck, of course, but compared to, say, backing the horses, there's no comparisson.

i can play 2 days solid, my name is murph and im addicted, good post by the way

Cheers Murph. I have this vision of you standing up in a group of people and declaring "Hi. My names Murph and I'm a pokerholic"

[sl0ggs]

I have moments where I feel addicted! I think I poker myself out sometimes though, and need a week off here and there... Although this was much worse a year ago when I was in an easier job and coming home early with tons of energy, promptly sitting online playing poker all night, every night!

Now things are different, I simply haven't got all the time I'd like for poker playing, which is a shame as I am enjoying the live games the more I play.

I have to agree with the majority, I like to pit my skills (limited!) against others, more than taking the risk with gambling... obviously some hands just turn into an all out gamble, but it is justified as a test of skill!!

[sentialsteve]

I was quite bad early summer last year, it had taken over my life to an extent where I was coming home, straight on the PC for hours, one last game (again!) in the early hours etc etc. Sounds like we've all gone through it at some stage, it is addictive and as someone said, its the winning and the 'beating someone' that makes it so. My girlfriend pointed it out to me in a nice way that it was all I was thinking about and I realised she was right, I've got it under control now ( 2 hours a night on the net and a live game or 2 a week lol) but i do feel a tiny bit lost if I go a day without playing.

[PokerWoody]

Yes, very much so.

Also, nice to hear someone admiting that they aren't a winning player. It's that sort of honesty with ones self that make a winning player.