Poker Killer "aka PROZAC"

Ever since taking prozac for my depression/anxiety, i have been on a downward spiral with my poker game.
Dont get me wrong, i have never felt so good in my life. I just feel so happy taking these pills.
But i have noticed i can not win a game ever since taking them!


Has anyone had a similar case where you took something and ever since then you can seem to get your poker game back?

The pill do work cuz i dont feel like crap even after loosing 400 bucks in a row!


Looking forward to hear from you guys on what you think

Give me some.

Medications like this are designed to smooth out the peaks and valleys in your emotions, to basically keep you on even keel and cutoff the manic or depressive swings in mood.

I suppose that this "softening" of the emotions could have both positive and negative side-effects on your game. It may help for those who let fear and anxiety override their ability to make sound poker decisions. However sometimes you need a certain amount of emotion to keep you in check and wary of certain opponents or plays, for example -- you never want to be so emotionally numb as to just "not care" or not be fully aware of what's happening. I can only guess that maybe your being a bit more mellow has let you also become a bit too relaxed at the poker table.

I would encourage you to work through it though -- if you need the meds to function in everyday life, and it sounds like you do, then whatever you do, don't let poker interfere with that. Perhaps you should just drop down a level, or take a break while you adjust to the meds. Play like you're learning all over again, and maybe you can make the adjustments necessary to play through the new feelings.

Good luck with that. Having some immediately family members who have been helped tremendously by anti-depressants makes me respect them greatly. When used properly, they can greatly improve the patient's quality of life.

Depression < Losing $400. I'm all about money. Screw the depressiong, get off the pill, lol. Just dont harm yourself or anyone else. Winning $400 instead of losing $400 will cure that depression right up.

Do you find that you're playing differently? If you're not, it could just be variance coming at a coincidental time. Try to step back and assess your game, move down in limits if your bankroll is threatened, and be honest with yourself about your play and how it may relate to your mental state. You may need to make some adjustments -- or just ride out a downswing. In any case, your emotional well being is far more important than a poker game, so don't let some losses affect your state of mind.

thanks all for the comments!

I think what what it is...I don't think prozac will do that, I'm on a different kind of meds for my depression, but it did not do athing for my game

i hope it's not the pills cause i'm thinking of quitting smoking and trying that chantex.
you got some good advice from roundcat and dmorris.
sometimes i don't get that upset about losing $$ since i know it will pick up and i'll win again.
if your not getting upset that's good, if you can't afford to lose the dough that's another story.
maybe you should back off of poker for awhile and enjoy your new found sense of happiness. or like suggested play the lower limits.
i'm sure your game will get back on track.
gl gl gl

I hope you don't listen to this idiots advice, if you need the prozac then get your house in order so to speak. Poker can wait until your well enough mentally to pursue it, but mental well being is much more important than being able to win a little money playing poker.

God I'm amazed at the retards on this site, talk about gambling problems. Some of you people need help in the worse ways with your gambling vices. Telling a person that winning at poker is more important than his mental well being is just stupid and immature.

FWIW, I take Celexa and it's the bomb as far as curing OCD, anxiety etc, not sure about depression but I'm sure it would fall under than umberella too.

Perhaps due to my sometimes naive faith in mankind, I'm going with Biggee247's post being a level. It has to be. People that insensitive and stupid can't exist. They just can't.

I take domes but they, have the reverse of what you have, I play better, I can sit at a live cash table all day, and observe better, not get board, play in the moment, make optimal decisions, not get tilted, etc. That's my only experience with pills.
hope you get well.

don't even think about not taking those pills, even if you lose money. most likely you are on those pills because you need them, even if you go broke you should still be taking the pills because health is so much more important than money. i am taking some pills myself, nothing for depression tho but i have been taking antibiotics for more than 3 months now and i have been taking a whole bunch of them, for 2 months i took 19 pills each freaking day, i ran so good at poker, winning every single day. than after 2 months doctor only gave me pills for monday, wednesday and friday and only 4 pills for each of these day, this is the time i started losing money, don't really trust myself and it surely is affecting my game.

these are really powerful pills, some of them are very new and you can not buy them at the pharmacy. however my point is: keep taking those pills because they are good for you, i myself i would be dead without mine. and i am not joking about the death part.

good luck.

Sorry guys, wasnt trying to be rude, just joking around. Although i guess depression isnt the best thing to be joking about. Sorry dont want to piss anyone off or make anyone think im insensitive. I dont want anyone upset with me, im new to the board and plan to be around a while. So i am sorry.

Definately stay on the pill man, depression is not something to mess around with. So maybe stay away from poker for a litle while until stuff get's better. Or just play in smaller limits so you dont lose as much money until you get your game back.

Thanks you guys for all the great posts!

I wont get off the pills because of my poker game, they have helped me so much at work and life in general.
My game still hasnt turned around but im gonna take your guys advice on just lowering my limits. Which can sometimes be really boring, but for the best.
It does make me feel better about not feeling like im the only one on the
"PILL" so thanks all the the honesty!

You guys are great and hope to see more advice and comments. Thanks all!

I saw the sarcasm in it as well.

Good luck with your game and adjusting to the medication.

A girl once told me she was on the pill. It turned out she was lying.

She didn't come knocking 9 months later did she?lol

The man, the myth, the legend, Stuey Ungar... His poker drug of choice was cocaine... Isn't that a pretty emotional drug? Lol. Like, wouldn't it make you go batshit crazy when you get a bad beat? Lol. Maybe more emotion is a good thing in poker =o

Read a story about him playing in New York. After he took a bad beat from some guy he regularly played with, he picked up a chair and threw it at him. Apparently two days later they found the guy dead in an alley somewhere. Read it on Wiki... Take a look if you are interested. Don't know how much I trust the site, but that is what it said.

And cocaine is not a drug to be messing around with. Destroyed lives of many people I know. One of which was a very close friend. Sorry for the preaching

I member Mike "The Mouth" talking about the time he decided he was done being stressed out and getting all upset at the tables. So he took yoga, and meditated and got all mellowed out.

And guess what? His poker play went down the tubes. Why? a big part of any poker players game is sensing when you have your opponent beat or when he has you beat.

The best way to feel this (instinctually) is as a threat to your survival--that tingly feeling on the back of your neck or the queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. Without that feeling, without the experience of an appropriate stress response, you will miss some very important information at the table. Again, this is something that everyone can learn and we teach it at perfectpokernow.

What ever happened to mike the mouth. I havent seen him in awhile?

He's around. They're recording the 5th season of Full Tilt's Million Dollar Cash Game at the moment which comes in January 2011 I think - Mike's involved in that. I love him tbh, he rules. Without personalities like him and Phil Laak, TV poker would be pretty boring. Take Patrik Antonius for example - that guy just has NO personality. Ivey and Dwan seem pretty cool, say a funny thing or two. There's a few other guys like Elezra, and Tony G totally kills it too, love him. Antonius has the charisma of a dead tree.

Poker is just a small part of your life and it will not determine ultimately how happy or sad you are

Keep taking the pills man and get everything with you fixed before you worry about poker

inti

he got on prozac...lol

try I different kind of pill...prozac is the worst of all of them..in my 2 cents, im supost to be on lexapro, great drug,but my insurance will not cover it, and the doctor wont put me on anything else.... so I had to take it in to my own hands....I found a pill name st john wort, herbal treatment and I been on it since, and it help me well for almost a year now since beeing on it. Do some research, and talk to your mentel health doctor about your treatment, if you feel it not working.

I have tried lexapro, i did not like that pill at all. It didnt do squat for me. I took that last year for awhile and it gave me massive headaches. So this year i started to get my anxiety back and tryed the prozac and it feels really good. Well except for the poker part. Cant win... still.... ohwell i will check that st johns pill out. Thanks dream

I definitely agree--don't mess with you meds.

Famous quote from your dad?

LOL nice one +1

Regarding the idea of this thread, drugs affecting one's poker game... Well, I've thought a little more about it just now. Meh, I don't think it's really an issue. It's probably just variance. You're probably just not that great at poker, prozac or no prozac. I mean, if emotion affects one's poker game, and decisions aren't based solely on a strategic knowledge base, then that's just bad altogether anyway. The self-doubt that must have been present in order to start a thread like this can be engendered only by a substantial lack of knowledge and experience in the game. So if I were you I'd just carry on doing whatever you're doing and having fun with poker on the side, or if your plan is to get serious about poker, then just carry on studying and playing and don't worry about your medication, as I doubt it's ever going to affect your play, except you might tilt less during the learning process which can only be a good thing really. Unless it makes your mistakes less memorable, meaning the learning process is less efficient on prozac. Hard to say really.

Drugs can impact poker. I find when I'm on adderall it's much easier to focus and I can maintain my "A" game for a much longer time. Adderall is a stimulant though - it's not like you need to take Prozac everyday. Maybe you should avoid prozac on poker days? The medication becomes less effective the more you use it, anyway.

Whoa, bad advice I think. The OP should consult his doctor, but I'll go ahead and say not sure where you got your info, but anti-depressants, particularly SSRI's, do not work the same as their stimulant counterparts. AD's are not prescribed for use on an "as-needed" basis. It takes weeks for them to build up to therapeutic levels, and weeks again to wean off of them. If you take them inconsistently, they will never work well. You're either on them or you're not, and I would never recommend to skip taking them on 'poker days."

I took something very similar to adderall called vyvance about a month ago and had a really strong session. The ability to focus and hone in on the game was at a very high level. I haven't done it since because the pills are 10-15 bucks a piece on the streets. I can get them and they do help my game it seems but I've only tried it that one time. Don't want to get that addiction.

Oh snap!

you said you just started taking it, So i would do what Dmorris said and dont play poker for awhile until the meds kick into your system fully. cause sometimes you react differently to meds when you first take them and it takes a few weeks or months for them to settle in to your mind the way they are suppost to work.

Sincerely nexus6

Woah 10-15 bucks a piece... thats sick!