Is this you?

[duggs]

Well typically I play poker when I don't have other plans, and can stop whenever I want, had to tell people I'm busy with sport heaps of times, especially with rep training over the years. Just part of lige

 

[pokertroll]

Glad you have invested in yourself Congrats!

Poker is a game,state of mind and a lifestyle-Most may consider it a form of religion.
Over the years I have backed off of playing poker 8hours a day Black Friday was a big help too.I'm a recreational poker players now who just plays free rolls,home games and tourneys.
I don't miss the rat race

 

[Carl Trooper]

You could replace poker with just about any other activity in this post tho

Except you won't lose as much doing other activities (of course you could win too)

 

[duggs]

Except you won't lose as much doing other activities (of course you could win too)

Other activities cost money funnily enough, sport is a huge piece of my budget

 

[scorpion1367]

Good post OP, Ultimately it comes down to knowing yourself and what personality type you are imo.Addictive personality types would probably be the type most likely to fall into the all or nothing trap .here's to hoping all those with those personality traits find balance in their lives......scorp

 

[crocoduck11]

I spend a lot of time on my computer and I've decided to switch to poker so I wouldn't just waste ALL TIME playing video games (lesser of two evils and all that ). This being said you really took it far, glad to know you're better. The fact that you managed to get over it is actually great, I don't think many people can do that without tons of effort.
That being said, good luck in your new projects

 

[i Frenzy]

I had this problem when I was younger until I learned responsible gambling which also helped with my drinking problem.

 

[left52side]

As stated above it is so important to find A balance in your life.
Poker is A game to enjoy and have fun with,when it becomes A challenge and A problem then it becomes an addiction that many of us here have faced.
I play tons of poker online and live,I myself eat sleep and breath poker and have made A living playing cards for many years both online and live.
I am A daily player at bovada where I play at least one tournament A day on there as well as follow numerous circuit events around most of the time.
My balance came when I found my other half that could tolerate for lack of better words my lifestyle and accepts my career and supports me wholeheartedly through the good and bad times.
Her career forces her to stay in one place where mine forces me to move around a lot of the year and at first this was A hard thing with many bumps,but we found our balance.
Now when I am home poker is the last thing on my mind,granted I still play bovada everyday but choose carefully my times to play there.
My other half is in the medical field and has a grueling schedule as well,as I do but with balance we both make it work just fine.
There is nothing wrong with loving the game,and just like any other game to master it takes a lot of devotion always striving to do better,to learn from your mistakes,to improve your game,and that is the way it is with any other games,but there MUST BE BALANCE.
Devotion is no easy task but neither is maintaining an obsession....
Just plan ahead and pick out some tournaments/games you want to play and set some times that don't conflict on your work/family times and enjoy your games(poker) as well as your work/family time.
Hope this rambling helped my friend.

 

[Carl Trooper]

Other activities cost money funnily enough, sport is a huge piece of my budget

But its not even close really for most things.

The only thing I did that would cost a decent chunk of change when I was younger was paintball. $60 for paint, few hundred for guns, fees. It would cost $60-80 anytime you wanted to go play @ a field. And at 15-18 thats pretty damn expensive.

Of course if you are playing microstakes online, it won't compare.

Anything above 1-2 is very costly if you are losing, and that money could sure as hell be spent better not playing poker. (Assuming it is just being lost everytime)

 

[duggs]

if you are losing why not move down. each sports rego costs me over a grand for the season. not to mention equipment.

 

[waterboy73]

Great read. I'm sure you aren't the only one who has fallen into this trap. Glad to hear that you have the necessary balance in your life now, and things seem to be going great. Congrats on finding your future misses as well. And also on being a soon to be grandpa! Lots of fun times in store for you friend, enjoy!

 

[rhombus]

Simples.

Expand your poker time substantially despite the almost certain objections from the family and you will soon discover what it's like to have lots of free time.

Problem solved.

LOL you should be a marriage counseller

Seriously Balance is the key
In poker having a balanced range helps
In Life having balanced lifestyle also helps

 

[Four Dogs]

if you are losing why not move down. each sports rego costs me over a grand for the season. not to mention equipment.

Nah, moving down doesn't work. You'll just lose less money faster.

 

[dj11]

but....but...online poker helped me kick Heroin!

 

[dickeygoughs]

bravo well put

 

[Kuphaldt]

Strange title for a post, but hear me out ok.
You come home from work, if single grab a quick bite to eat then sit down to spend the next few hours propped infront of your screen for a few hours fun of poker.
If marriead, see to family first then do the same.
Poblem is what starts off as a recreational passtime soon turns into a full time addiction where every spare free moment is spent infront of the screen.
Your life changes, you stop seeing freind and family, you don't eat propperly you don't exercise and spend loner and longer time every evening, sometimes into the early hours of the morning playing then realise you should be at work in a couple of hours.
If this is you, then you should probably think about taking a break.

This was my lifestyle until about 3 years ago. My boss noticed first that I was not doing my job propperly, my eyes were gritty every morning from lack of sleep and basically was a mess.
I made a post not so long ago about folding AA in BB. Funny thing is though, that started a roll, from an inital 3-4 deposits on different sites amounting to $120 total I had a year of wins, final tables tons of top 3 finishes in S&G's and was up to 3K in winnings. All I could do is live eat and sleep poker taking every moment just to talk about poker. By the end of the year I still had a couple of thou in the sites. Then the rot set in, I lost every dollar not thru the casino or cash games, simply sticking to tourneys and S&G's. Within 3 month I had lost it all.

One of my friends saw the mess I was in, saw the dark circles under my eyes etc etc and simply said, next weekend you are comming out with us, DON'T ARGUE. What could I say?.
They took me mountain walking lol. Half way up I thought I was going to die I was so out of breath and thought of quitting, but had wanted to go to the top of this mountain for the last 25 years so kept on. Finally made it, and was well worth the effort for the achievment and to see the panoramic view.
That day made me realise what I was missing in my life, and what more there is to do, so decided to quit playing or so I thought. For 15months I walked away from poker divesting myself of everything, books, poker table, all online poker sites etc. I even quit the forums I was at.

I am a divorced/widower with one grown up son which any day now is due to become a father and am probably older than most here at cardschat. Since quitting poker, I got myself into shape, have a new lady in my life which soon will become my wife.
I love to play poker, but now just sticking to freerolls and not investing any more of my own money into this game, saving for the wedding.
It is also nice to be on a poker forum again and to be able to participate with fellow poker players.

This is just a ramble, but thought it nteresting enough to make a post of it for those of you who have been or are in this situation.

There is more to life than a laptop screen, DON'T LLET POKER RUN OR RUIN YOUR LIFE, play it, enjoy it, but don't sacrfice everything in it, it's not worth it.

Thank you if you take the time to read this post.

Sounds like your getting life all figured out. The main key to life is to just make sure that your happy. As long as you are happy then you cant go wrong with what you are doing. Poker can consume your life it happens to many people it is key to find a balance of everything in life. Good luck to you on your journey through life and in the poker rooms. I wish you the best of luck! Also congrats on the new lady friend I hope you both work out and live happily together forever.

 

[JPoling]

See thats why i just keep an abundance of bad habits so i can balance them all out and not just focus on one.

 

[JaxA]

Great post, OP. I have OCD so I really latch onto things and obsess. I've had this happen with poker to where it was all consuming and had to make an effort to scale it back. I'm still very passionate about the game and for sure could use more balance in my life but it is something I'm aware of now and actively working to improve on. It can be hard not to have my thoughts jump right to poker. (Has been different subjects throughout my life.) I wonder how many poker players suffer from mental illness... Seems like that would be an interesting study, see how many top players have obsessive compulsive disorder. lol

 

[joe777]

You got to find balance in everything you do in life IMO.

 

[i Frenzy]

You got to find balance in everything you do in life IMO.

+1

I agree

 

[steviewayne69]

As stated by several members it is very important to find that balance that maximizes the value you get out of life. Whether it is poker, or something else, you should do everything you can to get the most out of your time. I'm glad you broke the cycle and did something you've wanted to do for years. I wish you well in the future and hope that your support system is such that this type of behavior does not happen in the future.

 

[ILIKEFISH31]

See, OP, what you fail to realize (and that's due to lack of experience with it...and that's a good thing) is that your nightmare, downward spiral, hit rock bottom so hard you bounce twice scenario is actually an improvement to the quality of life some of us have lived at times in our lives due to addictions and obsessions of a far, far darker nature.

I'm glad you have come to your own personal realizations and discovered what is best and most healthy for you. I've spent months straight at a computer screen writing, working on projects, and playing online games over the years and I do know what it's like to wake up, walk outside one day, and realize how much you've missed. I also know that this is, in all reality, rather arbitrary in the end but that's another subject for another day.

 

[Chemist]

subscribing to keep things in perspective,
(and enjoying dj11's humour)

 

[sergios]

Strange title for a post, but hear me out ok.
You come home from work, if single grab a quick bite to eat then sit down to spend the next few hours propped infront of your screen for a few hours fun of poker.
If marriead, see to family first then do the same.
Poblem is what starts off as a recreational passtime soon turns into a full time addiction where every spare free moment is spent infront of the screen.
Your life changes, you stop seeing freind and family, you don't eat propperly you don't exercise and spend loner and longer time every evening, sometimes into the early hours of the morning playing then realise you should be at work in a couple of hours.
If this is you, then you should probably think about taking a break.

This was my lifestyle until about 3 years ago. My boss noticed first that I was not doing my job propperly, my eyes were gritty every morning from lack of sleep and basically was a mess.
I made a post not so long ago about folding AA in BB. Funny thing is though, that started a roll, from an inital 3-4 deposits on different sites amounting to $120 total I had a year of wins, final tables tons of top 3 finishes in S&G's and was up to 3K in winnings. All I could do is live eat and sleep poker taking every moment just to talk about poker. By the end of the year I still had a couple of thou in the sites. Then the rot set in, I lost every dollar not thru the casino or cash games, simply sticking to tourneys and S&G's. Within 3 month I had lost it all.

One of my friends saw the mess I was in, saw the dark circles under my eyes etc etc and simply said, next weekend you are comming out with us, DON'T ARGUE. What could I say?.
They took me mountain walking lol. Half way up I thought I was going to die I was so out of breath and thought of quitting, but had wanted to go to the top of this mountain for the last 25 years so kept on. Finally made it, and was well worth the effort for the achievment and to see the panoramic view.
That day made me realise what I was missing in my life, and what more there is to do, so decided to quit playing or so I thought. For 15months I walked away from poker divesting myself of everything, books, poker table, all online poker sites etc. I even quit the forums I was at.

I am a divorced/widower with one grown up son which any day now is due to become a father and am probably older than most here at cardschat. Since quitting poker, I got myself into shape, have a new lady in my life which soon will become my wife.
I love to play poker, but now just sticking to freerolls and not investing any more of my own money into this game, saving for the wedding.
It is also nice to be on a poker forum again and to be able to participate with fellow poker players.

This is just a ramble, but thought it nteresting enough to make a post of it for those of you who have been or are in this situation.

There is more to life than a laptop screen, DON'T LLET POKER RUN OR RUIN YOUR LIFE, play it, enjoy it, but don't sacrfice everything in it, it's not worth it.

Thank you if you take the time to read this post.

thanks for taking the time to make this post !, many players fall into this vicious circle, and do not realize. I am one of them. but I'm realizing that I have a beautiful family! family first and then the poker! thanks for the words.

 

[BigJamo]

Yeah tough place to be.

I have never been there with poker, but other substances, yes.

Family life does change the way we view things & committment to poker (allocating time) is a different thing to addiction. Im committed, but I can also walk away for extended periods of time without withdrawl. Addiction on the other hand, needs to be feed & when I detoxed, I stopped completely. It was never seen in my life again.

Some people have addictive natures & thus can make it hard to walk away from something forever. Every person is different & I really hope that whomever is suffering from any kind of addiction, finds their way sooner than later.