Today, a person from gamblers anonymous came to our school to talk about "gambling". Apparently, he lost all his money from horse races and blackjack and told about how bad his addiction was. Now, i for one, agreed about the majority of the things he said in terms of black jack, horse races, sports betting etc. However, things turned sour when he started his rant on poker (texas holdem). He admitted that he never truly played the game and did not mainly lose to it. Yet, he still went on about how the skill level of the game was complete bullshit and that everybody can "read faces." What really pissed me off was how he then told us about how he had friends who met poker pros and that they were all "bums" and "degenerates." He said how it's sad that we "idolize" them and that they will all end up broke. I think its really sad how this man has the guts to diss a game he barely even played saying how its all luck. My teacher also agreed with him that poker was all luck despite never playing the game. I also think its sad how there are still SO many people out there who still think poker is a game of chance and for "degenerates." I truly didn't know how to argue against him because he claimed he was "street smarter" than me by 1000 percent and he has "seen it all"
I,ve been to a few gamcare meetings in tha past (before the days of
online poker) and the thing I couldn,t get my head around was that I was told if I wasn,t prepared to stop all gambling including football bets and even my weekly £1 on the lottery then I was wasting their time.
My problem wasn,t the lottery or my weekly £5 of football bets (which i was always strict about).
My problem was slot machines, blackjack but mainly
roulette. I finished my job as i was acceoted for a bed at the Gordon House Project (gambling rehab). although when they found out I was being prescribed anti-depressants (mainly due to the gambling) they cancelled my my bed as they said "They didn,t deal with duel dependencies) As far as I know this is the only rehab for gambling in the country with 2 small hostels and was pretty amazed at the lack of help out there for addicted gamblers.
After this i got into poker and can honestly say it helped my gambling addiction. As i got to learn more about poker and especially
bankroll management i soon realised the
odds were stacked against me on the roulette tables and i,d found a new hobby which I could play at home or in my local pub and snooker club.
Playing live I have made a host of new friends and the games we play in the pub are more of a social gathering than the actual money itself. Of course its always nice to win but its not about the money for me, its about having a good night and pitting your wits against others to see who comes out on top. i have even made new friends from playing online, through community forums and live events such as the SPT ( Sky Poker Tour)
I can understand how pl get addicted to poker and lose all their money , but at the end of the day its a game which involves skill and luck combined and can be a gr8 hobby enjoyed by all - young , old, male , female etc and has brought me a lot of joy over the last few years
As long as you understand bankroll management it should be a game to be enjoyed
MP