Is Online Poker Addictive?

Ok, let's talk about addiction. You may be surprised, but we all constantly experience different kinds of dependencies. We eat. Sleeping. Breathe the air. We communicate. Have sex. You will be surprised, but this is also a dependency. Try not to breathe for a few minutes and you will quickly understand how much you depend on the usual air.

We also depend on money. Of course, when a lot of this dependence is almost not felt, or is transformed into other types of dependence. A good poker player wins money. A good player is not at all passionate (Yes, I certainly understand that this topic is devoted to the dependence on gambling). But look at it from the other side! Excitement in general is contraindicated in any professional activity. Any case involving money in general should be based on a reasonable approach, and understanding your actions. Excitement is when you make a decision (including playing, at the poker table) on the basis of emotions, rather than mathematical analysis or common sense.

For players who do not know how to distinguish between mind and emotion - there is a game of "game money." But of course, it is these players who pay their deposits with all the profits of the industry, as well as the gains of good players who make the withdrawal of funds. We will be fair - it is gamblers who pay for all this show, called online poker.

Yes it can be addictive.As soon as I get up I am thinking about playing poker.I have a great passion for poker but it does not interfere with my other hobbies work or life.The money I spend is just entertainment money that I would usually spend at the bars or house parties which I don't do anymore.

I wouldn't say it's any more addicting than any other "gambling" game. With online, you just have much easier access to games as well as lower stakes to get some money on the table. That's where the danger comes in. Pre-Black Friday, I saw my roommate do several smaller deposits here and there when he should've just walked away. "It's only $20!" he'd say and then he goes bust and is pulling out the wallet again.

That being said, people with the gamble bug will find it addictive. That's just human nature. There's a reason a lot of pros go busto at some point; many have degenerative gambling issues when it comes to pit games. I think the ego/edge gained from being good at poker feeds into this addiction in all the wrong ways.

I think it is very addictive for the same reason of money, you think like, oh it was only a bad beat, I weill try it again, who cares, nobody knows it is me haha and every time you lose, you think, next time will be better, next time will be better, over and over again. You need to be a person with lionits and great values to avoid this conflict, understand that if you generate an addiction you are not a good player and you are destiny to lose every time because your focus it is about a different complete thing than being a great poker player.

Yes 100%. I know there have been times that I get up at all hours of the night to play. Sometimes whole days are centered around a poker schedule. I think the players who can multitable really well are the most. when Iplay just 3 tables its gets the adrenaline going really hard when things get good and I can see 12 or more tables being like super red bull. Now tell all those players NO MORE poker online, I bet they will be going through all kinds of withdrawl because it becomes a habit. BUT HEY EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS ADDICTIVE, organizing stuff, counting tiles etc So just dont lose you ass and its all good

Possibly...

I won a big tournament about 7 years ago (approx $20k for taking 1st place in a pokerstars tourney). I chased that feeling for about 5 years, well after Pokerstars was shut down in the U.S. I lost a lot of things in those 5 short years, to include money, relationships, and even my marriage. You have to know your limits. I learned that it's nearly impossible to achieve that same incredible feeling of winning a massive tournament twice. The best thing you can do is do your best, and play your best game. If you win, great. If you lose, there's always another hand. At the end of the day, your life is more important than the game. The game is always going to be here, but relationships and money might not always be there.

Online Poker could be rather addictive, but thankfully - there is CardsChat to help you :top:

I think there is a sharp edge where you may get addicted. I am playing online poker from 2011. I never deposited my money on poker sites. I am playing for fun, and relying on Freeroll earnings to improve my skills in money games. Several times I was close to deposit some of my loan earnings, but I managed to stop myself. If you put your own money in the game - you could easier gone tilt and addicted.
There are plenty of interesting events and freerolls, that suits my Recreational desire to play online poker. I prefer to stay aside from Cash games, as there I see another risk to get addicted. I had some troubles in the past with these, but thankfully another CC member helped me to stop doing donkey things I would be happy in same extent to help anyone to deal with this :top:

absolutely YES! for me it's no doubt. sometimes i even can't fall asleep after the lose.

If you are a great player that control your self it wont be addictive for you

If you are escaping something in real life then anything can become addictive.


If your escapist behavior interferes with real life then that behavior becomes the problem.


Eventually something's gotta give.


I think the guy dedicating a disciplined 8 hours per day to grinding is not "addicted".


Good luck !

I'm really playing a bit more than usual.
I am dedicating myself, learning every day and want to win a tournament.
I'm not addicted, I can live without playing, but I really like to play and the simple fact of learning and playing better every day gives me pleasure.
Now if earning money playing will be even better.


Poker is above all fun.


Good game and good luck to everyone!

I have to say, about a year ago i was an addict. i was spending most of my time off work either playing live or online, more losses than wins. not sure what happened but i took a step back for 6 months and now i'm enjoying poker in a different way. just playing mostly free-rolls and little live. restricted my amounts to have fun with and play or do other thing i haven't done in a while. also you all should know your addicted when you get angry about losing.

I never understood poker addiction. You play when you want.
Until once. I sat at the cash table (lowest level) and started to win. Next day the same. After 5 days I was in huge profit (for lowest level). I started to think if I want to win more then I need to play more often or or go to higher level. I actually didn't think so, it comes to your head itself. At the same time I had feeling that: I didn't win - I took money of the other people. With small bankroll of course I could only play more. I didn't want to play more but huge profit just pushes you to that thought. Luckily I sat at the table with pure fish but who catched every hand, lost all my profit and didn't have that feeling anymore.
Though I can't call it poker addiction. It was pure logic.

I think that if poker becomes addictive we would already be talking about being a ludopath ... which is not a beneficiary for mental and economic health ... and on the other hand ... I believe that having the possibility to play from a computer in the state as of your house becomes addictive

It was terrible in 2013. I just couldn't get over it. I spent a lot of money and time on a downward spiral. The lowest point was probably one point when a couple of friends took me to a club and I ignored everyone in a corner and played pokerstands on the mobile App in a corner somewhere. It was bad.

Poker is and can be very additive as well as other activities,sports. I playb many hours each day, but still find time to interact with others.Most important thing is to budget and not go over it,which myself have done at times, It can make for alot of stress when having other bills around you

I tend to go through spurts. Sometimes I take a break from online and prefer just live poker. I too sometimes spend to much time playing online poker then spend time with the family.

I think it can be, especially if one has an addictive personality. It is pretty damn easy to just click away and not really think about it as money being won/lost. I think as long as you don't put online poker, or live for that matter, before your other responsibilities in life and don't play with money you can't afford to lose.. then you should be alright. Also the pushing people away close to you, and isolating yourself, that can be a sign of addiction, so you would have to be careful of that, as well. If that starts to happen then maybe it would be a good idea to take a step back and reevaluate you priorities. It can be easy to spiral out of control without realizing it.
I believe that one can do just about anything, as long as it is in moderation, but obviously there are definitely some things that should not be done.

It was a better solution for me. Always wanting to play poker, but obviously the casino is not a good place for everyday games. So I turned to online saves a ton of money

I think that I have some Addictive behavior.
I should stay away from cash game because when I lose I try to bet more to win it back..


But I don't compromise, disrupt or damage personal, family or vocational pursuits by playing online poker.

I would say so some time yu have to learn to step away

I read most of the article and I don't consider myself addicted to online poker, for me, it's more of a hobby than anything else. There's a few questions from the article that each of us should answer honestly:
Do you frequently choose to play poker instead of spending time with your family or loved ones?
Usually I'll play poker after everyone has gone to sleep or when they are busy with their own activities. Family time is still my number one priority
Are you spending more on poker than you can afford?
That's a no, all my poker money has come from freerolls and building a bankroll from there.
When you lose, do you feel compelled to drop more money on the site and play higher stakes in an attempt to win it all back soon?
No I just walk away, sometime it's just not meant to be
Have you tried to quit several times?

Nope, I've been playing steady for about 25 years.
Poker can become a problem if we're not careful, but if we treat it as just a fun passtime, it has some benefits. It's nice to meet new people and challenge ourselves.

Yes , I addicting poker.I try to make money from poker.
Sometimes I bore when lose many time.

I know im getting addicted, fortunately i m always low on cash so i cant really play that much and since i tried it live in a casino im lately always there when there are freerolls and i even won a few times i just love the feelling, my heart rate increases that sometimes i think it will explode im into that