I found the following proposal in Scandinavia.
Check if you can hold out:
- Refrain from playing one day a week.
- Give up one week a month.
- Refrain from addiction for a whole month a year.
What do you think of this proposal?
Interesting side effect:
If you persevere, approx. 39% of all days of the year are free of play.
Long ago Prostitution, Drugs and Gambling were all illegal. Because each one has detrimental effect on people/families/society. Now that Gaming is here, let us try to understand it, and, perhaps, embrace it. After all, the gaming industry employs a lot of people and paying a lot of taxes to governments.
There are several types of gamblers:
1. Advantaged Players that play with a positive expectation;
2. Social gamblers that get involved once in a while, (including office lottery ticket group purchase);
3. Problem gamblers - they gamble lots, they lose a lot, but they are MAINTAINING;
4. Pathological gamblers - the person is no longer in control of his/her life, the game has completely taken over.
If we believe in Freedom of Choice, it is up to people to choose between Type 1-3. Type 4 becomes a social issue. Because of the Socioeconomic and Psycho Economic implications, pathological gamblers are hurting/costing the society, ie., fights, theft, domestic abuse, police/court/jail costs, lost of jobs/businesses, training/retraining, hospitalization, rehab/therapies, etc.
Bad news - Gamblers are not the only ones exposed to this harmful effect. Gaming operators/regulators are addicted to the revenue just as bad as the Type 4 Pathological Gamblers. To remain politically correct they give you "Responsible Gaming" initiatives. They get paid $60,000 a year to come up with work like:
Check if you can hold out:
- Refrain from playing one day a week.
- Give up one week a month.
- Refrain from addiction for a whole month a year.
If you have gambled for a while, you might have experienced this - after the fact, you asked yourself "WHAT WAS I THINKING??? WHY DID I DO THAT? AM I STUPID OR WHAT???" or "I AM SO FxxxED. NOW WHAT DO I DO?"
If you are even more experienced, you are already accustomed to this devastating effect. You justify your actions with all kinds of fancy excuses, ie., "all professional players go broke at some point of his/her career. Other players stake them or they find a way to come up with another bankroll ..." or "... who said this is gambling? A lot of pros make millions by doing this. I am learning to be one. One day I will get there ..." --- Every million won there are more in losses. "Rake" is the only guaranteed winner.
Other than their inner circle with partners in crime, gamblers are very secretive about their actions. They know they are better off without the gambling. But they just can't stop or don't know how to stop.
If you are still still reading, let me reward you for your patience. "WHAT WAS I THINKING??? WHY DID I DO THAT? AM I STUPID OR WHAT??? NOW WHAT DO I DO???" No, you are not crazy. No you are not stupid. In fact, your brain is reacting normally.
To be technical, actually, your Anterior Cingulated Cortex (the part of your brain in charged of financial risk taking) was temporarily blindfolded. This part of the brain reacts normally when you win. After you lose a big hand, your brain MRI goes wild, your heart beats faster, palms sweat, you become more aggressive. Because your brain is preparing you for the "FIGHT OR FLIGHT". If you don't flight, you are fighting. You want your money back, your are at a heightened state of mind, commonly known as "TILT". This reaction is ABSOLUTELY NORMAL. So don't hide it. Don't keep it as a secret. Admit it. And you can actually fix it.
Next time when you are under attack, you know it is your ACC. Unless you have the ability to suppress that aggression, otherwise you MUST leave. It is easy -
PUT ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF ANOTHER AND START WALKING or SHUT DOWN THE COMPUTER. After 10 steps/seconds or so, you may ask yourself - why didn't I do it ($XXXX) earlier?
If you are a long term pathological gambler. You may appreciate the above effort, but you are far beyond "putting one foot in front of another", then you need more help. This message is already too long. Perhaps we can discuss further next time.
I hope this helps.
PS: If you think you have learned something, will you be so kind to reciprocate by showing me how to play better Poker please? I am a 6-month newbie. :adore:
