Addicted to gambling, please help...

[serenitynow]

Hello. I am 16 and I have been playing poker for a few months. It started off as .5/1 dollar blinds (for those of you who know poker... for those of you that don't, that means each person buys in about 30-50 dollars)... but then the people i played with raised it to 1/2. I mean, I started off bad, then I caught a hot steak. But now... I'm going down... really fast. I've been making smart plays, but I still get screwed over (like 95% shots at winning 100$ pots and i lose... it's happened 3 times out of 3 in the last two days). Over the last two days I am down 250 dollars. One of my closest friends told me that I needed to quit, that I was addicted and he could see it in my eyes (he doesn't play, but comes sometimes). I told him that I wasn't addicted, but that I could stop if I wanted to. I told him it wasn't about the money, but about getting out and being able to hang out more with these people that I really like being with. He kept insisting that that wasn't why and I kept insisting that it was. But, today I realized that I was wrong. I am addicted. I may be also doing it to get out more and as an escape too, but I really am addicted. One of my good friends, perhaps my best, is down 1000$ and keeps losing. He has no money and is in debt and the people are getting fed up with it. I want both of us to quit, but it's so hard. First of all, have any of you been what I am going through and can give me advice on how I can quit my addiction? And second of all, can any of you give me advice on how to help my friend quit his addiction. Basically, poker has taken over my mind. I am not in control of my own actions any longer. I get so angry too. When I go to school, all I can think about is poker. And it's starting to make me feel worried about my grades because I play so much I think it's affecting my schoolwork. Not to mention I know it is immoral, and I am religious (Catholic). I've always heard it was evil, but now I am realizing it for myself. I don't know if I can quit because most of my friends play, and they always talk about it and invite me and pressure me to go. Please help!

 

By the way, my city is pretty rich. We have many rich kids playing poker and wasting their money. Literally 1/4 guys play. Last year, someone who used to be a good friend of mine got addicted (he still is) and played online. He went 10k in debt, and took out loans from my friends. He never paid them back and it caused a huge fight. It was to the point when they were about to hire people to beat him up. He also cheated in real life with my friends and made thousands of dollars worth of counterfeit bills and used it. Now everyone hates him, and I am afraid this will happen to me or my friend too.

[BCBoy81]

Something I learned about playing Poker (for money) with people I dont know:

 

"Look around the table. If you can't identify the stooge, you're IT"

[ShySoul]

Admitting there is a problem is always the hardest step. Good for you that you recognize you have a problem. Get help if you think the problem is that bad. Talk to a conselour at school, he should be able to give you an idea of where you can get help. Try to focus on other things, throw yourself into another, healthier activity. Maybe go to a gym or play basketball. Join a club. And if you want an occasional poker activity, there are safer ways to go about it. I've noticed that poker seems to be a big craze recently. There is probably an online sight where you can play for free, although I haven't looked it up. Or watch one of those poker shows on TV. You can't lose anything and its surprising interesting to watch.

[sighterm]

If you wish to quit poker forever just dont get close to poker anymore is the safestway. If you go to play for free that is useless and is not offering the same satisfaction as the money play, and if you watch tv poker shows its like showing a kid cakes on tv.

 

if you think you are smart enough to beat the game play for money that you can afford and if you win move up to bigger tables, and if you loose under a limit go back to small limits again, you are not good enough to move up.