Has anyone overcome a gambling addiction for pool?
- Thread starter justnum
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Never heard of such a thing.
Not yet, but I bet $100 I can do it .
Need to sort out the addiction. If it is a gambling addiction the person will bet big on anything. If it is a pool addiction that is a different beast.
I wagered on pool over 350 nights a year. Never bet on the rail. I went to the track and bet on horses, never off track with a parlor within a couple miles. I loved hitting pool balls and watching horses race. Gambling wasn't my main focus and when I moved on to other things I never missed gambling at all.
There is a gambling anonymous if your friend has a gambling problem. If they have an obsession with pool that is a different issue.
Hu
I wagered on pool over 350 nights a year. Never bet on the rail. I went to the track and bet on horses, never off track with a parlor within a couple miles. I loved hitting pool balls and watching horses race. Gambling wasn't my main focus and when I moved on to other things I never missed gambling at all.
There is a gambling anonymous if your friend has a gambling problem. If they have an obsession with pool that is a different issue.
Hu
If it's a seriously bad problem he needs professional help.
Same here. And I'll play anyone for a beer and buy it regardless. From day one I'd rather spend the money on records, clothes, tools, whatever. The people I know for a life time that gambled are still dead broke. Still hang in the pool room. Still can't figure it out.
Sadly, few compulsive gamblers, in pool or anything else, quit for any reason other than a badly depleted bankroll or a significant decline in skills. Get your friend some help. I can't think of a compulsive pool gambler that gave it up just because they came to the realization that it was a bad habit.
My experience has been that we all run in a small circle of
people and if you are good the word quickly gets around and
no one will gamble with you anyway. To find action you have
to take to the road and who wants to do that
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
To me, you can have a friendly wager with a friend, but can you really gamble with a friend?
For me, gambling created a lot of problems, but it, by itself, wasn't the problem.
I don't gamble, but sometimes if the conditions are right, I'll place a rational bet. I have no problems with letting it get out of hand. In fact, I'm on the other side of it now, and have to have good odds to make a bet. I picked the right horse in the Derby but didn't even consider making an actual bet. Dang, 12 to 1, I think. Oh well.
In pool, I quit gambling pretty much since it led to other problems, like fights, getting stiffed, bad feelings, guilt, etc. Not worth the hassle to me.
Are you sure it is gambling, per se, that is THE problem?
Jeff Livingston
I don't gamble, but sometimes if the conditions are right, I'll place a rational bet. I have no problems with letting it get out of hand. In fact, I'm on the other side of it now, and have to have good odds to make a bet. I picked the right horse in the Derby but didn't even consider making an actual bet. Dang, 12 to 1, I think. Oh well.
In pool, I quit gambling pretty much since it led to other problems, like fights, getting stiffed, bad feelings, guilt, etc. Not worth the hassle to me.
Are you sure it is gambling, per se, that is THE problem?
Jeff Livingston
I don't think I was ever "addicted" to gambling at Pool, but for many years (about 15) I wouldn't get on the table unless there was a bet. I refused to play for fun! Worse yet, I belittled people who wouldn't bet on the game. I did this as a tactic to get them on the table and gambling with me. Looking back I'm ashamed at my behavior. At about the age of 34 or 35 I had some kind of reawakening. I realized that I loved the game of pool and it was not necessary for me to gamble to enjoy some competition. Probably the fact that I now had a healthy bankroll may have had something to do with this.
From that point on in my life if someone wanted to play me, I would play them either for fun, for the time or for a bet if they asked for one. I never asked anyone to gamble again. They had to ask me first. I would still accommodate them if they wanted action, but if they only wanted to play that was okay too. Somehow this new attitude was very freeing for me, as I could now simply enjoy the game without anything else on the line. The interesting thing is I still wanted to win. To this day, this is still my attitude about playing someone and why I've rarely had a money game the last ten years. Also the fact that I rarely if ever practice causes me to not want to play for money. The last time I tried to get in stroke has been over two years ago and since then I doubt that I've played more than a few hours of pool in total. I seem to have aged out of the game, but still enjoy watching the new young champions play as much as ever. My love for the game has not diminished. Only my desire to play has.
From that point on in my life if someone wanted to play me, I would play them either for fun, for the time or for a bet if they asked for one. I never asked anyone to gamble again. They had to ask me first. I would still accommodate them if they wanted action, but if they only wanted to play that was okay too. Somehow this new attitude was very freeing for me, as I could now simply enjoy the game without anything else on the line. The interesting thing is I still wanted to win. To this day, this is still my attitude about playing someone and why I've rarely had a money game the last ten years. Also the fact that I rarely if ever practice causes me to not want to play for money. The last time I tried to get in stroke has been over two years ago and since then I doubt that I've played more than a few hours of pool in total. I seem to have aged out of the game, but still enjoy watching the new young champions play as much as ever. My love for the game has not diminished. Only my desire to play has.
I wasn't able to gamble at pool with friends. I was the only one into pool as more than recreation so I typically had two or more gears above what I played friends using. Cocky friends of friends I might play for small amounts if they insisted but never over ten a game. Some people were trying to embarrass me so when they insisted we had to bet I accommodated them.
Friends I played for beer or the table or nothing at all. There was no question that anyone in my crowd was going to beat me if I put the pedal to the metal.
I had a fascination with pool that I might have been born with. Unfortunately it became a cash cow and that took a lot of the fun out of pool. If I was playing strangers I probably had a wager on the game, the bigger the better! If I was playing a jerk I would try to play like the rabbit at a greyhound race, they were just a half step from beating me! If I could take everything of value from them I would after taking all of their cash. Several times I even took the tools of their trade although I always gave those back, I wasn't quite that low.
Like you, I had an awakening. Even the jerks often had wives and children that I was taking money from. Sure, somebody was probably going to do it but I no longer tried to make it me. I still busted somebody pretty often but it wasn't a goal. One particular night woke me up, and killed a pretty good hustler. I don't look back on those few years with any pride although they were probably my lifetime peak in winnings. I didn't like the guy I had became. Without being obvious about it I might have became the biggest jerk of all.
Hu
Most with addiction problems, do not want to give up what give them a rush, like drugs, alcohol, gambling or etc. If a person really wants to stop destructive behavior, it is by their choice, not because judge, wife, family, kids etc., say you have too.
Wanting too, and work on problem by choice is big medicine.
Wanting too, and work on problem by choice is big medicine.
Go take Statistics 101, 202, and 304 at the local community college, and pass with a b+ average.
This will cure anyone of a gambling addiction---unless you simply like to throw money away----and if you can afford it, have at it.
Almost nobody is going to give up one behavior unless another becomes more important. The easiest way to give up a bad habit is to substitute a good habit. This is far easier than thinking you are going to give up something major in your life and just leave a vacuum behind.
Hu
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
In my estimation, addiction is addiction -- drugs, sex, gambling -- take anything that in moderation may be wonderful and stir in a heaping measure of obssession or compulsion, add some ego for good measure, and, voila, a recipe for disaster and suffering.
Misery, in any form, is a tremendous motivator. A common AA saying is "we were sick and tired of being sick and tired".
I would sugest that anyone fighting an addiction find a sincere, not for profit, 12 Step Program. This system has a proven record of success.
Misery, in any form, is a tremendous motivator. A common AA saying is "we were sick and tired of being sick and tired".
I would sugest that anyone fighting an addiction find a sincere, not for profit, 12 Step Program. This system has a proven record of success.
i am addicted to gambling (monetary risk taking), and gamble all the time at different things. but i make it so i win when i gamble. i am not the sucker that gambles and loses as he isnt gambling, he is donating to the other person or place.
the person that loses isnt a gambler, but nothing but a fool who cant control himself. and if he wants to quit he has to do it cold turkey or get mental help.
no different than a cigarette smoker. one gives up his money, and the other gives up his money and future life and health for some kind of mental fix..
the person that loses isnt a gambler, but nothing but a fool who cant control himself. and if he wants to quit he has to do it cold turkey or get mental help.
no different than a cigarette smoker. one gives up his money, and the other gives up his money and future life and health for some kind of mental fix..
A recently deceased neighbor would take frequent trips to Reno or Vegas...on his return, every trip, he'd say he brought home more than he left with. Right...
Every gambling addict I've known likes to come off as a smart gambler, one who always wins.
I figure gambling is a business. I'm not in that business, so I steer clear.
(edit) Another long time buddy from high school...a guy always looking for the big score. A scuffler at pool, would hold a job only long enough to qualify for unemployment. Always looking for the big score. Some years back he fell into day trading...actually did get lucky, made a trade that netted him $10K. I'd been working, saving, investing through index mutual funds for decades...doing okay as the decades rolled by. This guy asked me why I didn't want in on his "sure thing". I foolishly told him our net worth at the time, told him I didn't want to risk it day trading, also told him I thought he was the fool trying to outguess the big market firms with their armies of bright young MBA's and super computers.
His response: "That's not fair...you worked all those years!"
I couldn't argue with that...
Every gambling addict I've known likes to come off as a smart gambler, one who always wins.
I figure gambling is a business. I'm not in that business, so I steer clear.
(edit) Another long time buddy from high school...a guy always looking for the big score. A scuffler at pool, would hold a job only long enough to qualify for unemployment. Always looking for the big score. Some years back he fell into day trading...actually did get lucky, made a trade that netted him $10K. I'd been working, saving, investing through index mutual funds for decades...doing okay as the decades rolled by. This guy asked me why I didn't want in on his "sure thing". I foolishly told him our net worth at the time, told him I didn't want to risk it day trading, also told him I thought he was the fool trying to outguess the big market firms with their armies of bright young MBA's and super computers.
His response: "That's not fair...you worked all those years!"
I couldn't argue with that...
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