Addiction; the good, the bad and the ugly.
Playing poker can become a sick addiction that can creep up on you when you least expect it. Everyone is succeptable to becoming addicted to playing poker. However there are different types of addictions, most are unhealthy addictions but there are also healthy addictions. Poker like anything in life can become addictive, and the thing is there are millions of poker players who have unhealthy addictions and don't even realise it.Most all players who have unhealthy addictions will never be able to achieve great success in poker because there addiction isn't properly fuelled. Unhealthy addicts aren't fuelled by the same addiction as a healthy addict and this gives them a great disadvantage.
Most people will not care that they have an unhealthy addiction and won't care that they lose money because the addictions makes them happy and fuffils them. The world and economy is controlled by unhealthy addictions but do people care? No.Do you think someone who has an unhealthy starbucks/cafeine addiction will stop even when you tell them they have an unhealthy addiction? Most likely not.
Society is aware of unhealthy addictions however some addictions control the mind in a matter that even being aware of the unhealthy addictions isn't enough for them to be stopped.
Not all addictions are bad there are healthy addictions as well, it all depends the control and the mindset that you possess within your addiction. Every professional athlete is addicted to there sport, they have to be in order to excel and become the best. That is no different for poker you need to be addicted to the game in order to excel and become a top player.
But the addiction that you need is a different sort of addiction, it's a healthy addiction in which your mind understands and accepts that poker is a game of gambling and luck and that you will experience horrible losses. It's an addiction that is fuelled by the desire to become better and never stop learning.
What does an athlete do to become better in there sport? They train and practice and think and are dedicated to there sport 100%. The same thing translates to poker, you should be constantly training and learning, reading books, articles, strategies, playing your best game all the time. Professional athletes had to give it 100% all the time to become the best in there sports, they didn't just PLAY to get where they are today, they played there A game every time to always become better. Professional athletes never SETTLE, they don't say "I'm good enough I don't need to get better". The same thing goes with poker you should never say those words, once you do your done. Your healthy addiction can turn that fast into an unhealthy addiction.
Do you think a professional athlete becomes good by half assing it at practices, an athlete doesn't show up for practice because he is addicted to just being there. The athlete is addicted to becoming better, to learning and to become better you need to give it everything you got each time.
I hope you can understand what I'm trying to say, you want to be addicted in a healthy way. Be addicted to becoming better, to learning, to always playing your best, to being the best that you can be.
Don't be addicted to playing poker because you love the gambling or you like playing it because your bored or maybe you play poker at casinos to experience social acceptance.
There are many reasons why people spiral into unhealthy poker addictions and the sad thing is most probably don't even know they are in an unhealthy addiction.
Get a piece of paper and be honest with yourself and write down all the reasons why you play poker.
If you write any of the below list then you have potential to develop an unhealthy addiction to poker and you should be aware that this could happen, be ready to control it if it begins to happen.
- Play for fun. (If your brain interprets poker as fun, your brain will naturally want more of it so you need to control the amount that you play).
- Play to gamble (You may enjoy gambling on blackjack or casino games and think poker has better odds then the others, the fact of the matter is unless you are an excellent player you have better odds playing casino games.)
- Play because I enjoy the social atmosphere. (Playing in a live casino can be fun, making friends being apart of something can fulfill a lot of people. This can become an unhealthy addiction because you can end up not even caring about winning and instead become addicted to being accepted and be apart of a group/community)
- Play because I'm bored (Playing out of boredom can lead to an unhealthy addiction because you don't care enough to win, your motive is simply to fill time, you may even begin to hate poker but you'll still play it because it fills the boredom.)
As you can see from some of the reasons above how easy it is to develop an unhealthy addiction to the game.
If you think you could potentially develop an unhealthy addiction always be aware, that is the most important thing. You'll need will power and discipline to set boundaries or else the game can take control of you.
If you think you are addicted in an unhealthy way, it depends how addicted you are, if you've been addicted for a long period of time it will be tougher to break this unhealthy addiction and you will probably need to attend gamblers anonymous group therapy in order to break 100% free from this addiction. If you have only been addicted for a short period of time, the only way out of this addiction is COLD TURKEY. You cannot play at all, you need to take a break to clear yourself and your brain, it will be very hard and you will have temptations to return but you will need to be strong and stay away.
I hope this article has helped you understand poker addictions and the difference between a healthy addiction and an unhealthy addiction.
