vpFREE2 Forums

Is it an addiction if you play only positive games?

#1

In a message dated 6/14/2006 11:52:42 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
sjs5572z@yahoo.com writes:

<<However, when I continue
to play even after losing, does that make me an addict? >>

If you had a tooth ache would you take your mouth to an auto mechanic? We at
vpFREE aren't in a position to give advice on compulsive gambling. Contact
Gamblers Anonymous and take their test.

Another analogy: If you wanted information on alcoholism would you go to a
bar? Most people in a bar are not alcoholics but what kind of advice would you
get?

If you flunk the test for GA then it's all over for you. If you continue to
gamble then it's like the cucumber who stayed a little too long in the pickle
brine. It can never go back to being a cucumber again.

I know this stuff because I've been in a sister program of GA that uses the
same Twelve Steps for almost 32 continuous years of abstinence
JT, camping in paradise

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#2

jt417552 wrote:

If you flunk the test for GA then it's all over for you.

Boy am I in a funk now ... I hit the magic "7" out of 20 -- guess it's
time for me to join that elite 500+ who've filed "self exclusion"
forms with the state of NJ so I get bounced out on my butt next time I
try to enter a casino (or take a W2-G win).

(1) Of course, when I replied yes to "Did gambling affect your
reputation?", my response didn't exactly reflect what they were
looking for.

(2) Has it "ever made your home life unhappy?" Frankly, there's no
activity involving a moderate amount of stress at times that hasn't
been a source of at least some discord. I'm not about to turn in my
driving license simply because on rare occasion I (or Bev) have turned
into a raving lunatic -- an irritability that has followed us back in
the front door of the house at least once or twice :wink:

(3) "Remorse after gambling?" ... yeah, like I'm going to go whistling
up to my room after blowing a grand on the machines ... sorry, but
even if I can afford it, I'm a bit of a fool if I don't value it
enough to regret how the play turned.

(4) "Strong urge to return after a win, to win more?" Maybe there's a
bit of Pavlovian behavior at play here, but doesn't success usually
breed enthusiasm?

(5) "Reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures?" Hey,
this is our "bankroll" we're talking about here. It's the limit we've
placed on our cumulative losses. If we start mingling it with
household money, the line's gonna get pretty gray. (Besides, I really
do have a problem if I've set aside money we need for other purposes!)

(6) "Ever gambler longer than you had planned?" Remember my "success
breeds enthusiasm"? Forgive me if I push longer than intended when I
feel I'm on a roll -- I'm enjoying myself, give me a break.

(7) "Did gambling cause difficulty in sleeping?" Yeah, but haven't
you noticed from some of my posting times that even the rustling of
leaves outside can cause "difficulty in my sleeping"? Hell,
enthusiasm over a project I'm working on has been even more
problematic ... guess I should give that up as well. (I know, once
again, they're looking for sleeping difficulty of a different nature.)

···

------------

I'm not making light of jt's suggestion to sjs at all. There's
nothing funny about any addiction behavior, much less gambling.

But everything is to be taken in context and with some rationality.
"It's all over for you"? ... lighten up.

- Harry
(obviously rationalizing away a personal disorder in E. PA :wink:

#3

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Harry Porter" <harry.porter@...>
wrote:

jt417552 wrote:
> If you flunk the test for GA then it's all over for you.

Boy am I in a funk now ... I hit the magic "7" out of 20 -- guess

it's

time for me to join that elite 500+ who've filed "self exclusion"
forms with the state of NJ so I get bounced out on my butt next

time I

try to enter a casino (or take a W2-G win).

(1) Of course, when I replied yes to "Did gambling affect your
reputation?", my response didn't exactly reflect what they were
looking for.

(2) Has it "ever made your home life unhappy?" Frankly, there's no
activity involving a moderate amount of stress at times that hasn't
been a source of at least some discord. I'm not about to turn in my
driving license simply because on rare occasion I (or Bev) have

turned

into a raving lunatic -- an irritability that has followed us back

in

the front door of the house at least once or twice :wink:

(3) "Remorse after gambling?" ... yeah, like I'm going to go

whistling

up to my room after blowing a grand on the machines ... sorry, but
even if I can afford it, I'm a bit of a fool if I don't value it
enough to regret how the play turned.

(4) "Strong urge to return after a win, to win more?" Maybe

there's a

bit of Pavlovian behavior at play here, but doesn't success usually
breed enthusiasm?

(5) "Reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures?"

Hey,

this is our "bankroll" we're talking about here. It's the limit

we've

placed on our cumulative losses. If we start mingling it with
household money, the line's gonna get pretty gray. (Besides, I

really

do have a problem if I've set aside money we need for other

purposes!)

(6) "Ever gambler longer than you had planned?" Remember

my "success

breeds enthusiasm"? Forgive me if I push longer than intended when

I

feel I'm on a roll -- I'm enjoying myself, give me a break.

(7) "Did gambling cause difficulty in sleeping?" Yeah, but haven't
you noticed from some of my posting times that even the rustling of
leaves outside can cause "difficulty in my sleeping"? Hell,
enthusiasm over a project I'm working on has been even more
problematic ... guess I should give that up as well. (I know, once
again, they're looking for sleeping difficulty of a different

nature.)

------------

I'm not making light of jt's suggestion to sjs at all. There's
nothing funny about any addiction behavior, much less gambling.

But everything is to be taken in context and with some rationality.
"It's all over for you"? ... lighten up.

- Harry
(obviously rationalizing away a personal disorder in E. PA :wink:

I think Harry has done a good job of pointing out that addiction and
having a "gambling problem" are two different animals. It's not just
the answer to the GA questions that is important, it's also your own
FEELINGs about the answers.

If you still enjoy gambling and can afford these swings then you may
have nothing to worry about. Losing is never fun and winning is
always fun so you need to assess the word "enjoy" by looking at the
overall experience. One way to do this is to think about dropping
down in denomination. Would you still enjoy the experience?

Finally, I believe the phrase "gambling problem" is really the key.
If your play does not cause any hardship then does it really matter
if you are addicted? On the other hand you can have a gambling
problem and NOT be addicted. It works both ways. I would suggest
going a google search on "gambling problem". There is a ton of
material available.

Dick

#4

I think that you can apply this reasoning to anything that has some "entertainment"
value...even like maybe going to Barry Manilow shows, or the like. A lot of this action can
be something that might resemble "addiction".

I am not making light of this. Gambling, and booze, and drugs are very, very, very serious
addictions. But, on the other hand, with some self realization of what is really going on
(and, yes, yes, yes, I know that we can all fool ourselves with rationalizations), we should
take the results of all of these "tests" with a huge grain of salt.

Many, many, many of us would "fail" them. But, that does not mean, necessarily, that we
are on the road to hell as insuffereable addicts.

Just my $0.02...

.....bl

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Harry Porter" <harry.porter@...> wrote:

Boy am I in a funk now ... I hit the magic "7" out of 20 -- guess it's
time for me to join that elite 500+ who've filed "self exclusion"
forms with the state of NJ so I get bounced out on my butt next time I
try to enter a casino (or take a W2-G win).

#5

re: value investing, the idea, as I see it, for a value investor is not to
pick a stock that is going to 'score big' but to identify issues that are
undervalued to the point of reducing risk. There is nothing secret or
arcane about analyzing a financial statement for strength and weakness.

re: gambling as an invesment, putting money in a video poker machine is an
investment of time and money, but there is no underlying asset. As far as
income producing investments go, people would probably be better off putting
their bankroll in a muni bond and getting a second job.

not that I am a 'value investor' or a muni bond holder, way too boring.

as far as addiction is concerned, while an addiction might not cause
problems now (like when you keep winning), it will at some point (like a
long losing streak).

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#6

jt417552@... wrote:

We at vpFREE aren't in a position to give advice on compulsive
gambling. Contact Gamblers Anonymous and take their test.

I see no evidence that Gamblers Anonymous is in any better position
to give advice on compulsive gambling than vpFREE.

I mean, if you ask your barber whether or not you need a haircut,
he'll most certainly say yes, since he's got his own agenda to
advance, which isn't necessarily the same as yours.

If you go to Gamblers Anonymous, there's a great chance they'll say
that your problem is a gambling addiction. If you go to a church,
there's a great chance they'll say that your problem is that you
haven't surrendered to Jesus. If you go to vpFREE, there's a great
chance they'll say that your problem is that you still hold a suited
ten with your king even when there's both a nine and a suited card in
the discards.

Really, you've got to examine for yourself what you want. There's not
a test in the world that can do that for you.

Stuart (RandomStu)
http://home.comcast.net/~sresnick2/mypage.htm