[MagnusVI]

I recently turned 22 and have a track record totalling a 5-digit loss (didn’t keep track), still in debt ~1k to my close friends who havent forsaken me even after knowing i have a compulsive gambling habit.

After losing another 1.2k tonight, I’m back on this forum trying to console myself but this time I’m actually going to put in the effort to never ever place another bet again.

We’re the degens who have spun out of control way too early in life. I’ve always told myself that at least I don’t have the additional stress of having to support a family while i push through this disease of sorts but that’s just a pitiful excuse.

I’ve lost a family member to suicide, completely unrelated to gambling, but I have experienced first-hand the wake that it leaves behind. Your burden is passed down to your family and friends, albeit in a different form.

I know little about your situation, but I know that suicide is a permanent solution to temporary problems. Life is long, look up and around at the amazing world we could live in gambling-free. I hope that someone on this forum is able to give you sound advice and a solution that you can use, it’s never ever too late.

[MagnusVI]

I hope you’ve continued with Day 10 etc Dan.
Recently turned 22 and am stuck 5 digits (don’t even know how much at this point), lost all the money I got on birthdays, from odd jobs and everywhere else in between.
I don’t mean to be insensitive but reading threads like these gives me some solace, knowing that I’m not the only 22 yo who has ever walked this path and and where that path leads to.

[MagnusVI]

I still haven’t gotten around to the GA meeting yet. A month on and I’m still stuck in the same rut, chasing losses. I’m making a resolution today to stop gambling at least until I pay off all my debts, a baby step I hope I will be able to follow through.

I’ve briefly told my dad that I have ‘money issues’ but he doesn’t know that I’ve still been gambling regularly and told me to be more responsible with what I have.

My social life is nonexistent as of now and the only interactions I have with people are my family and the people at the poker table. It’s an obsession that all of us have in common and leeches our complete and undivided attention and time.

I hope that I will be able to push myself to take a step in the right direction.. starting today.

[MagnusVI]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. A month on and I’m still almost in the same situation as before. It’s so difficult to gather the willpower to consistently stay as far away from gambling as possible and to prevent myself from going back to it after days/weeks, but I’m trying.

[MagnusVI]

Thanks for the helpful advice. This is my 3rd day of not gambling but the urge to go to a poker game is still strong, the want to feel chips shuffling beneath my hand and the thrill of being dealt a new hand is overwhelming. I have two very close friends who have been playing poker with me for years now, but I think that they will understand if I tell them that I’ve decided to call it quits and go on the road to stop gambling completely.

Unlike many people on the site, I haven’t gone deep into degen games (blackjack, baccarat, slots etc) and online gambling is heavily restricted in singapore. Pokerstars used to be my go-to for my poker fix but it was banned here since 2 years ago, hence triggering my following bout of live poker at home games.

I told my dad when I was 16 about poker and some of my major losses and he persuaded me to quit, and I did, but not for long. I don’t think that I’ll tell him anytime soon, he has too much to handle right now and this will just put more on his plate.

I relapsed a few months ago when I rediscovered a bank account that had been set up for me a while back. Blew it all within a short period of time and told myself to stop doing this to myself, but once I had a couple hundred quid lying around I was on my way to a game.

I estimate my total losses through gambling to be somewhere around 4k, and there’s a nagging feeling that if I don’t stop now, once I turn 21 (legal gambling age here), I will spiral downwards into the bottomless pit of gambling addiction.

I’ll look into a GA here, it seems like a helpful stepping stone. I’ve been keeping myself occupied with working to pay off my debts to friends and can’t wait for this weight to be lifted off my shoulders. When I think of what I could have done with all that money I lost, all there is is a sinking feeling of disappointment in myself.

Thanks for the advice once again, and I hope you stay on course on the road to recovery

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