[MagnusVI]

I’m a 20 year old male from singapore. The legal age for gambling in singapore is 21 but I’ve been gambling since I was 15. I started out playing poker casually with a bunch of friends and was then introduced to home games a few months later. As I continued to play, the stakes I played at increased beyond my means. My losses deterred me from playing for a limited period of time and whenever I had spare cash, I would begin to play again. Yesterday, I was hit with my hardest loss ever and I close to nothing left in my bank. I’ve been telling myself to quit since years ago due to the negative impact it had on me financially and mentally. I would blame the losses on variance and bad luck, and tell myself that the next time i played, it would have a better outcome. The loss yesterday really hit me hard and I want to permanently stay away from gambling altogether but I’m afraid I will relapse. After reading a few articles, I have a rough idea of the measures people take to prevent themselves from being exposed to gambling. However, gambling is so easily accessible to me and I have no means to prevent myself from just going to a game at any time. Please help me

[velvet]

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Hello Magnus
and thanks for starting a thread in the Gambling Therapy forums

Here at Gambling Therapy we pride ourselves on being a caring and diverse online community who can help and support you with the difficulties you?re currently facing. We understand that this might be a tough time for you, particularly if you?re new to recovery, so come here as often as you need to and participate in the forums, access online groups and connect to the live advice helpline if you need one to one support. We?re in this together!

Here on the forum you can share your experiences in a safe, supportive and accepting environment. The beauty of writing it all down is that you can take your time and you will be creating a record of your progress that you can look back on if it ever feels like you?re not moving forward. So, share as much or as little as you like but do try to stick to keeping just one thread in this forum so people know where to find you if they want to be updated on your progress or share something with you.

And on that note….

I?m going to hand you over to our community because I?m sure they will have some words of wisdom for you ??

Take care

The Gambling Therapy Team

PS: Let me just remind you to take a look at our
privacy policy and terms and conditions so you know how it all works!

[I_Maverick]

Hi Magnus,

Wlecome to the site. Let me tell you you have found one of the best sites ever to help people stop gambling. The advice on here is great, there is lots of knowledge.

You are still very young, so if you can stop gambling now (and it is not easy) you will save yourself lots of pain later.

Block your computer from online gambling (K9, NetNanny, Gamblock, Betfilter etc)
Self exclude
Don’t hang out with friends who gamble
Stop watching POker on TV and don not read about it
Find other things to do – you will need to fill the void
Look for Gambler’s Anonymous near you

I am in the very early stages of what I hop will be my lifetime recovery. I have not had a bet for 33 days and it has been hell, with my moods shirting every way around.

Keep posting, tell you story, it will help. Be honest with yourself. Can friends/ family help you managing your money? Have you told anyone? Telling someone you want to stop gambling will help, most people will be sympathetic.It is a horrible addiction which will, in time, rob us of everything. Not just money, but self-belief, self-love, self-esteem and will lead nowhere but depression, darkness and down and down the elevator.

Take care and good luck. I hope to see you around.

[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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