While the problem of compulsive gambling continues be first page news, a new kind of addiction is surfacing. You would not usually call poker to be an addictive pastime, but that is exactly what is happening all over the world today. Poker has become the latest overindulgence craze, sometimes outranking booze or pot smoking among the younger set.
Poker addiction starts out very subtly. You see somebody on TV going "all in" on a bluff with a worthless hand, and his opponent eventually folds, giving the bluffer a big pot. It looks very cool – like something you'd like to try. So what you do is to invite a few friends over for no-limit Texas Hold’em, just like on television. It gives you a rush, and pretty soon you discover that you don’t need your friends over for a game, all you have to is to log on to the online casino of your choice. In time, you will be playing for the very thrill of gambling, for the rush of adrenaline.
So you get together with some friends and play a little no limit Texas Hold'em, just like on TV. It gives you a rush and you want to play it again, only next time for more money. Pretty soon you're playing all the time, and not for the purpose of learning how to win - but just for the thrill of the gamble. Or rather, you may be playing it for the money that you win. When you lose you will play even more in order to recoup your losses. The same tendencies that can get you addicted to drugs and alcohol have gotten you hooked on poker.
However, there is another side to playing poker, and that is playing it right, and for the right reasons. When you play poker, and learn to play it well, it actually contributes to the development of your character. To win at poker you must use extreme self-discipline. Rationalization is your most self-destructive weakness. You must remain objective enough to see what is - not what you want to be – and then act on it accordingly.
This means you must throw away at least 75% of your hands without even calling that first bet. And as for the other 25% that you call the first bet with, you'll fold more than half of those before the hand is over. After all is said and done, you'll play maybe one hand out of a dozen all the way to the showdown. There's not much of a gambling thrill in that. But if you want to win that's what you've got to do.
All good poker players have this quality. Most weren't born with it; they developed it. They learned how to tell themselves the truth, even when the truth was disappointing and they can use that virtue to their advantage in all aspects of their lives.
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