Can we stop with the irresponsible advice? HE HAS A GAMBLING PROBLEM THAT IS MAKING HIM DEPRESSED AND SUICIDAL.

He asked for our advice and support. He is/have been in contact with proffesionals but why shouldnt the rest of us give what we think are the best advice?

Who can judge whats really right? Its an individual case as every other is. And as long as its not trolling or we dont have experts chiming in (re:gavz on pills) think people should be free to say what they think.

People will have diff opinions on if he should touch poker, and very sure there is no right or wrong there. If he can controll it poker can give him so much. Financially security, mastering/selfconfidence and what can be one of the best job you can get if you are smart about it.



Very short stoploose stake where stakers hold money is one thing some people suggested and do succesfully.

Im sure when u get in the pos that u have money again that u can get advice out of us how to lock it away as well from our residential experts like grizly and napsus. Its kinda v easy.

Lets rather focus on the rest, school/work, getting out, maybe find some activity to join, self ban internet one way or another (if u read this DB, u can block ur own internet for certain times or a set time from u click it using some program, if a big problem is getting up / away from pc)etc.

Maybe set some babystep goals. Talk with people in private if there is issues u dont want to share public and so on.

Really appreciate everyone chiming into this thread and reaching out to me. It really made my day and gave me a ton to think about.

What scares me about quitting poker for awhile ( which many of you suggest ) is that I won't be able to come back. I've played many people who were in high regard because they beat online poker and got to high stakes just a few years before who I thought sucked, and that's the last thing I want to happen to me when this game evolves so fast. I truly LOVE poker and not being able to win at it would suck.

Also I'm thinking along the same lines of Jasym's post with a job. Community college seems like the most sensible choice for me once I get through the initial hurdle of pushing myself out the door (which is going to be the toughest thing for me.)

well said

Pretty sure he's going to be just as depressed working some random job for low wages. Always wondering what could have been.

He obv has the ability to win at midstakes PLO. He just needs to find a backer for midstakes and self bar himself from games above a certain limit.

I know a lot of people who have gone busto and been in debt and a few months later they have rebuilt a bankroll, paid off the debts and developed bankroll management.

Thats not to say he can't do the other good advice such as excerise and having a social life etc. It just means he's better grinding out $50+ per hour playing poker than he is flipping burgers for min wage!

does anyone else think db needs to be a lot less aggro with his bankroll if and when he returns to poker?

db strikes me as someone who will keep moving up until some high stakes reg demolishes him. the next time he makes 20k at 1/2PLO, he should just make 20k more at 1/2 and not take his 20k to 10/20.

You're partially right. I want to succeed at as high a level as I can and a big part of that for me is playing people who I feel that I can learn from and will give me a challenge. Despite me being broke I don't feel like I totally failed at high stakes (600k below ev this year) as well as learning new things every day.

I know made a lot of mistakes (not accounting for taxes as part of my BR into account, tilt.) but I've never lost my freedom after gaining it and never thought it would feel this bad. I'd like to think if I ever had the opportunity again I'd be able to step down and play 2/4 or whatever for awhile if it was necessary, which I'd quite frankly love to be playing right now.

Honestly you're just going to have to grow up in a hurry if you're going to get over what would be a fairly obvious case of clinical depression.

2/2 when you have to make up 60k sounds terrifying though, but you're already AMAZINGLY lucky to even have that chance. I've no idea what made you or anyone want to play 500/1000 PLO with that (relatively) short a roll, it makes me question whether you're just inherently self-destructive, but that doesn't tally with everything you did to build up that roll, because well plo is a tough game and it takes nerdy self-absorption to learn and keep learning so its a lot more likely you just f'ed up that one time AND ran bad, cos if you ran good if we're honest, you'd be a hero to this forum.

Your situation is just something you're going to have to face and take baby steps to get out off. It took me 3 years to finish off the last 3 subjects for my law degree because there was less than zero motivation and I know full well that I'm unemployable even though my knowledge base is absurdly wider than the average graduate. I'd guess your working options are extremely limited outside of things like waitering and fast food places given the state of the economy, this is the price of pursuing poker.

Right now, there isn't much for you unless you start taking baby steps. Wazz thinks you have a gambling problem, from everything you said here this is not true. Being good at life is not something that winning at poker will magically give someone, its up to you to grow up real quick. 60k at 2/2 is a few months or even a year or so of grind, and infinite time if you can't bring yourself to do anything. You're only 21, there is soooooooooo much time in front of you, start by looking over at 20k old HHs and just get your mind into the theoretical stuff and into gear. A 21 yo guy is not meant to be sit around emo forever, at some stage poker will start being something you look forward to again.

Good luck sir, its a tough world out there but its not that tough. We've been lucky enough to have been born/landed into a 1st world nation as children and to have been reasonably intelligent, to emo it up because you f'ed up when you were young is just inconsiderate of those denied those opportunities because of an accident of geography.

nailed it.

If poker is still to be played, I think a part time job should be mandatory with it. Will give sense of accomplishment, routine, appreciation for lower levels of money, etc.

I think it'll be very important for you to step your game up in communicating with your backer. Being forced down to play lower then your original stake with 60k make up chained to your neck makes absolutely zero sense under most circumstances. We obviously don't know the whole story but I believe you'll be able to work out something better with your backer.

I really hope you keep your self busy for the next few weeks and at least try out what others here are suggesting. You obviously are very smart so advice here may come off a bit boring and standard but it's always better to do something rather then nothing.

May the force be with you DB.

Of course no-one here is going to agree with me about the gambling addiction, basically everyone who plays poker regularly is addicted to some degree. Shocking.

I def agree with you, and clearly stated he needed professional help which would surely say that he is a problem gambler.

He has on multiple occasions shown a complete lack of respect for his own BR and his backers BR by saying he wants to "test" himself. That's degen talk for play big games that make me excited, cause gambling safely is boring. If you are saying that the only joy you've had in the past couple years is when you were beating hsplo, and the only reason you are sad is because you can't play I'd say you are a problem gambler. That's not to say that you will never be able to play poker again, but until you learn to respect it, and humanize yourself so that your self worth doesn't revolve around poker you shouldn't touch it.

disagree with the backer situation, at this stage no one is going out to give db a stake to make a run at 2/4 or higher when there's a significant risk that db takes his winnings and stake to play some tough reg HU at higher stakes, db can't get a free ride because what he emotionally expects to be playing higher, not realistic and quite childish at this stage.

I think you really need to evaluate your long term prospects here. What are you going to be doing 10-15 years down the road? Poker is just not a long term option. If you think you are going to be able to grind poker for 20-30 years or make enough in the next 5 years to do whatever you want with your life you are kidding yourself.

It is very difficult to a middle class living in the US with just a GED. You need to get some more education. Poker is a terribly volatile industry with little long term prospects. The absolute last situation you want to be in is wake up 10 years from now with no education, no work experience and not a lot to show for it. The opportunity cost of playing poker is ridiculously high when you are doing it in place of going to college. IMO almost all players except for a few nosebleed players that played poker instead of going to college are making a HUGE mistake.

You are obviously a smart kid. College will not be difficult. Just attend class and study a little bit and you will be fine(I played 30K-40K hands of midstakes poker a month while in college and still had PLENTY of free time to party or do whatever). Yes playing and going to school will take a little bit of discipline. So what, such is life.

Also, once your head gets back on straight you can even play some poker on the side. Get outside, out of your room, and hang out with some normal people and live a normal life. Humans are social creatures and just being around people will make things much better. Be thankful that this has happened and has given you a chance to make some good decisions about your future.