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Hi there,
Just wanted to share my story. Hopefully this is the right step towards recovery. I started playing poker at a young age with my family because that’s what they liked to do… Just small games for 5 dollar buy-ins so it was just friendly. After winning a couple of times in my youth I found that it was fun and a bit of a thrill to make some quick extra money but that’s all it was. It was just for fun.
At the time around 18 years old I was all set to go to college in an NCAA school as I got scouted for hockey . It was late January when I was picking my girlfriend up from her house but got into a car accident on my way there (not my fault) and after I thought nothing of it. There was just damage to my car. The next morning I couldn’t get out of bed. I had multiple fractures in my vertebrae.This led to depression, knowing that my hockey dreams have come to an abrupt halt and I was basically bedridden for months and anything I did was very painful. That’s when I found online poker. I didn’t have to get out of bed for it and it was fun
. The moment I turned 18 I started to play online poker and again was excited by the thrill. I ended up with 2 credit cards with 1000 dollars each on them and I deposited it into a couple of casino and poker rooms and lost it within a couple months….this led to depression and collections and then I decided to go to college… I met my second girlfriend there and things were going great for 8 months I was finally starting to be able to pay my bills off everything was awesome but I had the itch to gamble and she said you have to choose me or gamblings and in the heat of the argument I chose gambling and she kicked me out. With nowhere to go and 200 dollars to my name I went to the casino…. And the very first hand I had was KK in Texas hold ’em… Needless to say I was excited by this…. The pot was all in… A 400 dollar pot and the other guy flips Aces over and I’m stuck with no money and abandoned. My sister had to pick me up from 3 hours away.
Debt was piling up. I thought that ok a big win is coming and your stress will go away. But the debt never went away. At the height of my addiction I was buying prepaid master cards with 90 percent of my paycheques and just losing it all. So while I’m still in more debt than I have ever been and I am struggling to pay for everyday needs I am hoping that cutting this habit will be the best thing for me in the long run. I just hope I can stay away.
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Hello 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
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