Eight Months and Eighty Two Posts Later...

In the last month or so I've gone on a run and I'm up over $1,500 for my last four sessions. My modest win of $102 yesterday was a milestone for me because it got me back to even in my lifetime. All the money I lost as an internet-poker-junkie has now been won back, and I am back to where I started financially speaking. I am neither richer or poorer but, I think, a whole lot wiser.

It seems appropriate to look back at the last eight months and see what has happened. In my first post, back in August 2010, I wrote about trying to avoid gambling addiction. This is unquestionably the most important subject having to do with poker. Gambling addiction destroys lives every single day. It is a monster that you must always be on guard against. In my experience there are two times when you are most susceptible to becoming a victim of gambling addiction as a poker player: when you are on a losing streak and when you are winning streak. Streaks, both winning and losing, often bring with them excessive emotional states; desperation and euphoria respectively. Being in either a desperate or a euphoric mental state is very dangerous, as impulse gets the upper hand of reason.

Back in January I was on a losing streak, and in order to regain my composure I had to take a break from the game. Now I am on a winning streak and I confess I want to play poker all the time right now. I'm smart enough (I hope) to realize my emotional state is unbalanced, so I must proceed from here with caution if I am to remain on the upside of zero.