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I would choose (a) or (b) depending on if the therapist, no way (c) or (d). Depends entirely on the person. Some people have the intelligence and humility to be reasoned with on somehting they opine about some don't. I'm in the middle of that spectrum. Would be interesting if OP could feedback after all these years.

Human beings are retarded you me and everyone. We're very illogical and act more on emotion more than reason and make a ton of logical errors all the time. Poker can be a bad thing if you make $500 an hour if you neglect your health and relationships, if the addiction is pure escapism or avoidance from things, when you could make less and balance your other priorites. Working in finance in the city, earning millions and burning out when you're 35 and wrecking your brain and heart can be retarded too. All sorts of ways to mess up.

@ borderline- I play a lot of poker, not a pro by any means but a lot. No one has ever told me I have a gambling problem, one of the major signs of a problem is other people bringing it up. One of the other signs is defensiveness....

i think you might have a gambling problem.

i think you might have a gambling problem.

You want to bet on that?

I know I am addicted to poker, but its not the gambling... its the game.

I get addicted to whatever game I play. MTG, Starcraft, Quake, Everquest, WoW.... done it all. They all fill the same need for me just as poker does now.

Poker addiction and gambling addiction are not the same.

If poker is your job, you are a work-a-holic, not a gambling addict

Very well said, I am completely agree with you, m also work-a-holic to casino games that is anyone. Kinda addicted to online casinos games at http://www.casinomegamall.com/all_casinos.php

Tell him/her you are addicted to playing poker. And also eating and sleeping. And breathing. Then ask Her to explain why is addiction to poker a bad thing in her opinion. Ask her if she's addicted to being a therapist, and thus, money. Ask her why is it different than making money from poker.

oops: was quite an old thread. Maybe "they" have put the OP to an "institution" already

Poker is gambling, if you think otherwise you are completely deluding yourself.

With regards to poker, you can be addicted to it in ways that might not carry the traditional connotations that a term like gambling addiction would carry. Some people who are addicted to poker are most certainly pathological gamblers, I feel that some people in here are trying to convince themselves that this isn't the case.

Tell him/her you are addicted to playing poker. And also eating and sleeping. And breathing. Then ask Her to explain why is addiction to poker a bad thing in her opinion. Ask her if she's addicted to being a therapist, and thus, money. Ask her why is it different than making money from poker.

surely this is a level right?

Did not have the time to read the whole thread yet, sadly, and even if the original post is 4 years old, I might add some interesting inputs to the discussion.

My GF completed a PhD in psychology last year, so this is clearly a topic we discussed few times already.

The first thing I know about poker vs gambling addiction, is that the latest researchs on the subject shows that poker is a whole different thing than the classic gambling problems. In short, it do no attrack the same kind of personnalities and the triggers are not exactly the sames, so it can't be treated the same way. There are studies that are now specific to poker.

Altough, having a problem or not is always a matter of balance. If you can't stop playing, it creates problems with your friends/relatives/familiy, cost you too much money etc then its becoming a problem. Some people can have a problem because they play too much Starcraft or World of Warcraft (WoW).... I have people under my responsibility a couple of years ago that had a problem playing too much WoW. They were showing up late at the office, did not sleep well enough, had no interest, motivation or any concentration for what they were doing.... I think you know what I mean....

Funny enough, I am reading "Mental game of Poker" right now and last think I read about is when you can't quit because you are stuck and you chase looses for never ending sessions, playing even worse than your C game, chasing loosses at higher limits etc. In the author's opininon, when you start to show this kind of behavior when playing poker, you are close to having a gambling addiction and the line is very thin.

"Poker is gambling".

Do you think this is more a psychologically statement than a factual statement as it were?

I mean, if you played in tournaments where there was a fixed buy-in to play but there was no monetary/net-worth gain at the end and you solely played for competition, this wouldn't be gambling. It would be just like any other competition.

If you psychologically are striving for the monetary gains then it is gambling.

If you see it as a competition to be the best then it for you personally it joins the ranks of any other competition. The money is a bonus? Just like winning olympic gold?

You can't make some hand waving argument about psychology and motives to undo the fact that poker, when played for money or something external to the game that can be won or lost, is gambling.

Yeah I do agree, sorry to derail slightly, probably should discuss this in a different thread

OP I think you should explain the positive effects poker has on your life and the negative and be completely honest, then see what the psychologist says

surely this is a level right?

Well, that was sarcasm. There are some things you need to do to live. Such as eating,sleeping and breathing. Most people also need to make money. If you make money by playing poker, who is anyone to call it an addiction? If you lose money, then it's possible.