"Gamblers Anonymous offers the following questions to anyone who may have a gambling problem. These questions are provided to help the individual decide if he or she is a compulsive gambler and wants to stop gambling.

"Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions."

1. Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?
No. Grinding is work. I never miss a day away from the tables. I read as many poker books and blogs as I can to further my education.

2. Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
No. I have no home life because I spend all my time gambling. My home life is happiest when I'm gambling.

3. Did gambling affect your reputation?
Yes. The poker blogging community has lost respect for me, making them play the crappy hand of 72o.

4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
Yes. Every time my Aces are cracked, I have to repair the hole in the wall. Which makes me more remorseful because now I have to gamble some more to afford that expensive plaster and bigger heat bill.

5. Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
Yes. How else could I afford rent, Wendy's fast food, and trips to Vegas?

6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
No. My ambition is to be a great gambler with great efficiency.

7. After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?
Yes and No:
Yes. Time spent away from the tables is time spent not making money.
No. It's one big long session that will even out eventually.

8. After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?
No. I don't leave until I lose. But usually I just goad people in chat, set them on tilt, and they just give their money to me.

9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?
No. Now that my credit cards are maxed out, I can easily borrow or steal to replenish my bankroll. Thanks for the suggestion.

10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
No. I deal drugs to support my gambling.

11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
Yes. Isn't that what eBay is for?

12. Were you reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures?
Yes. Never spend bankroll, are you out of your freakin' mind?

13. Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?
Yes. Sometimes I can't access porn sites while playing without my computer crashing. And one time when playing a multi on my third Capt. & Coke, I almost missed the bathroom before the break. Now I have a catheter. Problem solved.

14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?
Yes. Have you seen the fish at Party?

15. Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?
No. When my Aces are cracked, I'm worried and troubled.

16. Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?
No. Unless you consider the Federal Wire Act and gambling over the Internet illegal, but that's a state-by-state basis.

17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
No. Who needs sleep when all the fish come out after 3 a.m.?

18. Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?
Yes. No. Yes. A trick question, because gambling causes these to begin with.

19. Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?
No. I celebrate good fortune at the tables by taking a few hours off to work on the blog.

20. Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?
No. Gambling saved my life.

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I'm getting a kick out of reading about Hammer hands on other blogs. Even if you don't get the prize, you're still winners to me! The Fat Guy is offering The Tertiary Adjunct to the Hammer Challenge. So intent is he to see The Hammer phenomenon spread (and more likely, trash talk and a tilt table), that if you spot someone playing 72o and yelling "HAMMER!" in chat, he'll give ya a choice of a (used) Amazon gambling book, a tray of clay poker chips, or a couple decks of Faro cards. Very nice. See his site for details.

Challenge I winner Jason (Stick and Move) has personally challenged Challenge II winner Paul (Intrepid Card Player) to see who will be the first to win Challenge III... and he's willing to wager his hard-earned $20 prize money!

Who will win The Hammer Challenge III? Jason? Paul? Some ne'er-do-well fresh out of high school who thought he was playing 7-card-stud? The playing field is evenly matched. It's anyone's game at this point.

§
For those who don't play online or don't play at the places I play, consider signing up through me! There are many deposit bonuses to be had. Plus it will help fund The Hammer Challenges if we go past III. Click here for a list and description of the sites I recommend (including a potential $300 bonus you may not know about). And if you're not on Party (and why not?) you can use HAMMER as the signup code for a bonus of $100 (if you make a first deposit of $500).

§
Yes, I've buried my time at the tables today to the bottom of the blog. Tiptoed back into 5/10 6max and had the whole foot lopped off. Bad beats aplenty on two way aggressive tables. Wanting to halt the hemorrhaging, I emerged from the carnage with a remaining $50 from my two buy-ins of $250. Figure I'll use it to buy bandages.

And back to the SnGs we go.



lunch:
poppyseed bagel
onion bagel
pumpernickel bagel
1/2 cream cheese, cucumber, tomato, sprout sandwich
1/2 turkey and cheese sandwich (weird kind of not-too-appetizing nut bread, though I ate it all anyway)
potato chips
2 big peanut butter cookies

4 Diet Cokes

dinner:
Wendy's mandarin chicken salad

grub: 10
poker: -450