Pathological Gamblers versus Rotten Gamblers

Pathological gamblers are destructive due to their inability to control their gambling addiction. Rotten gamblers walk on the fence of responsible gamblers and pathological gamblers. There is no telling when they could tip over to the path of the forsaken. Unfortunately we have a few of these time bombs waiting to explode on our Guerrilla Gamblers Club's (GGC) thread at the lowyat.net forum. Losing control at the crucial moment will turn a rotten gambler into a pathological gambler.

Guerrilla Gamblers Club

In 2008, people from the forum flamed our thread. By 2010 the haters died off and we became the envy of the forum because the thread had remained active for two years. People would wonder where we get so much money to keep on gambling. With our continued popularity, members of the forum were eager to be part of us. They mingled around hoping to find our secrets of survival at the casino. Here is where people would come and go but the spirit of the thread lived on. As a gambling fraternity, we inspire one another like brothers-in-arms against the casino. It is unfortunate that the thread also appealed to pathological gamblers.

The Gambling Problem

Rotten gamblers love to use the axiom "gambling is problem only if you're losing." We had successfully used this to repel haters. This is not something for us to be proud of. Pathological gamblers are rotten gamblers without control. GGC should be on guard for the potential time bomb within its ranks. It is very disheartening to lose a comrade due to pathological gambling. We need to place more emphasis on responsible gambling to keep our brotherhood alive.

Quest for Pathological Gambling Habits

Worried about losing comrades some of us had posted on the thread a crude version of the guidelines for pathological gambling habits. It was developed by psychiatrists who had little knowledge of gamblers. The version used by the American Psychiatric Association today is more relevant but it does not speak to the tone of rotten gamblers. As a gambling fraternity, GGC should attempt to come up with some guidelines that could appeal to gamblers.

SavySeph's Pathological Gamblers Test

Inspired by Ringrose's story, I came up with a demerit point system to separate the pathological gamblers from the responsible rotten gambler. If you score more than 6 points on this test you are a pathological gambler.

• Gambling Beyond Means - 7 Points
  If you had ever borrow money, used money assign for other purposes to gamble, you scored 7 demerit points.
• Chasing Losses - 5 Points
  If you had developed the habit of betting more to recover losses you will be scored 5 demerit points. This does not apply if betting more after a loss is part of your mechanical betting system provided you have always been disciplined to follow this system like a sacred ritual.
• Gambling for Thrills - 4 Points
  This is a 4 demerit point habit. In the extreme case, you will find a wager in almost anything like betting how long a new colleague with stay with the company. The best test is the duration you can abstain from betting in a casino without feeling uncomfortable. When the discomfort gets unbearable, you will bet with the "do it or die" attitude. You become apathetic to losing. You betted for the sake of having a stake.
• Gambling with a Burden - 3 Points
  This is gambling to solve financial problems. Once you see gambling as a solution to everything, you will attract the other destructive habits.
• Gambling in Rage Mode - 2 Points
  Every gambler gets trigger into rage mode. If it happens once out of five gambling sessions you are a potential hazard. Ideally, it should not happen at all because you are supposed to leave the moment you spot its symptoms.
• Discontented with Losses - 1 Points
  Discontented with losses is inevitable. If you want to maintain bias free for the next gamble you need to control this. For the purpose of pathological gambling test you scored a demerit point if discontentment led you to losing more than your bankroll. If this happens often enough you are at potential risk.

We will refine this pathological gambling test as we go along. Please comment on this blog, our facebook page, or the forum to make improvement to it. As all the six demerit points used for the test is based on Gambling Pitfall it would appropriate to name it after SavySeph.