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Posted by: behindcurtain ( )
Date: August 16, 2013 11:04PM

After leaving Mormonism in 1995, I did not know what to do from there. Mormonism creates a sheltered environment so that it is hard to know how to live outside it. Nonmormons learn crucial skills growing up, but Mormons don't, so Mormons are clueless once they leave.

After leaving Mormonism I turned to gambling, because gambling was the only thing I knew how to do. I don't know how to go to bars, I don't know how to chat women up, nobody has shown me the ropes. I have been preoccupied with gambling since 1995. I am good at it, but it has filled a void. Now that void is back, because I can't gamble all the time anymore. The Wendover, Nevada casinos have barred me from playing.

I was preoccupied with gambling from 1995 until 2003, when I went to Taiwan to teach English. Then I came back to America and went to Mississippi, where I gambled for over 7 years starting February 2004. I had to come back to Utah County to get help from my parents after getting in a car accident. After returing to Utah, I started going out to Wendover, Nevada all the time. But then the unthinkable happened: the Wendover casinos barred me from playing! Then the void came back. I go to Las Vegas now but not all the time, since it is too expensive to travel there that often. Gambling all the time gave me something to do to fill the void, but now the void is back because I can only gamble occasionally. I spend most of my time alone. I simply do not know how to navigate the Gentile world. I have no mentor.

When I'm not gambling I tend to read criticism about Mormonism and other religions. That's all I really do much of when I'm not gambling, which is why gambling helped; worrying about winning and losing is less painful than thinking about religion all the time. Now I'm back to where I was, thinking about religion all the time, unless I am able to get to Las Vegas a couple of days every month. Is it healthy to think about religion all the time? Maybe not, but what else can I do? I don't know the first thing about the bar scene, I don't know how to chat women up, I don't know how to get together with Gentiles, I don't have a clue as to how to live a normal life. How can I proceed?

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Posted by: SusieQ#1 ( )
Date: August 17, 2013 01:55AM

ahh..how to proceed... get some counseling...? Doesn't sound like you kicked the gambling addiction. Might want to start there, other stuff will come up.

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Posted by: nerdfighter ( )
Date: August 17, 2013 02:01AM

As somone that struggles with obsessive thoughts it sounds to me like you could benefit from some therapy. Good luck and Don't Forget To Be Awesome (cause I am sure you are).

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Posted by: wine country girl ( )
Date: August 17, 2013 02:21AM

Get thee to counseling, young man, tout de suite. Or Gamblers Anonymous.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2013 02:25AM by wine country girl.

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Posted by: Joy ( )
Date: August 17, 2013 02:27AM

It seems like you have a gambling addiction. Go to Gambler's Anonymous.

Maybe you could challenge yourself to "chat women up." Like a gamble, you don't know whether you will win or lose, each time you approach a woman. Make bets with yourself--will she be nice to you? Will she ignore you and walk away? By forcing yourself to do this, maybe you might win a little bit, once in a while, which is all it takes to keep an addiction going. Don't know what to say to a woman? Read the newspaper or online news.

Mormons make up less than 1% of the world population. 99% of it is waiting for you to discover it. Take a gamble, and see what's out there for you.

Taking an interest in what is going on in the world might change your life. There is so much going on in the world--interesting scientific discoveries, great gossip, history making itself, huge changes that make gambling seem like child's play. Political elections are gambles.

Maybe you don't have a "void" as much as you have boredom, and time on your hands. I felt empty in Mormonism. Maybe you haven't been free long enough.

I knew my brother-in-law was addicted to gambling. He could not go longer than two weeks without a trip to Las Vegas. After all, he was wealthy, and could afford it. He refused to get help, and said that he could stop any time he wanted to. He just didn't want to. Instead of being kicked out of casinos, he was given a free luxury suite. Soon, it became all he wanted to do, and his wife was too busy at home raising the kids to join him every time. He began to have affairs. I think he liked the thrill of gambling with his marriage, the excitement of the gamble of being caught. He began day-trading. Stock trading had the highest stakes of all. He lost everything--his money and his family. He was excommunicated from the Mormon church, and his Mormon wife quickly married a Mormon high priest in the temple, who beat her and the children. The children ran away. One got into drugs, and the other committed suicide at age 21.

This is a true story. There are thousands of similar gambling stories, and I'm sure you are sick to death of hearing them. sorry about that. This is "tough love," my dear. Please get help.

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Posted by: Widget ( )
Date: August 17, 2013 03:00AM

From July 2009:

"My name is Don Steinitz and for some of you serious chess players out there my last name may ring a bell. Wilhelm (later William) Steinitz (May 17, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894.

"My background is in professional gambling. I started counting cards in blackjack back in 1975 when I turned 18. After quickly seeing the potential for making money, I packed my bags and left California to play full-time in Las Vegas Nevada where I live today. I put together a team of player years before anyone heard of the M.I.T blackjack team players.

"We were only interested in games that we could clearly obtain an edge which included but not limited to concealed body computers for blackjack and roulette. We also trained to visually see the occasional exposed card from a blackjack dealer which gave us a tremendous advantage seeing both cards, as you can imagine. Okay enough of me and my past so let’s start discussing the nuts and bolts on how to obtain a significant edge in the biggest game in the world called 'Trading'.

"To understand the importance of first arriving at a sound theory before implementing and testing a trading program, we need to briefly review the characteristics of performance that indicate a robust method.

"When testing a trend-following system, we should expect that a trend of 100 days, compared with a trend of 50 days, will produce larger profits per trade, greater reliability, and proportionally fewer trades. As you increase the calculation period, this pattern continues; when you reduce the calculation period this pattern reverses. You are prevented from using very short calculation intervals because slippage and commissions become too large; the longest periods are undesirable because of large equity swings. There must be a clear, profitable pattern when plotting returns per trade versus the average holding period.

"Each time frame has a logical purpose and is said to be modeled after Gann’s concept that the markets are essentially geometric. The shortest time frame is the one in which you will trade; in addition, there are two longer time frames to put each one into proper perspective.

"The patterns common to time frames are easily compared with fractals; within each time frame is another time frame with very similar patterns, reacting in much the same way. You cannot have an hourly chart without a 15-minute chart, because the longer time period is composed of shorter periods; and, if the geometry holds, then characteristics that work in one time frame, such as support and resistance, should work in shorter and longer time frames. Within each time frame there are unique levels of support and resistance; when they converge, the chance of success is increased. The relationships between price levels and profit targets are woven with Fibonacci ratios and the principles of Gann.

"One primary advantage of using multiple time frames is that you can see a pattern develop sooner. A trend that appears on a weekly chart could have been seen first on the daily chart. The same logic follows for other chart formations. Similarly, the application of patterns, such as support and resistance, is the same within each time frame. When a support line appears at about the same level in hourly, daily, and weekly charts, it gains importance."

If you're interested, the rest of this article is online at http://www.tradingmarkets.com/recent/improving_the_odds_by_trading_multiple_time_frames-639825.html

Don's website is http://www.forexrobottrader.com/

Other than emailing him a few times during the past half decade (and buying no trading software from him) and listening to some of his webinars (no charge), I'd say he's somebody who post-gambling has found his money-making niche in Forex (foreign currency) trading. You might want to check out what he's put online and perhaps touch base w/ him.

I've tried futures and options trading and learned - painfully - that they're not for me. I'm naturally good at other things, so I go w/ those. The same is true, IMO, for each person. You're unique; do what comes to you 'organically' and provides you with enjoyment - and, perhaps, enhances someone else's life.

You gotta mentally let Mo-ism go. It's a fraud that wastes much of people's lives - and, fortunately, you're out of the LD$ cult. The Mormon Church and religion are hardly worth a second thought. You can make a choice to transition past it. You're the captain of the ship of your life; it'll go in whichever direction you set.

Re. women, do you want a romantic, meaningful relationship with one of them? If so, you're going to have to make an effort to meet a woman who's a good match for you, intellectually, emotionally, personality-wise, and in other ways. Hockey star Wayne Gretzky once said: "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." Why not try an online dating site, or join a social group in your area, or become a member of a club of individuals who do what you like to do? You're in charge of how you use your time.

If you're not mentally, emotionally, or otherwise ready for a relationship, you could participate in psychotherapy to come to understand yourself better. Whether it's learning to gamble well or learning about oneself or learning anything else, living effectively requires us to grow in awareness.

Best wishes!

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Posted by: Exmosis ( )
Date: August 17, 2013 08:03AM

Learning to gamble well? Widget, That's pretty stupid advice, I would think.

The other posters were more helpful - counselling and find another hobby or activity instead. Something that may allow one to do something that doesn't harm yourself or others.
Gambling harms, same as any other addiction.

How about some type of sport? Mountain biking club, tennis, water sports (get a boat)? Fishing? Anything! Preferably something where you can join others in doing it - as opposed to always by yourself. There's a truly beautiful lovely world out there, if you start to explore it more.

It's possible you may have depression and for that reason turn to gambling and as others have noted, if not gambling, you could turn to other vices. Find a solid mental health professional or the counselling itself could at least be a start, preferably coupled with some physical activity.

Do you have a college degree? Try to find one that interests you. If you can't afford it, do it part-time and/or use student loans - but make sure you have a plan for how to pay it back, perhaps by working part-time during the year and full-time one semester or summer each year

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Posted by: jonathantech ( )
Date: August 17, 2013 09:30AM

It depends on if the OP is addicted or fascinated and enjoys the challenge of improving his odds. Also widget told him to learn investments and trading. Yes there is significant risk involved, like gambling, but you can truly change the odds to be in your favor through education and experience.

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Posted by: Widget ( )
Date: August 17, 2013 05:41PM

"Canada's Jonathan Duhamel Wins World Series of Poker, $8.9 Million Prize": http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-09/canada-s-jonathan-duhamel-wins-world-series-of-poker-8-9-million-prize.html

Matthew Benham in the UK is another example of a pro. gambler.

You might be lousy at gambling, but not everyone is.

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Posted by: qwerty6pack ( )
Date: August 17, 2013 05:47PM

Email me, I know how to chat with women.

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