35 replies to this topic

[epistemic]

Disclaimer: this is a very touchy subject, and I know a lot of people have strong opinions on this, so try to keep it civilized.When I first started playing poker it was right around lunch time because my mornings were tied up and so were my evenings. Sometimes I'd even skip lunch just to play straight through the afternoon. BTW, I had fairly excellent eating habits, so I didn't feel like making the usual, fresh avocado, slightly grilled tuna, cobb salad mix.So one day I decided to hit up the dollar menu at McDonalds. It was pretty innocuous, I just ordered the McChicken, and told em to hold the mayo. I continued this McChicken thing as a pre-meal to poker for a couple weeks. Well then I had some bad beats and the first thing I did was hit up the dollar menu, but this time I said keep the mayo, ordered two apple pies and a double cheese burger on top of it. I had not eaten hamburger in years. I remember watching Super Size me, and recall a food scientist saying that the proteins in cheese and meat contain opiates, and when I ate the double cheese burger to cap off the meal, I was basically wasted. So I started getting intense cravings for hamburger whenever I'd get a bad beat, and it basically became some sort of pavlovian bad beat food. And I'll simply admit it, the combination of online poker and the dollar menu is so intertwined and reciprocating that I'm in a downward spiral as far as my diet goes. It's like good poker and bad poker always equals dollar menu.In Super Size me the guy Don Gorske who has eaten like 3 big macs a day for a couple decades kind of eased my worries, since the whole theory is that it's the fries and gallons of soda. Anyway, I'm trying to go back to McChickens, or trying to positively reinforce better food. If anyone has any suggestions, it would help.

[Royal_Tour]

I do not believe in addictions unless its chemically created to make you addicted, (crack). But things like gambling, or alcohol, should not get tied in with addictions. A downward spiral because your spouse left you, and you become an alcoholic??.. my thoughts~ Start over., pack-up and move on., only 1 person is goin to look out for you.. and thats you!,This might sound a bit harsh , but in regards to your mcdonalds bad beat addiction.. if u want to get rid of it.,, suck it up, and get over it!. Realise that theres only 1 reason you go to mcdonalds,, because you want to., not because its a bad beat addiction., So biatch slap yourself to wakeup, and start turning your bad beats into lessons. And better your poker game play.

[epistemic]

listen man u have no idea what it's like to be semi-vegetarian, and then one day eat hamburger. i almost forgot to feed my dog i was so wasted.don't you canadians have clnics for this kind of stuff?

[DKE_XP120]

I hate the movie supersize me.. no kidding if you eat fast food 3 times a day you'll become unhealthy, a waste of a good hour and a half or so...

[Awful]

Royal_Tour said:

I do not believe in addictions unless its chemically created to make you addicted, (crack). But things like gambling, or alcohol, should not get tied in with addictions. A downward spiral because your spouse left you, and you become an alcoholic??.. my thoughts~ Start over., pack-up and move on., only 1 person is goin to look out for you.. and thats you!,This might sound a bit harsh , but in regards to your mcdonalds bad beat addiction.. if u want to get rid of it.,, suck it up, and get over it!. Realise that theres only 1 reason you go to mcdonalds,, because you want to., not because its a bad beat addiction., So biatch slap yourself to wakeup, and start turning your bad beats into lessons. And better your poker game play.

Seriously, certain foods can develop associations that lead to the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine when consumed. It's entirely possible that he's conditioned himself to have a positive physiological response. Also, alcohol has profound chemical effects. Believe in addictions, they're not a dependency on a chemical, they're a dependency on the biochemical reaction to it. You CAN be compulsive with almost any behavior, the brain is an amazing thing.

[Royal_Tour]

epistemic said:

listen man u have no idea what it's like to be semi-vegetarian, and then one day eat hamburger. i almost forgot to feed my dog i was so wasted.don't you canadians have clnics for this kind of stuff?

My sister is a pharmacist, and at one point in her life, was a vegan, would not drink milk, eat cheese, no eggs, nothing, eventually she came to realise that the supplements and beans werent keeping her body healthy.I'm not saying that you should not change your beliefs , and i'm not judgeing the fact that you are a vegetarian. I'm simply saying that you ate meat once again, but eventually there is goin to be a time frame the next day, where you realise.. "oh man, why did i do that?" and thats the same time where you kick you self back to your regular mind set, or some sort of downward fantasia of meats that you described.,, and i guess u took the 2nd route.,, so my advice..,, turn around.,, it reeally is that simple.

[JaysonWeber]

I agree... poker can lead to bad eating habits. Bad habits in general actually.Ussually when me and my friends are playing one of our notorious 12 hour minimum (or bust) sessions. We'll take a break, its either McDonalds Dollar Menu, Taco Bell or the Bus Stop, none of which is good food.Last year when I was at home and played a lot of online poker, I was able to keep a very good eating habit, and have done so in college, to an extent although to occasional ordering of pizza happens.When playing poker all you want to do is play, so a quick meal like this seems like the best idea. I really think that eating your tuna sandwhich or whatever it was you said might be a better idea, not only for your health, but for your game.I feel guilty after eating McDonalds or Taco Bell, and in my opinion, the less distractions the better while playing. I think when playing our cash games this summer I'm going to make a solid effort to eat right... Interesting post.

[Royal_Tour]

JaysonWeber said:

I agree... poker can lead to bad eating habits. Bad habits in general actually.Ussually when me and my friends are playing one of our notorious 12 hour minimum (or bust) sessions. We'll take a break, its either McDonalds Dollar Menu, Taco Bell or the Bus Stop, none of which is good food.

Your first mistake is your 12 hour or bust games. Your bringing your unhealthy lifestyle upon yourself by doing that. When you have a long night of drinking and partying ahead of you, do u not make it a "must" to have a decent meal, so you dont drink on an empty stomach??

[JaysonWeber]

Royal_Tour said:

JaysonWeber said:

I agree... poker can lead to bad eating habits. Bad habits in general actually.Ussually when me and my friends are playing one of our notorious 12 hour minimum (or bust) sessions. We'll take a break, its either McDonalds Dollar Menu, Taco Bell or the Bus Stop, none of which is good food.

Your first mistake is your 12 hour or bust games. Your bringing your unhealthy lifestyle upon yourself by doing that. When you have a long night of drinking and partying ahead of you, do u not make it a "must" to have a decent meal, so you dont drink on an empty stomach??

We don't drink when we play... lol. We do these 12 hour sessions to grind ourselves and get used to them, many players will take naps, I prefer to just play it out, its made me focus at the table for a longer period of time, in the last one, I hit the wall at 9 hours, playing the last 3 Tight-Passive mainly.When we play poker, we do not drink, I like to think that my regular group is a good group of players who take the game extremely seriously.

[Mister Hand]

DKE_XP120 said:

I hate the movie supersize me.. no kidding if you eat fast food 3 times a day you'll become unhealthy, a waste of a good hour and a half or so...

I agree. I wonder what his next project will be? Lying on a beach for a month without lotion to see if he gets burned?

[theACE]

Awful said:

Royal_Tour said:

I do not believe in addictions unless its chemically created to make you addicted, (crack). But things like gambling, or alcohol, should not get tied in with addictions. A downward spiral because your spouse left you, and you become an alcoholic??.. my thoughts~ Start over., pack-up and move on., only 1 person is goin to look out for you.. and thats you!,This might sound a bit harsh , but in regards to your mcdonalds bad beat addiction.. if u want to get rid of it.,, suck it up, and get over it!. Realise that theres only 1 reason you go to mcdonalds,, because you want to., not because its a bad beat addiction., So biatch slap yourself to wakeup, and start turning your bad beats into lessons. And better your poker game play.

Seriously, certain foods can develop associations that lead to the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine when consumed. It's entirely possible that he's conditioned himself to have a positive physiological response. Also, alcohol has profound chemical effects. Believe in addictions, they're not a dependency on a chemical, they're a dependency on the biochemical reaction to it. You CAN be compulsive with almost any behavior, the brain is an amazing thing.

Its totally true, I major is pyschology and what he's describing is what behaviourist pyschologists refer to as classical conditioning. He's developed an conitioned response to bad beats ( two stimuli previously unlinked now being linked together to form an response). If he associated bad beats with burgers long enough its entirely possible to occur and suprisingly hard to re-condition.

[KDawgCometh]

I actually find this post extremely offensive. I have friends who have ral problems with Addiction to both Alcohol and Drugs. Once an addict always an addict. This whole thing is in jest and as someone who addiction has effected in life I do take the topic serioulsy. Sorry man, McDonalds is not an addiction, your just being an ass when there are people who have real problems

[allinbluff35]

The above post is correct. All it takes is 3 credits of an introductory psychology to teach you that, Royal Tour. theACE it sounds like you're majoring at UBC. Good luckWhat if you have failed that introductory class 3 times?

[Royal_Tour]

yellowjack said:

theACE said:

Awful said:

Royal_Tour said:

I do not believe in addictions unless its chemically created to make you addicted, (crack). But things like gambling, or alcohol, should not get tied in with addictions. A downward spiral because your spouse left you, and you become an alcoholic??.. my thoughts~ Start over., pack-up and move on., only 1 person is goin to look out for you.. and thats you!,This might sound a bit harsh , but in regards to your mcdonalds bad beat addiction.. if u want to get rid of it.,, suck it up, and get over it!. Realise that theres only 1 reason you go to mcdonalds,, because you want to., not because its a bad beat addiction., So biatch slap yourself to wakeup, and start turning your bad beats into lessons. And better your poker game play.

Seriously, certain foods can develop associations that lead to the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine when consumed. It's entirely possible that he's conditioned himself to have a positive physiological response. Also, alcohol has profound chemical effects. Believe in addictions, they're not a dependency on a chemical, they're a dependency on the biochemical reaction to it. You CAN be compulsive with almost any behavior, the brain is an amazing thing.

Its totally true, I major is pyschology and what he's describing is what behaviourist pyschologists refer to as classical conditioning. He's developed an conitioned response to bad beats ( two stimuli previously unlinked now being linked together to form an response). If he associated bad beats with burgers long enough its entirely possible to occur and suprisingly hard to re-condition.

The above post is correct. All it takes is 3 credits of an introductory psychology to teach you that, Royal Tour. theACE it sounds like you're majoring at UBC. Good luck.

Was this posted to make me sound stupid??... I'm sorry but I own a production company which televises poker. I'm also a chartered industrial designer., When i decide to take an intro course to pshyc, maybe my views will change. But they remain until then

[theACE]

yellowjack said:

theACE said:

Awful said:

Royal_Tour said:

I do not believe in addictions unless its chemically created to make you addicted, (crack). But things like gambling, or alcohol, should not get tied in with addictions. A downward spiral because your spouse left you, and you become an alcoholic??.. my thoughts~ Start over., pack-up and move on., only 1 person is goin to look out for you.. and thats you!,This might sound a bit harsh , but in regards to your mcdonalds bad beat addiction.. if u want to get rid of it.,, suck it up, and get over it!. Realise that theres only 1 reason you go to mcdonalds,, because you want to., not because its a bad beat addiction., So biatch slap yourself to wakeup, and start turning your bad beats into lessons. And better your poker game play.

Seriously, certain foods can develop associations that lead to the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine when consumed. It's entirely possible that he's conditioned himself to have a positive physiological response. Also, alcohol has profound chemical effects. Believe in addictions, they're not a dependency on a chemical, they're a dependency on the biochemical reaction to it. You CAN be compulsive with almost any behavior, the brain is an amazing thing.

Its totally true, I major is pyschology and what he's describing is what behaviourist pyschologists refer to as classical conditioning. He's developed an conitioned response to bad beats ( two stimuli previously unlinked now being linked together to form an response). If he associated bad beats with burgers long enough its entirely possible to occur and suprisingly hard to re-condition.

The above post is correct. All it takes is 3 credits of an introductory psychology to teach you that, Royal Tour. theACE it sounds like you're majoring at UBC. Good luck.

your absolutely right I learned it first year in pysch 101, I was just providing some general info on the subject as some people may not know about it.

[Awful]

Royal_Tour said:

Was this posted to make me sound stupid??... I'm sorry but I own a production company which televises poker. I'm also a chartered industrial designer., When i decide to take an intro course to pshyc, maybe my views will change. But they remain until then

Hey, I'm just trying to inform. Congrats on your other successes. Nothing personal, not trying to make you look stupid. But by suddenly getting all pissed and whipping out the resume, you certainly sound somewhat insecure in your intellect. Now, why the hell do you need to defend your beliefs against scientific fact by admitting that you haven't studied a field but do other things well?Also: I think my degree in biomedical engineering makes me SLIGHTLY more qualified to speak on brain chemistry. CHILL OUT, RELAX man. I'm not challenging your ideas and the impetus to change still has to come from within. All I'm giving you is the chemical background to addiction.

[DCWildcat]

Royal_Tour said:

I do not believe in addictions unless its chemically created to make you addicted, (crack). But things like gambling, or alcohol, should not get tied in with addictions...

Let me point out several inaccuracies in your argument here. First, psychologists determine what "addiction" is, so whatever your personal beliefs are about the subject are irrelevant. Go ahead and "believe" addiction is related only to things that are "chemically created to make you addicted," but it's just as wrong as "believing" in a flat earth or a geocentric universe.Why is that wrong? For starters, there is no such thing as a drug that is "chemically created to be addicting." The body becomes addiced to the biochemical reaction, not the drug itself. Like was said earlier, addiction is not to the drug itself, it's to the biochemical reactions occuring because of the drug. For example, heroin floods the body with endorphins--the same chemicals that give you a calm, soothing feeling after a good workout or sex. Your body becomes addicted through very basic conditioning. Through further conditioning, the body begins to associate actions related to the biochemical with the reaction itself; i.e., the sticking of a heroin needle in the arm, or the repetitive motion of smoking a cigarette. If you could replicate the biochemical reaction by another means, and account for all the things the body associates with that reaction, you could satisfy that addiction. My final point is that by your logic, alcohol should be included. Alcohol is, indeed a chemical, and is, indeed, a drug. Gambling, of course, gives a rush. You know the shakes you get when you hit the nuts and someone goes all-in in front of you. There are many biochemical reactions associated with gambling, and if you gamble compulsively, your body will begin to crave those biochemical reactions, as well as the actions associated with them, exactly as it craved that heroin before.

[tech_mage]

[quote] KDawgCometh Posted: Sat, Mar 5th, 2005 3:18 Post subject: Re: serious topics: poker and addiciton -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I actually find this post extremely offensive. I have friends who have ral problems with Addiction to both Alcohol and Drugs. Once an addict always an addict. This whole thing is in jest and as someone who addiction has effected in life I do take the topic serioulsy. Sorry man, McDonalds is not an addiction, your just being an ass when there are people who have real problems [/quote]Aright, first off, he can become addicted to food in that manner. I believe it was Piojie who spoke about conditioning. When one gets trained, whether deliberatly or indeliberatly into a habbit, they become habbit formed. How do you think we learn english, or to wipe our a$* after we take a dump? Do you think the idea just suddenly comes to us each and every time? No, the habit becomes in the unconsciousness. Although he might not be fully hooked into it, he can still be conditioned to eat as a relaxing feeling when he is under stress. However, it is just referring to poker at the moment. Maybe the person isn't stressed enough to go eat at other times. Stress wears your body down, because it takes alot of energy out of you. In order to refill your energy you need to sleep or eat/drink. Now, he can't just take constant cat-naps, and sleeping under stress is very hard, since the brain won't let you go to sleep as easy. In order for him to satisfy his stress situation, he goes through a period of hunger. When he eats, he feels better.I guess, even though I wouldn't COMPLETLY HOLD YOUR FAITH in my suggestion, would be to slow down on how much poker you play, and eat at balanced times. When you get stressed out, do somthing different each time you get stressed (Not anything illegal/harmful/bad/etc.) When you get too stressed, I would say exercise or reading might be a good suggestion. If you don't like reading, then try laying down and puting calming music on. Classical would be the best type, since it makes your brain work more because the instruments are more to think of compared to rock and such.But thats just me, and I will most likely get criticized.And I am 17, wahoo!!! [/quote]