Responsible Gaming

Responsible Gaming: Play with Your Head, Not Over It

Our Commitment to You

Welcome to GlobalPokerSites.com. Our passion is poker—a game of skill, strategy, and entertainment. We love the thrill of the game, the community it builds, and the challenge it presents. But our most important commitment is to you, our reader and a member of the global poker community.

Poker should always be an enjoyable and safe form of entertainment. It should be a fun pastime, not a source of stress, debt, or personal problems. For the vast majority of players, it is exactly that. However, for a small number of people, gambling can cease to be fun and can lead to harmful consequences.

This page is here to ensure you have the knowledge, tools, and resources to always stay in control of your play. It’s a resource for promoting healthy gaming habits and a safe place to turn to if you feel your gambling—or that of someone you care about—is becoming a problem. Please know that seeking information or help is a sign of strength.

Warning Signs of Problem Gambling

Recognizing the early signs of problem gambling is the first and most critical step toward prevention and recovery. It’s not about how much you win or lose, but about the impact gambling has on your life.

Ask yourself honestly if you recognize any of these behaviors in yourself or someone you know:

• Chasing Losses: Feeling a desperate need to win back money you’ve lost, often by taking bigger risks.

• Losing Track of Time and Money: Spending more time or money on poker than you intended, and finding it difficult to stop.

• Gambling with Essential Funds: Using money meant for rent, bills, groceries, or savings to fund your play.

• Preoccupation with Gambling: Constantly thinking about poker—reliving past hands, planning your next session, or thinking about how to get money to play.

• Lying or Hiding Your Gambling: Being secretive about the extent of your gambling with friends, family, or loved ones.

• Neglecting Responsibilities: Prioritizing gambling over work, school, family obligations, or personal relationships.

• Borrowing Money for Gambling: Getting into debt, selling possessions, or borrowing money from others to play.

• Emotional Changes: Feeling irritable, anxious, or depressed when you try to cut back on gambling.

• Gambling to Escape: Using poker as a way to escape from problems, stress, loneliness, or anxiety.

• Failed Attempts to Quit: Trying to control, cut back, or stop gambling without success.

If one or more of these signs feel familiar, it may be time to take a step back and reassess your relationship with the game.

A Moment for Self-Assessment

This is a private, non-judgmental checklist to help you reflect on your gambling habits over the past 12 months. There are no right or wrong answers, only honest ones.

1. Have you found yourself needing to gamble with increasing amounts of money to get the same level of excitement?

2. Have you felt restless, irritable, or anxious when you’ve tried to cut down or stop gambling?

3. Have you made repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop your gambling?

4. Do you often find yourself preoccupied with thoughts of gambling?

5. Do you ever gamble when feeling distressed, helpless, guilty, or depressed?

6. After losing money, do you often return another day to get even ("chasing" your losses)?

7. Have you ever lied to family members or others to conceal the extent of your involvement with gambling?

8. Has gambling ever jeopardized or resulted in the loss of a significant relationship, job, or educational opportunity?

9. Have you relied on others to provide you with money to relieve a desperate financial situation caused by gambling?

Answering "yes" to even a few of these questions could indicate that you are at risk of developing a gambling problem. This is not a diagnosis, but it is a strong signal that it’s time to take proactive steps and consider seeking support.

Taking Control: A Guide to Safer Gambling

Healthy gambling is about staying in control and keeping it fun. Here are some fundamental strategies to ensure your poker experience remains positive.

1. Set Strict Limits

Treat gambling as part of your entertainment budget, just like going to the movies or out for dinner.

• Set a Money Limit: Before you start playing, decide on a maximum amount you are willing to lose and can comfortably afford. This is your bankroll for that session or week. Once that money is gone, you are done. Never dip into funds for daily life.

• Set a Time Limit: Decide how long you will play for and stick to it. Set an alarm on your phone. When the alarm goes off, log out, no matter if you're winning or losing.

• Set a Loss Limit: A "stop-loss" is a crucial tool. If you lose a certain percentage of your session bankroll (e.g., 50%), it's a good rule to stop for the day. This prevents small losses from turning into catastrophic ones.

2. Understand the Game: Myths vs. Reality

Poker is a game of skill, but luck plays a significant role in the short term. Understanding the realities can protect you from common cognitive biases.

• House Edge (The "Rake"): Unlike casino games where you play against the house (which has a mathematical edge), in poker, you play against other people. The "house edge" comes from the rake—a small percentage of each pot taken by the operator. This means that to be a winning player long-term, you must be skilled enough to beat both your opponents and the rake.

• Myths vs. Reality:

  • Myth: "I'm due for a win."

  • Reality: Each hand of poker is an independent event. The cards have no memory. A long losing streak does not make a winning streak more likely to happen next.

  • Myth: "If I play longer, I can win my money back."

  • Reality: This is called "chasing losses" and is a primary driver of problem gambling. Playing while tilted or tired drastically increases the odds of making poor decisions and losing even more.

  • Myth: "I have a special system that can't lose."

  • Reality: While skill and strategy are vital in poker, there is no system that can eliminate the element of chance. Even the best players in the world have losing sessions.

3. Know When NOT to Play

Your state of mind is your most important asset at the poker table. Never gamble when you are:

• Feeling stressed, angry, or depressed.

• Under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

• Tired or unable to concentrate.

• Trying to solve financial problems. Gambling is not a solution to financial trouble.

Tools to Help You Stay in Control

Licensed and regulated online poker sites are required to provide tools to help you manage your play. You can usually find these in the "Responsible Gaming" or "My Account" section of their software or website.

• Self-Exclusion Programs: This is a powerful tool that allows you to block yourself from a gambling site for a set period, from a few months to permanently. During this "cool-off" period, you will be unable to log in, play, or deposit, and the operator will stop sending you marketing materials.

• Deposit and Loss Limits: All reputable sites allow you to set your own daily, weekly, or monthly limits on how much you can deposit or lose. We strongly recommend setting these limits before you start playing.

Age Verification

Gambling is an adult activity. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 (or 21 in some jurisdictions) to gamble online. We do not market our website to minors and fully support age verification policies used by online poker operators. If you share a computer with minors, consider using filtering software (e.g., NetNanny, GamBlock) to prevent access to gambling websites.

Where to Find Help: You Are Not Alone ??

If you feel that gambling is causing problems in your life, please know that help is available, and recovery is possible. Millions of people have faced this challenge and found a path forward. Reaching out is the bravest and most important step you can take.

Below are internationally recognized organizations that provide free, confidential support.

United States

• National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG)

  • A national resource for information, treatment, and support.

  • 24-Hour Confidential Helpline: Call or text 1-800-522-4700

  • Website: www.ncpgambling.org

Worldwide

• Gamblers Anonymous

  • A fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope to solve their common problem and help others to recover from a gambling problem.

  • Find a Meeting Near You: www.gamblersanonymous.org

United Kingdom & Europe

• BeGambleAware

  • Provides confidential help and support to anyone who is worried about their—or someone else’s—gambling.

  • Website: www.begambleaware.org

International Online Support

• Gambling Therapy

  • A global online support service offering multilingual advice and support for people affected by problem gambling.

  • Website: www.gamblingtherapy.org

Remember, poker is a game. It should bring you joy and intellectual stimulation. If it ever stops being a game, please use the resources on this page and talk to someone. You are not alone, and help is always available.