I have always played Poker especially On-line as a Amateur Hobbyist, Which in my definition means I don't Gamble, I have never registered any money with any
poker site so If I want to buy-into a
poker game, then I first have to win a few
freerolls, That was the Easy part, Now I have to decide which Type of buy-in is best for me to play, Tournaments can take way too long, and Cash tables seem to be never ending. So I found 9 player Sit and Goes were my preferred game type, They gave me the Experience of playing Early stages, and heads up play all on one single table.
It wasn't until I started to make a profit from these games that I decided to enter Local Pub and Club games. Now some will say that if I buy-in to a pub game with my own money I am a Gambler, I still maintain I am not, I think of the buy-in as the door price I pay to enter the game, just as I would have to buy a ticket to a Cinema Film, Pop Concert, Football Match or anything else people enjoy, Once I have bought into a Game then that's all I am willing to pay, to take part in a Game I enjoy, That is dead Money, Money I will never see again.
If I should be lucky enough to make the money and Win, then that's a Bonus. Paying out good money to do something you enjoy is not a waste, I consider Football games a waste of time because I am just a spectator, and I am a bad spectator, because I want to be involved and be part of the action, I am way too old to chase a ball around for 90 minutes, So no thankyou, If I can watch a game on TV for free, then why pay out to see less in a Football Stadium, You certainly don't get Slow motion replays there.
So basically I do not consider myself to be a Gambler, and I never enter a game thinking how much I can Win, because most of the time I would be disappointed, I enter a Poker Game to be in on the action and play a game I enjoy for a couple of hours, Winning or Losing is Immaterial, I believe that if more players took this attitude, then there would be less players finding themselves losing small fortunes and finding themselves in financial difficulties.
Play because you enjoy Playing and you cannot be disappointed, Play to win by all means but don't try to run before you can walk. Everyone loses some of the time, ask Phil Helmuth!