How is he raising these opinions with you? Is he mean about it/loud and angry, or just stating his observations? That would tell me a lot. If he's in your face about things in your life, then that would be a red flag to me, and maybe to you as well. As far as the poker playing goes, it is his life to do with as he chooses. Are you afraid he's going to be gone a lot? Don't make the mistake of making this man your entire world so that, when he's gone, you have nothing to do but wait for him to return. Lead a balanced life - surround yourself with good friends and family - and his absences won't feel so bad. Also examine what type of relationship you want to have with your significant other. If he's gone a lot and that's not acceptable to you, then you should make your feelings known and see where it leads you. Perhaps this man is not the right person for you, but you won't know until you discuss your issues with him directly.

Hi Undercover: You said starting dating and are dating this guy. Then you say he has strong opinions apparently about your ex and your daughter, your daughter's behavior and you're beginning to get defensive. Your red flags are going up and I believe in listening to your red flags.

The man is dating you and is not the biological parent to your daughter so he really has neither control nor behavior action over your daughter--that is usually known to the non-biological person. So perhaps you might want to refresh his memory on that and tell him that she already has parents so he need not worry. I would tackle that so he understands your daughter is off limits to him.

Poker isn't bad to play from time to time, but when he is talking about doing it for a living, it can signal no income in the future, loss of car, home, and other belongingings in order to get money to play the game. Not everyone becomes a winner in poker and some lose their shirt. In fact we have some casinos near us that provide bus fare to those that end up losing everything they have. Maybe you want to ask him just how long he plans on giving "poker as a living" a try before he gives up. I can understand this setting off red flags.

A sweet card on V-Day is nice, but shouldn't really be taken as a sign of incredible and wonderful things to come. My first husband sent me love cards after I left him after he hit the 2-month old infant with a book for crying. No therapy, nothing, just love cards. Didn't mean a thing to him and didn't mean a thing to me.

Actions speak louder than words and I believe our gut reaction can help warn us. Your opinions are worthy too and some with strong opinions will try to bulldoze your thoughts and feelings to the ground. Don't allow it to happen. I believe in listening to our red flags and I believe you have some valid ones.

You are probably still in the early stages of this relationship. Keep watching and express your own opinions and see how he takes it. See how he takes learning your daughter is off limits to him. See how he responds when you ask how long he intends to give poker as a living a try. Many, many hugs.