Without enough money from his foster father for college, Poe's debt quickly overcame him, and he decided gambling was the way to make money. He failed miserably. On top of this, letters between Sarah Elmira Royster and himself were intercepted by her father, and, having received no communication from Edgar, she was persuaded to become engaged to another man. Poe also discovered that his foster father would not pay his gambling debts nor any further school costs. After this, Edgar began drinking seriously, he had little resistance to alcohol and easily became violent and irrational when he drank too much.
Poe was not considered an alcoholic by most biographers, but he continued having problems with alcohol for the rest of his life. It is the main reason he lost many of his jobs and fiancées. Some think alcohol played a role in his death.