Discussion
So bored over the xmas break, I gambled some of my hard earned. Won a bit, lost a lot, won a lot. Called it a day, although it took some doing..
But at one stage, I felt myself being sucked in, I don't have an addictive personality, but its always gambling that gets me..I never go above what I can afford to loose, but I see people getting sucked in so regularly..
Take my brothers freind, 18, earns about a grand a month after tax, I watched him plow in £100 in 20 minutes, he got up to £300.. I said call it a day mate, thats good going, and it will stitch you up shortly, he didn't. He went into a poker room, one on one, got unlucky, then got lucky, then got really lucky and was at £989. I said turn the pc off now, take that out. That's a months wages. He said he would just make it up to the round £1000.
Guess what happened? 40 mins later he has £0.
Anyone else have a vice when it comes to gambling?
I am thinking about stopping all forms of it, as I when I am in that zone, I cannot be trusted, and seemingly neither can above person!
But at one stage, I felt myself being sucked in, I don't have an addictive personality, but its always gambling that gets me..I never go above what I can afford to loose, but I see people getting sucked in so regularly..
Take my brothers freind, 18, earns about a grand a month after tax, I watched him plow in £100 in 20 minutes, he got up to £300.. I said call it a day mate, thats good going, and it will stitch you up shortly, he didn't. He went into a poker room, one on one, got unlucky, then got lucky, then got really lucky and was at £989. I said turn the pc off now, take that out. That's a months wages. He said he would just make it up to the round £1000.
Guess what happened? 40 mins later he has £0.
Anyone else have a vice when it comes to gambling?
I am thinking about stopping all forms of it, as I when I am in that zone, I cannot be trusted, and seemingly neither can above person!
Not really, not trying to sound holier than thou but I figure a little willpower is all it really takes, easy to say though I fully accept that.
When I went to Vegas I think I spent around $1 on the slots as Captain Sensible in my head kept saying "Guess who's money paid for these Casino's?".
When I went to Vegas I think I spent around $1 on the slots as Captain Sensible in my head kept saying "Guess who's money paid for these Casino's?".
t loads then started sobering up... 
I absolutely love it!
Markets, cards, Dogs, Casinos...never really been into football bets or horse racing though. Had a few lovely wins, but also been severely burnt....never seen it as a problem though...I can afford to lose the bets I make.
Seen it ruin the life of a mate of my dads though. We helped him move out of the lovely detached family home into a 1 bed council flat.... awful.
Markets, cards, Dogs, Casinos...never really been into football bets or horse racing though. Had a few lovely wins, but also been severely burnt....never seen it as a problem though...I can afford to lose the bets I make.
Seen it ruin the life of a mate of my dads though. We helped him move out of the lovely detached family home into a 1 bed council flat.... awful.
okgo said:
I'm not too bad with poker, a few bad beats, and I am so pissed off I want to smash the laptop up, let alone play again.
Its casino games, I have been playing goldenballs on skybet, and its worryingly addictive, even though it holds all the cards. I'm an idiot.
The video games and stuff are a bit of a con (IMO) You get a 95% return at best, so you really have to know where to draw the line.Its casino games, I have been playing goldenballs on skybet, and its worryingly addictive, even though it holds all the cards. I'm an idiot.
Know how you feel about poker though, came close to throwing my laptop a few times
I generally only play when i'm working though, best win has been £418 from an initial deposit of £25, thats a weeks wages in one night. 
The Riddler said:
okgo said:
I'm not too bad with poker, a few bad beats, and I am so pissed off I want to smash the laptop up, let alone play again.
Its casino games, I have been playing goldenballs on skybet, and its worryingly addictive, even though it holds all the cards. I'm an idiot.
The video games and stuff are a bit of a con (IMO) You get a 95% return at best, so you really have to know where to draw the line.Its casino games, I have been playing goldenballs on skybet, and its worryingly addictive, even though it holds all the cards. I'm an idiot.
Know how you feel about poker though, came close to throwing my laptop a few times
I generally only play when i'm working though, best win has been £418 from an initial deposit of £25, thats a weeks wages in one night. Poker is another story, I have done ok a few times, but I loose interest in it.
Obviously there is something in my head that loves it, and keeps going back to it.
When I was at college I would go into the bookies and spend my hard earned and one day I had a good win on Specify in the national and I told my Dad. He took me in the car for a short drive to a big house in the village with a Roller outside and he said something along the lines of 'Jack Scofield lives there on the proceeds from mugs like you spending money they cannot afford to lose in his betting office'
I've only really gambled once (Casino earlier this year).
Me and my mate ended up 20% up on our starting money on the Blackjack table.... And then managed to leave.
I can see how people lose lots and lots of money but not being able to stop, the rush when you win is great and the need to keepplaying when you are losing is destructive.
Me and my mate ended up 20% up on our starting money on the Blackjack table.... And then managed to leave.
I can see how people lose lots and lots of money but not being able to stop, the rush when you win is great and the need to keepplaying when you are losing is destructive.
paddyhasneeds said:
Not really, not trying to sound holier than thou but I figure a little willpower is all it really takes, easy to say though I fully accept that.
Indeed. I've seen many traders come and go. Same thing really, gambling or stockmarkets. One sounds more clever. Both will show you how crap you are.Thing is, professional gambling is different to what everyone thinks is gambling ie not flip of coin stuff glammed up with computer graphics, charts or pretty cards.
Edited by ShadownINja on Wednesday 30th December 18:56
I've played in a Casino before and didn't like the pressure that you get put under, I enjoy just playing with family and friends much more.
On Xmas day, 5 of us sat down, chucked a tenner in each and played for a couple of hours, I rebought with a £1 and came away with £22, everyone enjoyed themselves.
On Xmas day, 5 of us sat down, chucked a tenner in each and played for a couple of hours, I rebought with a £1 and came away with £22, everyone enjoyed themselves.
Here's an extract from an e-book I was reading last night... (My Fairy God Trader, Rob Booker)
He turned around to face the two truckers who were sitting behind us. His wings were still showing.
“Boys, come on over to the booth here. I’ve got a bettin’ game I’d like to show y’all.”
They looked at each other, and each stood up and walked over. Jerry, my Fairy God Trader, slapped down a $20 on the table in front of us.
“Boys,” he said in his booming southern accent, “I’m a gonna let one of y’all have this 20 dollar bill.”
“Here are the rules: all y’all have to do is bid on it. Highest bidder gets the money. Loser still has to pay his last bid, but gets nothing.”
They looked again at each other, and shrugged. One asked, “So if I bid less than $20, but I’m the winner, I still get the money?”
“Right. The other guy still pays his last bid. And gets nothin’.”
The trucker raised his eyebrows. You could see he was already mentally spending the money he hadn’t yet won. He said: “Then I bid $1.”
No sooner had he spoke than his companion cut in. “I bid $2.”
There was a brief pause, and I noticed that other people in the diner were beginning to look over in our direction. The bidding continued, and I was amazed at how fast it was going —
“$5.”
“$8.”
“$12.”
“$16!” one of them cried, and then I looked up and noticed that a small collection of people had now surrounded us, including our waitress, the cook, and enough other truckers to make me feel very, very claustrophobic. On this last bid, there was some clapping, and everyone was obviously very interested in the outcome of this game.
The bidding had now progressed to the point where each man was intent on winning. I couldn’t disagree with the bidding, because it seemed plainly obvious that even at $19, the $20 was worth buying.
And the bidding did get there. Within just seconds, the first trucker stated, “$19.” And a cry went up in the diner, and we all assumed we had found our winner. But we hadn’t.
Our small crowd was slapping the first trucker on the back in congratulations (for being the first one to $19), when the second trucker, who appeared just one notch above frustrated, announced what seemed completely ridiculous:
“$20!”
Everyone fell silent. “What?” came a query from the back of the group. Everyone looked perplexed. The 2nd trucker answered all our silent questions when he said:
“I ain’t losin’ my $18. You can pay $19, I’ll pay $20, and at least I’ll break even.”
Then, we all realized that in the heat of the bidding, that the first trucker, and the rest of us, had forgotten the rules of the game: the winner would pay his last (winning) bid for the $20, but the loser would still have to pay. And receive nothing. All of the sudden, as everyone began to realize this, we all became tense.
All of us secretly wanted the game to stop now, for we now understood what was about to happen. “Stop bidding,” said the cook.
Neither of you can win now.” He walked away, probably to finish preparing the breakfast that no longer concerned me.
I looked at Jerry. Grinning as always, but now with feverish, bulging eyes that spoke volumes about his pleasure at getting the best of the truckers. The 2nd trucker was now sweating, breathing hard, and increasingly angry.
The first trucker, now angry too, raised his bid to $22.
There were sighs from the back of the crowd, and I placed my hand on the $20. “Guys,” I said, “let’s just stop here.”
The 2nd tucker pounded the table and then shoved my hand aside, and shouted an obscenity at me that I’d rather not repeat.
“$25.”
I gulped. They were doing the unimaginable. They were now going to pay a total of $47 for the right for one of them to have $20.
But it wasn’t over.
“27.”
An obscenity.
“30!”
$33.” Another obscenity.
“34.”
The 2nd trucker slammed his fist down on the table again, and I felt the support pole beneath start to give way. He cried out: “$50!”
And with that, the 1st tucker shouted another obscenity and stated that his friend was a lunatic for bidding that much. And something else that I won’t repeat again.
Jerry, my Fairy God Mother and now for sure the weirdest person I’d ever met, collected the money from the truckers — he was far bigger than they, and they weren’t going to argue with him. He got $84 in all. He had just sold $20 for $84!
I'd love to know if it'd happen in real life.
He turned around to face the two truckers who were sitting behind us. His wings were still showing.
“Boys, come on over to the booth here. I’ve got a bettin’ game I’d like to show y’all.”
They looked at each other, and each stood up and walked over. Jerry, my Fairy God Trader, slapped down a $20 on the table in front of us.
“Boys,” he said in his booming southern accent, “I’m a gonna let one of y’all have this 20 dollar bill.”
“Here are the rules: all y’all have to do is bid on it. Highest bidder gets the money. Loser still has to pay his last bid, but gets nothing.”
They looked again at each other, and shrugged. One asked, “So if I bid less than $20, but I’m the winner, I still get the money?”
“Right. The other guy still pays his last bid. And gets nothin’.”
The trucker raised his eyebrows. You could see he was already mentally spending the money he hadn’t yet won. He said: “Then I bid $1.”
No sooner had he spoke than his companion cut in. “I bid $2.”
There was a brief pause, and I noticed that other people in the diner were beginning to look over in our direction. The bidding continued, and I was amazed at how fast it was going —
“$5.”
“$8.”
“$12.”
“$16!” one of them cried, and then I looked up and noticed that a small collection of people had now surrounded us, including our waitress, the cook, and enough other truckers to make me feel very, very claustrophobic. On this last bid, there was some clapping, and everyone was obviously very interested in the outcome of this game.
The bidding had now progressed to the point where each man was intent on winning. I couldn’t disagree with the bidding, because it seemed plainly obvious that even at $19, the $20 was worth buying.
And the bidding did get there. Within just seconds, the first trucker stated, “$19.” And a cry went up in the diner, and we all assumed we had found our winner. But we hadn’t.
Our small crowd was slapping the first trucker on the back in congratulations (for being the first one to $19), when the second trucker, who appeared just one notch above frustrated, announced what seemed completely ridiculous:
“$20!”
Everyone fell silent. “What?” came a query from the back of the group. Everyone looked perplexed. The 2nd trucker answered all our silent questions when he said:
“I ain’t losin’ my $18. You can pay $19, I’ll pay $20, and at least I’ll break even.”
Then, we all realized that in the heat of the bidding, that the first trucker, and the rest of us, had forgotten the rules of the game: the winner would pay his last (winning) bid for the $20, but the loser would still have to pay. And receive nothing. All of the sudden, as everyone began to realize this, we all became tense.
All of us secretly wanted the game to stop now, for we now understood what was about to happen. “Stop bidding,” said the cook.
Neither of you can win now.” He walked away, probably to finish preparing the breakfast that no longer concerned me.
I looked at Jerry. Grinning as always, but now with feverish, bulging eyes that spoke volumes about his pleasure at getting the best of the truckers. The 2nd trucker was now sweating, breathing hard, and increasingly angry.
The first trucker, now angry too, raised his bid to $22.
There were sighs from the back of the crowd, and I placed my hand on the $20. “Guys,” I said, “let’s just stop here.”
The 2nd tucker pounded the table and then shoved my hand aside, and shouted an obscenity at me that I’d rather not repeat.
“$25.”
I gulped. They were doing the unimaginable. They were now going to pay a total of $47 for the right for one of them to have $20.
But it wasn’t over.
“27.”
An obscenity.
“30!”
$33.” Another obscenity.
“34.”
The 2nd trucker slammed his fist down on the table again, and I felt the support pole beneath start to give way. He cried out: “$50!”
And with that, the 1st tucker shouted another obscenity and stated that his friend was a lunatic for bidding that much. And something else that I won’t repeat again.
Jerry, my Fairy God Mother and now for sure the weirdest person I’d ever met, collected the money from the truckers — he was far bigger than they, and they weren’t going to argue with him. He got $84 in all. He had just sold $20 for $84!
I'd love to know if it'd happen in real life.
Edited by ShadownINja on Wednesday 30th December 19:03
When I left school one of my mates was a trainee jockey, always had red hot tips, and always lost. He was perpetually skint, but optimistic that the next bet was going to be the big one, which always failed to entirely materialise.
I decided that was not a good idea, so now i decide that I've got £10, £50 or whatever to lose, which normally happens. The odd times a walk away with something is nice, and I'm happy with that.
That said, I've been putting a few quid a month into equities for a number of years which has shown a good return.
I decided that was not a good idea, so now i decide that I've got £10, £50 or whatever to lose, which normally happens. The odd times a walk away with something is nice, and I'm happy with that.
That said, I've been putting a few quid a month into equities for a number of years which has shown a good return.
Hmm. Old flatmate of mine was quite a fan of the online blackjack and o be fair pretty good at it too. He ended up with over £20k in winnings over a 3 month period. Then he lost it all and I implored him to stop, but he won it back again and another £7k or so. A month later he had to make that dreaded call to his Dad to bail him out the £50k he was now down, on his credit cards. Oops.
I'm not a betting fan - visited Vegas and nothing got spent gambling as an example - maybe a couple of quid on the Grand National or Eurovision song contest and that's my lot
Guy who worked for me got into online poker big time - reckoned he earnt enough in 6mths playing evenings to give up work and do it full time so he left, good result for me as he'd clearly been playing a lot more than just evenings and his work had suffered big time and he was getting close to the bullet
Six months later I saw him and he was back working for another firm locally (and on a whole lot less money I reckon) so I guess he wasn't as good as he thought he was
Guy who worked for me got into online poker big time - reckoned he earnt enough in 6mths playing evenings to give up work and do it full time so he left, good result for me as he'd clearly been playing a lot more than just evenings and his work had suffered big time and he was getting close to the bullet
Six months later I saw him and he was back working for another firm locally (and on a whole lot less money I reckon) so I guess he wasn't as good as he thought he was
)I'm a very minor player. Been to a casino a couple of times, each time had a set amount of money to spend (£20!!) As soon as that has gone no more gambling, So I will never lose more than the amount I went in with. I may win more whilst there but I'll never spend more than I intended. If I'm doing really well then start losing I will try and make sure I come away with at least the money I started with but that is harder!
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