Post: #1

A lot of people who make lots of money that I know love gambling. I always thought it was foolish, in nearly any situation, such as at a casino or in a poker game with friends, you are more likely to lose than you are to win. Yet the mentality of a lot of these people is that "I am going to win, I will not be the average person, I will be the uncommon winner"

What do you all think, is it just foolish to gamble?

Post: #2

The desire to win at gambling isn't much different then the desire to bang a hot girl. In gambling you are courting "Lady Luck", hoping that she will pick you over all the others and say, "Yes you will be The One".

Poker with friends is different. It's not the same as casino, sports, race-track type gambling.

Post: #3

What are you worried about? There's games with 50/50 that are just fun to play.

You can't win if you don't play ~ Lotto

In the DR we had so much fun in the casinos and the costs probably were less than all the drinks and shit we had and also usin it as a base for online crap was priceless..

Use it like anything else.

Post: #4

(12-30-2014 07:56 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  What are you worried about? There's games with 50/50 that are just fun to play.

You can't win if you don't play ~ Lotto

In the DR we had so much fun in the casinos and the costs probably were less than all the drinks and shit we had and also usin it as a base for online crap was priceless..

Use it like anything else.

Good point there, I never checked out casinos in Latin America. Next time.

Post: #5

Regardless if win or lose any man should know how to play every casino game respectively enough to not act like a fool and piss everyone off unless you want to piss them off.

Post: #6

http://www.theonion.com/articles/casino-...ight,1506/

Quote:Casino Has Great Night
NEWS • Entertainment • Business • ISSUE 39•20 • May 28, 2003
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ—A beaming Donald Brant, general manager of Bally's Atlantic City, reported that the casino had "an unbelievable night" Monday, cleaning up at the blackjack table, on the slot machines, and elsewhere.

"Man, we were on fire all night," Brant said. "It seemed like every time a casino patron pulled that slots lever, it came up a loser. Whenever somebody told the blackjack dealer to hit on 12, they drew a 10. We could do no wrong."

By the end of the night, the casino walked away a major winner, up $515,274.

"I had a sense that we were doing pretty well," Brant said. "So I checked around with the pit bosses, and it turned out that nearly all the dealers and croupiers were way, way ahead. It was amazing. A night like that only comes along five, six times a week, tops."

While most players are content to focus on one or two games, the casino participated in every available coin-operated machine and table game, including roulette, blackjack, craps, Spanish 21, pai gow, baccarat, and Let It Ride.

"We've got a system," Brant said. "Our strategy is to bet against all the customers who come in here. Then we spread our bets around to each and every table and machine in the casino and keep at it for the long haul. We were down about $200 at one of the roulette tables, but were up on everything else, so we came out pretty much ahead. Actually, more than half a million ahead."

Bally's even fared well at the slot machines, an area that traditionally yields the lowest rate of success.

"You know how they say your worst odds are on the slots?" Brant said. "Well, we made over $33,000 in slots last night. Can you believe it? We were unstoppable."

Brant attributed his casino's impressive showing to a combination of luck and old-fashioned horse sense.

"We try not to play stupid," Brant said. "We never gamble more than we can afford to lose. And we try to never lose our heads. We leave that to the customers. We set aside a certain amount to gamble—that's our kitty—and if we double our money, we only play with our winnings after that. Right now, the kitty stands at around $176,500,000."

Bally's is in the midst of an impressive winning streak, coming out ahead an astonishing 6,753 nights in a row.

"This is quite a tear we're on," Brant said. "It's best if you go in with the attitude that you're just there to have fun and not to win big. That said, it's always a lot more fun when you're winning. And, baby, did we win that night!"

According to John Patrick, author of So You Want To Be A Gambler?, streaks like Bally's are uncommon.

"In my years as a professional gambler, I've had my share of great nights," Patrick said. "However, I've never been on a roll like the one Bally's is on. But then, with a guaranteed 52 percent success rate, it's unlikely that a casino would ever come out behind in an evening. If that were the case, casinos wouldn't exist as profitable entities."

In spite of its huge winnings, Bally's did not indulge in the traditional amenities offered to big winners, such as a free night's stay in the hotel or meal vouchers. Instead, the crew of the all-night casino changed over to the next shift without fanfare.

"Yeah, I suppose we could have partied all night with champagne, a penthouse suite, and all the rest, but we had a casino to run," Brant said. "The thing a lot of people don't realize about successful gamblers is that it's hard work making outrageous sums of money."

Post: #7

I work in the gambling industry and I truly believe gambling addiction (at its full-blown worst) is the most destructive vice you can possibly have. I’d say it’s even worse than heroin. It can fucking ruin you.

Gamble to have fun, not to win money.

Post: #8

I'd say treat gambling as fun and be ready to lose any money you're gambling with. Don't expect to make money, let alone get rich. There's nothing wrong with spending money at the casino--or any other form of entertainment--so long as you can afford to spend it.

Lots of people can't handle it, though, and ruin their lives. One of my cousins totally fucked his life up playing poker online. He just didn't understand what he was doing, he had no mentor to advise him, and ended up deep in debt over it.

On the other hand I've played untold hundreds of games of poker, online and in person, and I'm just about even at where I started. Poker, to me, is cheap entertainment with the potential for thrills. I've had too many bad beats to want to risk large amounts of my own money.

I've had my share of great wins too, but I just don't have the money to play large stakes games and absorb the losses that will, for sure, happen. Even the pros go bust sometimes, and while I'm good, I have no delusions about being that good.

Post: #9

Lot of internet poker players making a living by grinding.

Don't know if that counts

WIA

Post: #10

It's foolish if you expect to make money doing it.

Except for poker, every game in a casino has a negative expected payout. Rational people only accept a negative expected payout if the payout is guaranteed in the event of something bad happening i.e. insurance. Gambling for profit is stupid. Gambling for fun is fine.

Poker is a different beast altogether. If you are in control of your body language and are good at reading others, you can reasonably expect a positive payoff from poker. If the other players suck, you just need to know the odds to win at poker.

Card counting is another beast. If you are extremely good at card counting, blackjack might payoff for you.

Post: #11

Even poker is iffy. At a casino the table as a whole has a negative expected payout due to the rake. In order to do well over time you need to have a strong enough edge over the other players at the table to cover the rake. Also, nobody at a poker table thinks they're the worst player.

Post: #12

Every man should be thoroughly familiar with the standard casino table games. He should know the basic strategy of blackjack, what are the best craps bets and how to make them, and the odds of the various roulette bets and how to place them. Plus baccarat, poker and whatever of the newer games you like. And know casino etiquette.

To me, this is part of being a sophisticated man of the world. It is impressive as hell to a girl when you can handle yourself confidently in a casino; they think youre a James Bond type and you can see that pussy getting wet.

As El Mech says, if you know how to play correctly, the house has only slim odds over you, and once you throw in free drinks, entertainment value, and the opportunity to game girls in a casino it's worth it.

But for making a living or getting rich, there are much better ways

Post: #13

(12-30-2014 09:06 PM)Bizet Wrote:  I work in the gambling industry and I truly believe gambling addiction (at its full-blown worst) is the most destructive vice you can possibly have. I’d say it’s even worse than heroin. It can fucking ruin you.

Gamble to have fun, not to win money.

The City of Las Vegas is affectionately known by locals as "The City of Lost Wages".

An old supervisor had a poor reputation for occasionally not paying his promoters.

Why?

He lost their money on the tables.
I liked working for him though, he was the antithesis of micromanagement.

Post: #14

Just don't be the idiot that takes his paycheque to the casino, or even worse, gamble your welfare cheque away. Treat the casino like the stock market, put a limit on what you're willing to lose, and then just walk away. Be unemotional in any wins or losses that come your way, and just do it for fun and to socialize. Poker is my favourite for that purpose of the socializing that goes on at the tables with guys that are usually pretty cool.

Post: #15

Count cards @ blackjack

Post: #16

As other people have said, poker and black jack you can have a slight edge. BJ is made more difficult with multi-deck shoes, so that the relative impact of each card being 'used up' is less.

Online poker I actually made about $12k with throughout university. It gets to a point though where it wasn't really fun. After tens (hundreds?) of thousands of hands, you see just about everything, and win or lose you just follow the numbers.

I played exclusively limit (3/6-10/20) which I found lends itself better to mathematical modelling, emotions, bluffing, tells, are all by and large removed online. Additionally, hands go faster, and could play multiple tables at once. Basically I would just be doing my homework, and since you're folding 70%+ of your hands preflop, it's only a minor distraction. When you get decent hands you'd play them, you make some assumptions, but I got to a point where I could glance at my cards, the common cards, the pot/expected payoff and estimate what others had, the likelihood of winning, and conclude whether it was +Expected Value to stay in. Get into favourable situations more often than not, and you can't help but make money long term.

I tracked all my sessions, and to make 12k, roughly 300k passed through my hands, so I had roughly a 4% edge over the take. It also worked out to about $9-$10 an hour long term, which was in line with the rule of thumb of 1 BB/hr grinders try and shoot for. You might make or lose a grand in a night, but it would all balance out. I could justify it if I had to sit at a desk doing my homework anyways, but basically stopped as soon as I graduated which timing wise coincided with it being made illegal in the US, which really dried up a lot of the easy money as well.

Aside from that, I might go into a casino and drop $50 on blackjack or roulette, not because I expect to win, but it is fun in a sense. Especially if you're with a group with good energy, getting free drinks or snacks. No different than other forms of entertainment really.

Post: #17

You can learn a lot of interesting shit by gambling. For instance if you play texas hold'em with your buddies, what you may find after a fashion is that you're not playing the cards, you're playing the player.

I've walked out ahead on ridiculous bluffs because the sight of somebody going all in or dropping huge bets leaves some players piss-scared of what could happen, even if they have good hands.

In the same respect I've gotten burned plenty of times. Risks are risks.

Post: #18

(12-31-2014 02:47 PM)MrXY Wrote:  To me, this is part of being a sophisticated man of the world. It is impressive as hell to a girl when you can handle yourself confidently in a casino; they think youre a James Bond type and you can see that pussy getting wet.

You should see the looks I get when I show up to a sportsbook after a fight suited down, politely tell the people behind me that I'm about to hold up the line, then get handed tens of thousands of dollars in hundred dollar bills.

Post: #19

Poker is the only game where you are playing with the odds are your side, assuming you know the odds. It also helps if you can read people and know when you are playing against worse/better players. You win at poker by knowing the odds better than your opponents and knowing who the weaker players are.

It has gotten much harder than it use to be, though I'm sure you can still find good games to play in. The local casino's where I live consist of mostly regulars. Much harder to crack than your home game where you're the only experienced player at the table.

Post: #20

Why not just invest?

Post: #21

It's foolish if you think of it as a way to make money, yes. If you think of it as entertainment then it really depends on what else you would have done with that money. Some of the best afternoons I can remember involved losing on every race at the horse track.

Post: #22

I'll drop a hundred bucks a couple of times a year at the casino. Sometimes I win a bit of money. Not interested in anything beyond that. It's nothing more than an occasional entertainment stream for me.

Post: #23

It's foolish if you think you can win. It's a fun enough diversion and thrill if you play for that. Depending on the casino it can also be a good night out. I enjoyed playing poker in Manila for example in the poker rooms. Low enough stakes to not worry and cute waitresses. Hated it in Singapore, where it was a factory like casino.

Post: #24

The casinos will only offer games they already know they will win. Even a 50% chance, like betting red or black on a roulette wheel, isn't enough, which is why they add a green "0", and the really greedy fucks have two green spaces, "0" and "00".

If you want to know how shitty of a cheat a casino is, just look at their roulette wheel. NEVER patronize a house with two green spaces on their roulette wheel.

If you want to win at gambling, fuck Vegas. Every non-profit in California by law is allowed to hold one "Charity Casino Night" a year --and there's some pretty upscale professional services catering to them. You buy a fixed amount into the chips at the beginning of the night, play for a couple of hours, and then at the end there's an huge auction where everyone bids their chips for different prizes.

And since no one having any money to bid on the auction at the end is a downer of a fund raising event, the games are all biased positive, because the higher the bids in the end auction the more excitement. It still takes skill, but it's quite possible to buy in for $50 cash, end the night with $2000 in chips, and then cherry pick in the auction some sweet time share vacations, some excellent wine, jewelery and purses as gifts for chicks, and other nice prizes. Throwing around your winnings during the end auction is all swagger.

By law, you can't receive any cash back, only goods and services. But if you like to gamble, enjoy being a high roller, and like to win, Charity Casino Nights are a much better return for your time and money.

I'll also second the Horse Races. There's something very different about the rhythm of horse racing. You see them saddled. You see the odds on the big board as they're walked out to the start, and then there's the roar of the crowd. I just place a $2 to show, and even if I lose all ten races, I still have an incredible time, every time. I recommend spending the (locally $12) extra for the Turf Club entrance where there's a dress code and coming suited up. It's the difference between bleacher seats with $1 hot dogs and Budweiser, vs plush seats, hand carved beef, Maker's Mark Mint Juleps, and rubbing elbows with the money while enjoying a God's eye view of the course. But different strokes for different folks, all levels are catered to.

Post: #25

This thread has been quite negative so far. But I may be the exception on the forum in terms of gambling.
I dropped out of college to pursue a career in professional poker and it gave me the means to pursue a location independent lifestyle. Now I have left the USA far behind and am super happy with my life in china.