Post: #26

Find another hobby or focus more on your career. Don't hang around gamblers

Post: #27

matt - you should spend some time looking at the information posted on https://wizardofodds.com/. The author is a formally trained actuary and does a great job a breaking down the numbers and calculating house edge. One thing you need to understand about table games other than poker: no matter how perfectly you play, or what betting progression you use, you will lose it all in the long run. Always. You can't beat the math. Unless you are an advantage player counting cards or shuffle tracking, you will lose.

Post: #28

+1 for wizardofodds. I've been using him as the definitive source on casino games for close to a decade. He knows his shit.

Post: #29

I know a guy who's a gambler. What an idiot. He earns so much money. But waste it all in cards. He even faked his ex-wife signature to get a consumer loan. Ended up sleeping in the store. His boss opened him a credit line in the restaurant. Gamblers are just stupid arrogants. They can't take someone took advantage of them. Like they have to prove they're smarter than others. The thrill go bungy junping.

I go to casinos once in a while it's like going to the movies. You pay a ticket to have fun. Never have I expected to make money. That's for suckers. To make money with a casino you gotta be the owner.

Your addiction should be cash. Cash is the best addiction in the world. Open your own company and ride the thrill. There's nothing like it.

Don't quit cold turkey. Do it progressively.

Post: #30

Everything you do is a gamble. It's also part of your male instinct to take risks for rewards. Instead of trying to fight it I find it better to channel it to avenues where your losses are controlled. Buying property or blue chips stocks you are likely to lose some but not all your money. It's easier said than done but you have to figure out an avenue where you can't lose. Trump always tries to put himself in a win-win scenario and he's always mitigating his losses by avoiding risk.

Online Poker has several issues. Most problematic is that you will never know whether you are playing an honest game. I also believe based on experience and analysis that the game is rigged. I mean in worse ways than the casino but with no oversight. The only way to truly "win" in poker is a big payout at a big tournament but those are expensive to get entry into and even harder to place in.

Post: #31

By the way Dostoyesky was also a gambler, he would go to a casino and loose all of his money purposly so he could write again. That's how he forced himself to be creative again. So I wouldn't say gambling is beta like someone earlier mention here, nor is it alpha, everyone has different motivation to gamble.

I figure learning the game could actually help me, like approaching women, it is also like a gamble you have no idea what will happen, you could get rejected, fail miserably, but also you could get laid, have a threesome, fall in love anything can happen.

Post: #32

The more people I meet with addictions, the less I actually believe in addiction.

Gambling is one I really have an issue with. You have a disease that makes you play roulette? Really.

I've recently been going and helping out at a facility that helps homeless and sick veterans. Most of the guys there have some form of addiction.

Over the years I've met lots of gambling, alcohol, drug, hooker and various other addicts.

One common thing amongst all of them, be it the veterans or my uncle that couldn't leave the strip joint, they all need attention.

Op, with all due respect, is this this actually the problem?

People need to borrow money from mom to gamble or because they need mommy's love?

Same with alcoholics, do they really have a disease that makes them hang out in bars, or do they just want people to be worried about them?

Aloha!

Post: #33

It´s a weakness. Your weak. Somebody is taking advantage of you and your letting. Not only you let it but continuously ask for more. Every time you gamble you are just putting money in someone else pocket. That´s it. The casinos are fucking you right in the ass. And you beg for more. How is that possible? How can someone voluntarily wants to be taken advantage. Because you know you can´t win. Right. You can´t win. Why do you do it? Why are you so weak to be taken advantage by some rich casino owner. He grabs your cash and splash it in a great car, a fucking Porsche with your money. Loooll. He eats fine cuisine. With your cash. And it´s not enough you want to give him more. And more. But you don´t have to. He´s already rich you know. Stop giving him money. Stop paying other peoples vacations. Stop it.
You know what you could do? Give the money directly to the casino owner. Save some time.

I could never do this. Give the life which is mine to someone else.

You wanna pass through bad moments go to bed late. When life gets too strong. I go to bed at 03 am. And wake up at 07 am. I´m so fucked in the head the day is completely blurred. A fire can start won´t even notice.

This gambler I knew. I told him to buy houses under his kids name. He can´t sell them without a court order. Because their minors. A guy who was studying to be a dentist. Ended up as a real estate broker (no offence to brokers) still making six figures. Sleeping on a concrete floor. Once he asked me for some money. He was not happy giving his money to the casino. He also wanted to give mine. No way.

Post: #34

Splitting four 8s into 20,20,19,18 vs a dealer showing 6 and then drawing 21 cured me.

Post: #35

Can you gamble online just for fun? No money attached?

Post: #36

(02-16-2017 06:03 PM)Kona Wrote:  The more people I meet with addictions, the less I actually believe in addiction.

Gambling is one I really have an issue with. You have a disease that makes you play roulette? Really.

I've recently been going and helping out at a facility that helps homeless and sick veterans. Most of the guys there have some form of addiction.

Over the years I've met lots of gambling, alcohol, drug, hooker and various other addicts.

One common thing amongst all of them, be it the veterans or my uncle that couldn't leave the strip joint, they all need attention.

Op, with all due respect, is this this actually the problem?

People need to borrow money from mom to gamble or because they need mommy's love?

Same with alcoholics, do they really have a disease that makes them hang out in bars, or do they just want people to be worried about them?

Aloha!

Don't really got your point. I am not borrowing money from anyone, never have. Only one person actually knows about my addiction, but I never complain about it. To be honest I feel kind of embarased to tell feiends or family. That's why I started this thread, I know there are people out there who have gone through similar thing.

Post: #37

(02-16-2017 10:16 PM)Sonoma Wrote:  Can you gamble online just for fun? No money attached?

Do you mean for play money? Well I don't think the odds are the same, they probably are different for play money in favor of player of course.

Post: #38

Hey I'm on my phone so I can't quote properly, but this post is regarding the stock market comment I made earlier.

Stocks are just as much of a gamble as games online or in a casino, except there is one difference.

The expected value of a stock is the current price.

This means that, if you make a $50k trade on a thousand shares of a pretty liquid $50 stock, the expected loss on your trade is probably just the $7 (or whatever) commission that you paid. Plus maybe $5 in bid/offer spread.

If you want to turn up the heat, you can buy a more volatile stock.

Volatility means that if you win, you win big, and if you lose, you lose big.

I think this is one way to get the same excitement, while also being able to manage your expected costs/losses.

And one benefit is, putting your attention towards the stock market will force you to satisfy your gambling urges during market hours.

Post: #39

I know a couple of gamblers with the stock market or forex or other forms of trading as their vice. Let's just say that going into the stock market as a gambler addicted to cards is like offering a pot smoker some heroin to get his mind of marihuana.

Read "addiction by design", it's one of my favorite books. If you are a gambling addict, it will destroy your life unless you walk away. I have nothing to offer you, besides words of encouragement and sympathy.

Get help, my friend.

Post: #40

Go to Gamblers Anonymous and stop dicking around. There are a lot of people who disdain 12-step programs, but unless you've actually been in the grips of an addiction---your opinion is just armchair quarterbacking.

I don't necessarily believe gambling is a "disease" but it is a compulsion. And compulsive behavior, unchecked, gets worse.

You have to a) stop gambling b) create new habits and c) dig into whatever issues you have that are making you behave this way.

Post: #41

Read up about 12 step programs. Most of them are complete bullshit nowadays.

Then reason they have been successful (the numbers are actually shockingly low) is because they are the only option out there. Those people would have probably quit whatever it is anyway.

Read about the 13th step. Number one, that's when a senior member withers rips off new people for money, rapes them, or does some hint generally bad. The thirteenth step happening to an alcoholic is more likely than them getting sober. When you factor in the amount of people required by courts to go there, that number is understandable. If a violent criminal mentions alcohol in any way at all, a judge will throw mandatory AA into their probation. Crazy.

The other side to the 13th step goes back to bill w. The whole premise of AA is that without it, you are going to die. Tragedy is on the way.

When they used to build hanging gallows they had twelve steps up, and the last one was the hanging itself. So 12 steps up, but if you fail the last step is death.

They created another addiction, AA itself. Watch out dudes.

Aloha!

Post: #42

(02-18-2017 06:16 PM)Kona Wrote:  Read up about 12 step programs. Most of them are complete bullshit nowadays.

Then reason they have been successful (the numbers are actually shockingly low) is because they are the only option out there. Those people would have probably quit whatever it is anyway.

Read about the 13th step. Number one, that's when a senior member withers rips off new people for money, rapes them, or does some hint generally bad. The thirteenth step happening to an alcoholic is more likely than them getting sober. When you factor in the amount of people required by courts to go there, that number is understandable. If a violent criminal mentions alcohol in any way at all, a judge will throw mandatory AA into their probation. Crazy.

The other side to the 13th step goes back to bill w. The whole premise of AA is that without it, you are going to die. Tragedy is on the way.

When they used to build hanging gallows they had twelve steps up, and the last one was the hanging itself. So 12 steps up, but if you fail the last step is death.

They created another addiction, AA itself. Watch out dudes.

Aloha!

i concur with almost EVERYTHING you wrote, KONA. out of DOZENS of people who have been to VARIOUS AA programs (NA and such included) i've met a total of ONE who has MADE IT due to the program.

Post: #43

Much more distractions and bad inputs from the outside likely make AA programs less likely to succeed in recent years compared to day, 25-30 years ago.

Post: #44

I am becoming slowly addicted to betting. At a point I was getting 50 euros a day (1/30 of my month salary) so I was looking forward to double my salary. The thing is that I am actually quite good at predicting matches. The problem is that when I get it right, most of the time I did not bet a lot. When I gamble more is where I lose most often.

Right now I am barely at +0, and I will make sure I never go below that.

Post: #45

There´s too many factors. This is like speculating in stocks. There are so many factors you can´t predict everything.

A lunatic in Florida was going to bomb Target supermarkets just to buy the stock cheaper. You could have made all the technical analysis you wanted. How could you predict this?

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/af06e3c8-41b...ed-to.html

This is for sports gambling.

Casino is just for pure suckers. Or geniuses who can count cards.

Post: #46

(02-16-2017 03:52 PM)matt Wrote:  By the way Dostoyesky was also a gambler, he would go to a casino and loose all of his money purposly so he could write again. That's how he forced himself to be creative again.

Post: #47

(02-13-2017 03:33 PM)Peregrine Wrote:  

(02-13-2017 09:58 AM)polymath Wrote:  What about the stock market?

I don't know if that's a good idea. It's no different than the casino.

it's not a good idea - the op needs to get OFF the adrenaline roller-coaster - and switching to "methadone" ain't gonna work long-term - but stock market is SO NOT like a casino. ever heard of michael burry?

Post: #48

Michael Burry is the 0.01%. He made a fortune by making bets that assume everyone else is wrong. OP is more likely to belong to "everyone else" then being the new Michael Bury, and he should kick his gambling habit before he tries to disprove this.

I know more people who lost a lot of money in the stock market then through betting. And I spent many hours in casinos and private games.

Not saying Op shouldn't invest. But if he does, let it be for the right reasons.

Post: #49

(02-19-2017 12:49 PM)asdfk Wrote:  Michael Burry is the 0.01%. He made a fortune by making bets that assume everyone else is wrong. OP is more likely to belong to "everyone else" then being the new Michael Bury, and he should kick his gambling habit before he tries to disprove this.

I know more people who lost a lot of money in the stock market then through betting. And I spent many hours in casinos and private games.

Not saying Op shouldn't invest. But if he does, let it be for the right reasons.

i agree that burry is TOP-NOTCH - or i wouldn't mention him - but i don't feel like he was making "bets". he actually saw the TRUTH of housing market crash and cashed in on it. there was no "betting" involved.

i'm also positive that the op should stay away from trading. i brought up michael burry to counteract the common "survivorship bias" refrain.

Post: #50

Hi,

Similar to yourself I used to play online blackjack but also everything else, mostly lost of course in the long run and had a few larger losses I could have done without.

The gambling industry is big and they know how to attract people to play and of course the games are designed to get people coming back, some people are more likely to come back more than others, of course society then call these people for better or worse addicts. Another perspective could be that these addicts are people who like the thrill of winning and like to take risks to gain wealth and improve their lives, as man created money it can be far to easy to go from spending £1 on a fruit machine to losing £2k in a night without any immediate consequence to your life, this is what makes it hard to stop.

I would forget the stock market if your looking for a short term thrill unless you have the capital and want to do it full time as things like day trading can destroy your funds if your inexperienced, especially with low amounts as you can often get caught up in fees.

What I would suggest is shifting your focus and the energy that you put into gambling, into something else like a business, if your losing your money every month and living paycheck to paycheck. Here is a simple example, how about this month you invest all your money that you would have gambled into some products that you can try to sell for a profit, its a gamble if your just getting started but that is why your here!

The buying and reselling is just one thing you can start but what I have found from people who have been addicted to gambling, is that they often have a drive if pushed in the right direction can change that energy into something positive.

Hope this helps, if you become rich from this let me know