Post: #51

(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.

Yes exactly right, he was in a position to make those bets which the average joe will not be in.

If you have a large amount of money to invest, have experience in the field, contacts and know how everything works then a calculated bet/invest can work out, but for everyone else it is a gamble.

Post: #52

How do you guys gamble on online? I see some people playing blackjack or poker online. In the end, computer give you the hands. How do you know that there's no cheating?

Post: #53

I lost 4k on a hockey bet, haven't gambled much since and that was over 5 years ago. I learned a lesson, although I must admit I do like gambling. I plan to gamble a bit in the future but only a couple times a year.

Post: #54

I get this strong troll / been here before indication. In two days OP goes from "addicted" to agreeing to quit cold turkey, and will replace it with "game." Ok good luck then...

OP says he spends all his checks down to zero on gambling. So from this we can infer he is living off someone else such as parents. The actions make the value of the work zero. So maybe you don't owe the cage any money but you repudiate your own value and throw away the fruit of your work. This is not adrenaline.

Real gambling addicts as far as i understand it are addicted to losing, not to some "adrenaline." If you are an adrenaline junkie I'll see you down at the track or the luge, to drive not to gamble.

This observation about gamblers wanting to lose was first made by James Dines in the book Mass Psychology.

http://www.financialsense.com/node/7493

Here is another article:

http://www.whywesuffer.com/problem-gambl...to-losing/

Post: #55

(02-14-2017 04:37 PM)WhatTheFuck Wrote:  My vice used to be online poker (NL Texas Holdem) but I didn't really call it gambling back then. Back in the heyday around 2006-2008 it was honestly like printing money. Easy $$$. Anyway, as the competition got more fierce my bankroll management slowly went out the window. I started losing a lot chasing those big paydays that used to come easily. Long story short I managed to get pretty much my whole identity caught up in this idea of becoming a professional online poker player. Several of my friends ended up dropping out of college to pursue this dream with disastrous results. When it was good it was good but the downswings were brutal. Definitely possible to be profitable over the long term if your disciplined, but the stress was eating me alive not to mention fueling all my other vices like partying. Drink away a big loss, celebrate a big win, etc. No way to live. It takes a special kind of person to succeed in that world and to be able to grind it out day after day without imploding. Even among the most disciplined players, the addictive nature of the sport along with the allure of the big win will cause almost everyone to self destruct and go bankrupt in the end.

The only people I have ever known to be successful longterm in poker are those who are being staked by investors. Playing with someone else's money takes a lot of stress out of the equation and adds a layer of accountability which helps one practice discipline and proper bankroll management. Although, in order to get to the point where someone will stake you is a long road in and of itself and often involves quite a lot of luck.

One thing you should know about playing blackjack, roulette, and slots on the online casinos is that it is quite literally lighting your money on fire. It used to be a well known fact among the online grinders in the poker community that the casino games were heavily rigged. Despite what the sites will tell you these games are not random chance like they'd have you believe. Most of them have carefully engineered algorithms designed to cheat/screw you out of your money. Due to the lack of regulations in the online industry there is simply no accountability and thus no reason for them to practice integrity. I remember back when Party Poker was still around I decided to play the black tables and all was good for a while, slowly winning money. As soon as I decided to up the stakes, BAM the worst bad luck streak ever. If I remember right, the odds were less than 1% of having a losing streak that bad by chance alone but somehow in a matter of about 15 minutes I managed to burn through over $2000 on $100 and $200 bets. That was a wakeup call.

At least in online poker you could be pretty certain in most cases that the house wasn't screwing you. They just took their little cut out of every pot and were satisfied with that. Even then you still had the problems of bots infiltrating the games every now and then, or rogue staff who had cheating software that allowed them to see other players cards. In addition, you had the fact that some of these sites would just randomly ban players and steal their money without any notice or justifiable explanation. Even Full Tilt which was well regarded in the online community turned out to have a giant shady pyramid scheme going on behind the scenes, and a lot of people got screwed back in 2011 when Black Friday happened.

Online gaming really is like the wild west man so tread carefully. If after all this you still find you must gamble, do yourself a favor and go to a real life brick and mortar casino to hit the blackjack table. At least then you can be guaranteed you are getting a fair shake even though you will probably still end up losing.

Amazing post, I can relate with all you said about poker.

I've been gambling since I was 13, now in my 30's.

Played a lot of poker, break even player live (2-5 NL), terrible player online.

Lost thousands of hours, also played heavily blackjack and roulette, but kind of had good streaks, so I did not lose too much, more in poker.

My question to you: Do you still play poker sometimes?

Can one renounce to poker definitely?

It's such a tough game to beat.

Post: #56

I have a bit of a poker 'problem' too. Been playing almost three years and very much a losing player (though things are improving and I am frequently up but just find it hard to leave the table and then tend to tilt it off). Biggest issue is that I am trying to start a business atm and that cash is so important as I need to sign a shop lease and need working capital. I have just about enough to d what I need to do for my business barring any major problems. I have just told myself to see Poker as an expensive hobby and for now probs just play like once a month for 100bbs on 1-2. I find it is much more enjoyable that way where you do not have the pressure to win.

Post: #57

(02-23-2017 03:34 PM)Curunír Wrote:  

(02-14-2017 04:37 PM)WhatTheFuck Wrote:  ...

Amazing post, I can relate with all you said about poker.

I've been gambling since I was 13, now in my 30's.

Played a lot of poker, break even player live (2-5 NL), terrible player online.

Lost thousands of hours, also played heavily blackjack and roulette, but kind of had good streaks, so I did not lose too much, more in poker.

My question to you: Do you still play poker sometimes?

Can one renounce to poker definitely?

It's such a tough game to beat.

Since I got offline I still play home games occasionally, but that's more for fun than anything. I'm talking like .25c/.50c games. I don't really play anything higher than that because I can't stomach the losses anymore. Losing more than a hundred dollars in a game makes me sick these days.

I did have a brief return to online poker a few years back when I moved to New Zealand and could get on Pokerstars again. What I found was that the competition has gotten ridiculous. Without the American players, the market has been flooded with third world grinders that take the low stakes games incredibly seriously and have really raised the bar. I didn't even fuck with the higher stakes games. I also don't think I was playing at the same level I used to being out of practice, but man I was getting crushed.

I still love poker though and doubt I'll ever give it up entirely.

Every once in a while I'll get a craving to play some tourneys and throw $50 on Bovada to fuck around with for a few days in some low stakes mtt's, but I don't expect much out of it. Honestly, I don't even trust that their games are legit since I can't see the player names it's ripe for corruption and cheating...but I have to say I am positive on that site overall, both in poker and sports betting and they've always payed me out. Got a few thousand off Trump's win there back in November. Their casino games are definitely rigged though that's an instant loss if you mess with those.

Now that I am back living in my hometown a lot of my old crew still lives here and being the bunch of degenerates we are we've been known to gamble on literally anything. Anytime we get together there will definitely be some low stakes bets going down on something, normally whatever activity we happen to be doing. Our new thing is bowling actually. Once a week we get together to bowl like 6 or 7 games and throw some money down, proves to be a lot of fun.

Post: #58

When you play in a casino, you are betting against an opponent who has made the rules.

It's beta to be a gambler. It's alpha to be the casino.

Post: #59

My vice is poker. Specifically live low limit 1/2 and 2/5.

For many years I was a consistent winning player but for the past few I've been slightly below breakeven. It's easy to blame it on variance but the truth is I just have a hard time leaving the table. Another factor is that the room I play now has set hours. The disciplined regs hit and run or are results oriented. I tend to stay till the bitter end and get sucked into the inevitable donk fest for the last hour the room is open. This is the biggest leak in my game which I'm working on.

To the poster above. Poker is the only casino game where your opponent has no built in statistical advantage. In fact it's the only game where you can place a bet knowing you will win the pot with absolute certainty. As for the rake, I view it as cost of doing business. A small seat rental fee.

Post: #60

I was really into gambling when I was younger, these days I work too hard for my money with it to piss it away, especially on an outcome I have no control over.

Have you tried to figure out what's at the root of it? Is it a love for the risk or adrenaline or is it wanting to make money?

IF it's wanting to make money I would try to funnel that energy into an actual business where you actually have control over the outcome.

Post: #61

For half of university I played copious amounts of online poker. I viewed it as a potential hobby to make money, so bought a few books to learn the fundamentals. Then I signed up for a poker site, and played free games to practice.

Then the site asked me one day if I'd like $2 for free to play the real money tables. So tried my luck at the 2c/4c tables, had some success, and moved progressively up as I made more and more. Now granted, this takes an education, and you aren't going to get rich. I spent more time on two plus two poker forums then than I do now on RVF. Finally I settled into 3/6 and 5/10, and 10/20 and grinded it out. I stuck with limit as it's more about the numbers than the players, and odds calculations were happening every hand in my head. I tracked every session in excel. Sometimes daily swings of $1000 one way or another. I was basically doing this from a laptop while I worked on engineering homework, so since you should be folding ~75% of hands preflop, it was a lot of "fold" then go back to school work - so less of a waste of time. I played for about 2.5 years from mid '04 to late '06.

Ended finally because I didn't want to sit at a computer after a graduation grinding it out, competition and transaction laws were becoming considerably more restrictive, and eventually you see everything (lost 4 of a kind once, another times 4 Aces 4 times in one night) and the rush wears off. I ultimately came out of it with about 11k US, hourly rate of about $9, some 1200 hours sitting at a computer, and an edge of roughly 4%. Or I could "expect" 1.04 for every $1 put in a pot. Which means ~$250k passed through my hands.

Finally, all that said, while interesting it was mainly about the money. So it's doable, but not easy. I've read almost a dozen books on poker, tracked the numbers meticulously, and would never knowingly take a -EV bet, which unfortunately all of casino games are. I can't help but laugh when I hear someone say "they're good at predicting numbers". I approached this with a actuaries mindset, and forgot the idea of a quick payday.

Edit: Apologies if posting a rare success tale on a gambling addiction thread is poor taste, but figured could help people understand the effort that goes into succeeding, even marginally.

Post: #62

(02-20-2017 12:40 AM)Off The Reservation Wrote:  Real gambling addicts as far as i understand it are addicted to losing, not to some "adrenaline." If you are an adrenaline junkie I'll see you down at the track or the luge, to drive not to gamble.

This observation about gamblers wanting to lose was first made by James Dines in the book Mass Psychology.

http://www.financialsense.com/node/7493

Here is another article:

http://www.whywesuffer.com/problem-gambl...to-losing/

From encountering and dealing with many degen gamblers in my life due to being essentially a professional gambler, this doesn't seem quite right to me.

Gambling addicts are much more interested in the action; that is the high that they get from having the money dance in front of their eyes in that unknown moment as to whether it will be gone or whether it will come back with friends. It's the same high that one would get from watching a ball game with something on the line, only much more severe as they would get the same thing from something simple like the roll of the dice or the pull of the one armed bandit. Winning or losing doesn't really matter; the emotional swings from the winning or losing also feed into the high, and the end result just compels the degen to keep money dancing or doing something even if that something is utterly stupid.

It strikes me that many of people who become gambling addicts either lack the focus or the discipline to stop themselves from getting engrossed in the high and terminating that death spiral. It's not necessarily their fault either; some people are just born that way as I have also met many people who should have known better and have taught themselves to know better but screw up anyways (like one guy I know who is a winning bond handicapper by profession that constantly pisses away large chunks of his winnings on craps), and if you do it too much it is quite hard to stay disciplined.

Even for myself, I have to stop watching some certain types of bets that I make because I would otherwise be tempted to screw them up due to gambler's high, and I'm a professional.

Staying away from gambling and recognizing that most gambles only result in being stupid ways to lose money only forms part of the solution, IMO. From what I've seen, perhaps it's also necessary to channel yourself into something that requires you to build focus or discipline in a constructive manner, so that on the off chance that you have to stare that gambling high in the face you can walk away without a second thought. Maybe martial arts, sports, drawing, giving public speeches, or some other hobby that requires high focus or concentration would work. I feel that those types of people need to have a reserve of focus or discipline to stop themselves in those danger moments.

Post: #63

(02-17-2017 06:12 AM)asdfk Wrote:  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.

Excellent advice.

Anyway, now to my own situation. I didn't think I had gambling addiction, but just now, I almost made a bet I could not afford losing, because I had a hunch the betting markets would change.

Post: #64

Yesterday I woke up and decided poker needed to go. I went to a local racetrack and completed an application to self-ban myself from all casinos and online gaming sites in NJ for 5 years. I got my photo taken and everything so security could identify me and kick me out if need be.

I never kept track but I think I was a winning live player. I bought dozens of books, watched videos, spent tons of time studying. I ran my 1/2 stack up to around $2k on three occasions this year and cashed in a few tournaments.

The negatives of playing just became too much to justify the moments of excitement and the prospect of winning. I often purposely avoided making plans with friends and family so that I would have more free time, which I could later rationalize should be used to play cards. Win or lose, I usually had to pay my chiro every week to undo the damage caused from sitting so much. I secretly wished girls would flake or social events would be cancelled so I could go to the casino instead. When I played, I ate shitty Wawa sandwiches, or even worse, nothing at all.

I relied on poker for the past eight or so years to numb the pain of a miserable relationship, then a struggling and failed business venture. It allowed me to shut off my brain without the need for alcohol or drugs, which I thought was a good thing at the time.

I know I made the right choice, but I'm a really nervous about what I'm going to do with all this extra free time now. Hopefully I'll use it in a positive way. We shall see...

Post: #65

(07-10-2017 01:12 PM)Eddie Winslow Wrote:  Yesterday I woke up and decided poker needed to go. I went to a local racetrack and completed an application to self-ban myself from all casinos and online gaming sites in NJ for 5 years. I got my photo taken and everything so security could identify me and kick me out if need be.

I never kept track but I think I was a winning live player. I bought dozens of books, watched videos, spent tons of time studying. I ran my 1/2 stack up to around $2k on three occasions this year and cashed in a few tournaments.

The negatives of playing just became too much to justify the moments of excitement and the prospect of winning. I often purposely avoided making plans with friends and family so that I would have more free time, which I could later rationalize should be used to play cards. Win or lose, I usually had to pay my chiro every week to undo the damage caused from sitting so much. I secretly wished girls would flake or social events would be cancelled so I could go to the casino instead. When I played, I ate shitty Wawa sandwiches, or even worse, nothing at all.

I relied on poker for the past eight or so years to numb the pain of a miserable relationship, then a struggling and failed business venture. It allowed me to shut off my brain without the need for alcohol or drugs, which I thought was a good thing at the time.

I know I made the right choice, but I'm a really nervous about what I'm going to do with all this extra free time now. Hopefully I'll use it in a positive way. We shall see...

Update: The following two weekends after I banned myself from all NJ casinos, I was going to PA to play there. After a particularly soul-crushing hand I walked straight to security and banned myself from PA casinos as well. Haven't played a hand of poker in 3 months.

That is until this past weekend. I drove to Maryland to go visit some friends from college, but they all wanted to lay low on Friday night and save their energy for Saturday, when we had plans for an event filled day. I found myself between DC and Baltimore with a hotel already booked for the night and nothing to do. Somehow I justified checking out the new casino in the area and playing some cards.

30 minutes after getting starting, I got rivered at the 1/2 table by some old lady who made a ridiculous snap call of my turn overshove with an open ended straight draw and of course she hit it. She highfived her neighbor and told me how she "knew what I had the whole time," then got up from the table three hands later with all of my money. I was fuming at her but moreso at myself. I punted off another 200 bucks before calling it a night in less than 2 hours.

I'm very grateful that I had a bad night. I didn't ban myself from MD casinos as well yet but I go out there very rarely and am certainly in no rush to go back anytime soon.

About 5 weeks ago, I started to get interested in betting football, and have been making small bets daily since. I've been on a great run and am up about $1500 since I started - $1300 of which I have already taken out of my account and invested in Bitcoin.

Although I've had some temporary success, it's easy to see how incredibly hard it is to beat sports and I've been far more disciplined than I have in the past. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I also feel and acknowledge the old blissful ignorance that following the scores gives me from addressing my problems and loneliness - I'm sure I'll find a way to ban myself from this as well sooner or later.

All in all, life has massively improved since I've quit poker, and I'm hoping Friday's small relapse was truly a one-time slip.

Post: #66

Matt , i ve been in the same situation although simply through sports betting.I cant recall the amount of money i ve lost in 10 years , but here are my advices

1- Confess to your closest circle of trust : your parents , brother , your 2 best friends . This will mean to them " this guy has the balls to tell me this " . You can also ask for official help
2- the most trustable of this circle takes in charge your cards, bank accounts etc... tell them i need x amount for my rent , i need x amount for my personal gifts or pleasure ( you will see that you can start doing a lot of things for yourself which dont cost much.. .should it be travelling , collectibles , some old video game etc.... ) make sure that this person always makes a transfer for you or gives you cash
3- call your bank and make sure that your account cannot go below 0 (not sure in english how to say it)
4-tell your wife if you have one and confess about your possible mood changes in the next 6 months)
5- just stay away from betting , casinos etc... go to every shop and ask every website to close your account. Add to your e-mail / letter " never re open my account even if i ask you again , without the consent of my father/brother etc (see point 1 and 2)
6- after a few months you will feel better . Try to save money and forget the past. you wont make the money back but look at the future

PS: stock trading and other type of speculative stuff contains risk. Do not deal with that. Use your time and money for more constructive things. Read books etc etc

Post: #67

(03-03-2017 07:49 PM)asdfk Wrote:  When you play in a casino, you are betting against an opponent who has made the rules.

It's beta to be a gambler. It's alpha to be the casino.

Casino's also makes the rules for Sports Betting as well but I won a lot. To the point, where 4 sportsbook banned me. 2 in USA and 1 English, 1 Scandinavian.

I never played poker or roulette though. Never ever played any cards, only sports betting.

I mean, when you play blackjack via online, how can you really prove if computer takes 20 to itself and give you 15 every single hand? You can't really.

But in sports betting, you can actually watch the game on tv. I doubt casino's would have any affect on the games where millions people watch it on tv. Even though, there are some examples.

Biggest I lost in betting was $10,000 on Champions League final, Bayern vs Chelsea and I bet on Bayern to win the game. Game was tied on last minute and eventually lost.

Biggest win was multiple actually. On big bets, over $10,000, I am 6-1.

Post: #68

I've had a ruinous gambling addiction in the past and can speak from experience on this. Here are a few key points about gambling:

1) Gambling is a losing proposition regardless of oddds.

You might be exceptionally lucky or have a smart and cautious "strategy", but in the end you will lose. The sheer nature of gambling necessitates it.

In other words, even if the odds are in your favor (and they never are - far from it), a player with limited resources still has no chance against a casino with unlimited resources. Persistently taking beneficial chances is never beneficial at the end because that one-in-a-million unlucky streak will happen to you sooner or later. This is referred to as Gambler's Ruin.

2) The concealment aspect of gambling is more destructive than the financial one.

If you are a guy who genuinely plays now and then for a fun pastime, you'll just lose money slowly like you would with any everyday vice. But if you're playing while trying to hide it from someone, you will automatically play recklessly because the urge to "win big before someone can discover what you're doing" pushes you to make unreasonably high/risky bets and lose everything quickly. Same applies to playing because of a health, relationship or similar problem - a self-destructive urge added on top of all that will only make things worse.

3) Even if you win, you still lose.

Gambling winnings are ethereal. Because of their sudden and unpredictable nature, gambling winnings do not function in the same way as other money that you earned through honest work or investment. There is a significantly higher chance of using them to:

a) gamble even more and with higher amounts (because "hey, why not win again or even more?"),
b) make speculative, gambling-like investments (because "hey, it's 'free money' so no biggie if you lose it?"),
c) make purchases that do not correspond to your regular income and lifestyle (because "hey, you deserve to treat yourself after getting lucky")

Either way, none of that money will end up in a savings account or mortgage payments. There's a reason why most jackpot winners are bankrupt a few years later.

The best bet in gambling is simply to not make one at all.

Post: #69

(02-13-2017 05:54 AM)matt Wrote:  Has anyone here have gone through a gambling addiction? And how did you manage to overcome it? I have been gambling for about last six months, thankfully I haven't got myself into debt so far, but there have been times when I lost everything and was so close to it. I just cant stop, for me its not just the money, its adrenaline you get when gambling that keeps me addicted. Now I dont earn much, but it still sucks when you loose your weekly wages just to feed your addiction.

Yes I have. On & off since like 2008 probably. I still struggle with the temptation to this very day. Sports betting is a hell of a drug. And I NEVER knew when to cash out. There were times when I coulda cashed out BIGGGGGG! Back in 2011 I should've cashed out a $70K+ balance. Guess what? I lost the whole thing, lol!

Then even earlier this year saw a balance of $40K+. Guess what? POOF!, GONE! LOL. Yo get this bro. The $40K+ balance had I left it in Bitcoins, coulda became $750K!!! But yeah, my timing & luck ended up completely off. I'm using this as inspiration to pick up the microphone and do some music shit I've been dreaming of doing for more than a decade now. I know how to get in contact with some pretty big producers & I have some crazy ideas. I have no fear of what the hell anyone thinks. I've been through a divorce recently (I have a kid too) & almost every millionaire I've observed wouldn't be where they are today if they listened to the critics. The job I recently took decided to part ways with me rather abruptly. My credit accounts are largely shot, but I have a few small gasps of capital & a couple other hustles sustaining me. I'm ready to make history & I don't care if I die trying! This is bigger than gaming chicks!

I'm aware some of you might think I need to go see a shrink, and I'm totally fine with that! I'm actually feeling more liberated than ever today in some ways! Full disclosure, I'm 34 & also in the best shape of my life now after several months of cutting back immensely on alcohol, hitting the gym way more, and sticking to a protein heavier diet. I'm also 6 feet tall. I'm an attractive looking minority, not Caucasian. I get complimented by chicks more than ever on my looks alone. I used to lack confidence & swagger as a younger guy. I got swagger for days now if you want it. Now I just need to multiply these stacks again and hopefully not via sports betting.

Post: #70

I made a lot (at the time at least) of money playing poker at the casino during university. Go there sober and exploit drunk people, was really just a case of patience and waiting until you had the nuts hand and then cleanup. Hardest parts were playing patient and if there was another player or two doing the same as you as it made the strategy a lot harder. Still would make far more tax free dollars in a couple of nights than working 30 hours while at uni, was actually a pretty reliable source of income but there could be weekends where you made nothing and it was a massive social cost to pay as you gave up the weekend nights to do it. This was when the casino first got tables and even after the 18 months or so that I did it there was a noticeable increase in like-minded folks doing it, I imagine now it's just sharks eating prey.

Online I only really ever played for fun, stuck to tournaments as I enjoyed that format more, would be up somewhere around 10k which would probably work out to an hourly rate of like $2 or something if you worked it out, maybe slightly better... Also enjoy playing with friends who actually are refreshing from playing online because they're so incredibly bad that it makes the games random. Online it's basically an autistic dream of following rules based on hands and flops, when you play with friends there are always a couple of guys who will play any hand which makes it both very difficult, the 2s full of 7s house is always in play, but also so random. I'd never play high stakes with them because it wouldn't be the same (like $50 buyin type games max with friends).

I've been a very successful gambler but I don't do it basically at all anymore, I'd like to play some online poker again but it requires being in a country that allows it, sports betting the bookies are now too alert on all the things I ever won on and in general to try and beat them anymore.

Having said that, I'm very lucky in that I don't have an addictive personality at all, gambling addiction is an evil beast from what I've seen, one of the worst of them all.

Post: #71

I gamble a few times a week, I only bet on sports. I bet with very small stakes that I wont miss. Its really just for fun and makes the whole experience of watching the game live more entertaining. Although I am very knowledgeable and don't place silly bets for the sake of it, I only bet if I genuinely expect it to win. I've had months where I've made several hundreds profit but also months where I've lost a fair bit, nothing to the point where I'd be in trouble though, whenever I go on a losing run its almost always due to losing discipline and start betting on silly things for the sake of it or chasing my losses. Lately I've really improved and haven't had anything like that for several months.

Its good to set yourself a monthly or weekly balance what you can afford to lose if you like a gamble regularly, say its 100$, then as soon as you lose that amount you don't bet anymore until the next period whether that be a week or a month. I'm also going to start a spreadsheet to track my monthly win/loss from January. I wont track every individual bet as its too time consuming, but only deposits into my account vs withdrawals.

Post: #72

(12-29-2017 11:03 AM)_Samo_ Wrote:  I gamble a few times a week, I only bet on sports. I bet with very small stakes that I wont miss. Its really just for fun and makes the whole experience of watching the game live more entertaining. Although I am very knowledgeable and don't place silly bets for the sake of it, I only bet if I genuinely expect it to win. I've had months where I've made several hundreds profit but also months where I've lost a fair bit, nothing to the point where I'd be in trouble though, whenever I go on a losing run its almost always due to losing discipline and start betting on silly things for the sake of it or chasing my losses. Lately I've really improved and haven't had anything like that for several months.

Its good to set yourself a monthly or weekly balance what you can afford to lose if you like a gamble regularly, say its 100$, then as soon as you lose that amount you don't bet anymore until the next period whether that be a week or a month. I'm also going to start a spreadsheet to track my monthly win/loss from January. I wont track every individual bet as its too time consuming, but only deposits into my account vs withdrawals.

Having a spreadsheet that tracks all your results, by sport, type of bet and whatever else is a super powerful tool. It's amazing sometimes how well you can think you're doing and it turns out your terrible at it and vice versa. I had a short period where I was thinking of gambling full time (long story short my accounts got limited for success and it was a lot of hassle to try and get around this and I wasn't enjoying watching the sports so I stopped) and I thought I was doing well on NFL, NCAAF and AFL and badly on the NBA when I was actually doing far better on NBA than the NFL or NCAAF (AFL was a clear top sport for me). Long term the problem is your account being limited, the margins are small and being limited to $5 bets makes it a futile process.

Nowadays I only bet on sports for games I'd otherwise have no interest in, so finals between neutral teams and the like. It certainly is more fun to have a horse in the race so to speak.

Post: #73

(12-29-2017 10:17 AM)JimBobsCooters Wrote:  I made a lot (at the time at least) of money playing poker at the casino during university. Go there sober and exploit drunk people, was really just a case of patience and waiting until you had the nuts hand and then cleanup. Hardest parts were playing patient and if there was another player or two doing the same as you as it made the strategy a lot harder. Still would make far more tax free dollars in a couple of nights than working 30 hours while at uni, was actually a pretty reliable source of income but there could be weekends where you made nothing and it was a massive social cost to pay as you gave up the weekend nights to do it. This was when the casino first got tables and even after the 18 months or so that I did it there was a noticeable increase in like-minded folks doing it, I imagine now it's just sharks eating prey.

Online I only really ever played for fun, stuck to tournaments as I enjoyed that format more, would be up somewhere around 10k which would probably work out to an hourly rate of like $2 or something if you worked it out, maybe slightly better... Also enjoy playing with friends who actually are refreshing from playing online because they're so incredibly bad that it makes the games random. Online it's basically an autistic dream of following rules based on hands and flops, when you play with friends there are always a couple of guys who will play any hand which makes it both very difficult, the 2s full of 7s house is always in play, but also so random. I'd never play high stakes with them because it wouldn't be the same (like $50 buyin type games max with friends).

I've been a very successful gambler but I don't do it basically at all anymore, I'd like to play some online poker again but it requires being in a country that allows it, sports betting the bookies are now too alert on all the things I ever won on and in general to try and beat them anymore.

Having said that, I'm very lucky in that I don't have an addictive personality at all, gambling addiction is an evil beast from what I've seen, one of the worst of them all.

My understanding is that professional or hobbyist poker players tend to have a different profile than that of a true gambling addict. They aren't chasing the high from risk-taking in the same way. Which isn't to say there's no risk playing poker, the point isn't the gambling as much as it is the game itself. The risk-taking element is more in line with what you'd find in other competitive activities. You're unlikely to find that kind of player playing anything but poker (except maybe to experiment or for normal recreation). A gambler, meanwhile, might have a preferred game, but is also likely to chase the gambling high playing slots, roulette, scratch-off lottery tickets, or other purely luck-based activities that hold no appeal for the poker player.

When I've heard poker players talk about trying to quit playing poker,they tend to seem more disillusioned with the lifestyle and want to do something else with their life. It's less about overcoming a self-destructive compulsion than it is breaking out of a life or career rut.

Post: #74

Everytime I get a paycheck I spend $20 dollars on four $5 scratch off tickets at my local gas station.

I have never won more than 20 bucks. Not sure if worth it.

Post: #75

(10-31-2017 01:14 PM)Eddie Winslow Wrote:  

(07-10-2017 01:12 PM)Eddie Winslow Wrote:  Yesterday I woke up and decided poker needed to go. I went to a local racetrack and completed an application to self-ban myself from all casinos and online gaming sites in NJ for 5 years. I got my photo taken and everything so security could identify me and kick me out if need be.

I never kept track but I think I was a winning live player. I bought dozens of books, watched videos, spent tons of time studying. I ran my 1/2 stack up to around $2k on three occasions this year and cashed in a few tournaments.

The negatives of playing just became too much to justify the moments of excitement and the prospect of winning. I often purposely avoided making plans with friends and family so that I would have more free time, which I could later rationalize should be used to play cards. Win or lose, I usually had to pay my chiro every week to undo the damage caused from sitting so much. I secretly wished girls would flake or social events would be cancelled so I could go to the casino instead. When I played, I ate shitty Wawa sandwiches, or even worse, nothing at all.

I relied on poker for the past eight or so years to numb the pain of a miserable relationship, then a struggling and failed business venture. It allowed me to shut off my brain without the need for alcohol or drugs, which I thought was a good thing at the time.

I know I made the right choice, but I'm a really nervous about what I'm going to do with all this extra free time now. Hopefully I'll use it in a positive way. We shall see...

Update: The following two weekends after I banned myself from all NJ casinos, I was going to PA to play there. After a particularly soul-crushing hand I walked straight to security and banned myself from PA casinos as well. Haven't played a hand of poker in 3 months.

That is until this past weekend. I drove to Maryland to go visit some friends from college, but they all wanted to lay low on Friday night and save their energy for Saturday, when we had plans for an event filled day. I found myself between DC and Baltimore with a hotel already booked for the night and nothing to do. Somehow I justified checking out the new casino in the area and playing some cards.

30 minutes after getting starting, I got rivered at the 1/2 table by some old lady who made a ridiculous snap call of my turn overshove with an open ended straight draw and of course she hit it. She highfived her neighbor and told me how she "knew what I had the whole time," then got up from the table three hands later with all of my money. I was fuming at her but moreso at myself. I punted off another 200 bucks before calling it a night in less than 2 hours.

I'm very grateful that I had a bad night. I didn't ban myself from MD casinos as well yet but I go out there very rarely and am certainly in no rush to go back anytime soon.

About 5 weeks ago, I started to get interested in betting football, and have been making small bets daily since. I've been on a great run and am up about $1500 since I started - $1300 of which I have already taken out of my account and invested in Bitcoin.

Although I've had some temporary success, it's easy to see how incredibly hard it is to beat sports and I've been far more disciplined than I have in the past. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I also feel and acknowledge the old blissful ignorance that following the scores gives me from addressing my problems and loneliness - I'm sure I'll find a way to ban myself from this as well sooner or later.

All in all, life has massively improved since I've quit poker, and I'm hoping Friday's small relapse was truly a one-time slip.

Update 2019:

My one-year, self-imposed ban ended during the summer of 2018, just about the same time sports gambling began to get legalized in my area.

I was fine for a few months, but ultimately made a poor decision to get involved with betting college basketball again at the start of this season. I started off well, but then got smoked with the worst cold streak I've ever had - I went something like 2-23 on ATS bets in Dec-Jan. I started getting wrapped up in recouping losses, and soon rationalized that it was OK to spend all weekend at the casino again.

I played a 16 hour session during Super Bowl Sunday, got home at 2am, and stumbled into the office 5 hours later feeling like absolute trash from lack of sleep and back pain. I was also $400 poorer.

I felt like my time/life management was beginning to spiral out of control, so I decided to ban myself again on Monday, this time for 5 years.

I absolutely love my location-dependent career and care deeply about the people close to me, so I don't forsee myself leaving the country to start a new life like many other RVFers have. That being said, my personal/social life has suffered since moving away from the city and isolating myself alone in the suburbs. Mindlessly chasing pussy is rapidly losing its luster, but settling down into a serious relationship doesn't seem particularly interesting either. Drinking and partying are way less appealing than even two years ago. I don't have a particularly strong attraction to any activity beyond playing pickup basketball and (to a lesser extent) staying fit. Poker was by far my favorite hobby to pass the time, and now that's gone for a very long time, maybe (hopefully?) forever.

I know I made the right choice, but I don't know how I'm going to spend my free time anymore and it's freaking me out a bit. In the short term, I'm going to work longer hours, take a couple classes to improve my job skillset, and get back into stand-up comedy. I'm performing tomorrow night for the first time in three years, and hope to have a recording to share on the comedy thread. I'm also forcing myself to hit the club next weekend and focus on having a great time.

I have no choice but to do some hardcore self-reflection and find a new lifestyle that is fulfilling and meaningful to ME and ME only. I believe I ultimately can and will find it, which is the reason I decided to quit instead of fall any deeper into the destructive cycle. Regardless, I'm certain there will be a challenging and painful path to get there, wherever that is. Wish me luck.