Gambling

[Garage_Doors]

The only time I've gambled is on a handful of visits to Las Vegas where I've given myself a float of $20 to play the slot machines and if I accumulate $30 I'll walk away. Even that's not fun any longer since they stopped paying out quarters.

I noticed that when i was last there walking through the casino slot machines that it just prints a winning voucher, and some play a electronic noise simulation coins falling, but not very realistic.

 

[Billy Seagull]

I've always liked a bet and remember betting on the National and Cheltenham Festival as a kid and frequented many a bookie as a 16 -17 year old. Won a bit lost a bit and only recreational really. Started going to Brighton, Plumpton, Fontwell etc and joined the odd racing club, Full Circle was one. Also went to the dogs a lot and eventually bought a share in a dog at Hove which was the first way to the poorhouse. He got injured and was retired after 9 races and I've been three time since then, that was 2001. Didn't punt a huge amount but the jumps horses grabbed me again and I really got into and made a few quid here and there and the Cheltenham Festival has been very profitable for the last few years and I based my punting around the festival.

Then last year I stumbled over something which has won me unbelievable amounts of money and have gone through accounts like confetti. Rattled through nearly £30k profits last calendar year which all started with a few £15 bets and was something that was totally unexpected but I put a hell of a lot of work into and was doing it as well as my day job and was earning more tax free than the job. However, getting on was becoming increasingly hard and the market on Betfair became increasingly bad value which was hitting the bottom line. Profits in 2015 were 20%. 2016 proved much tougher due to a number of complete shaftings and not being able to get on but was chugging along nicely and was £12k up at the end of April when I was steaking anywhere from £100 to £500 a bet anywhere between once and seven times a day. Huge amounts considering my usual bet on the horses before 2015 was about £15/£20 and I was steaking 4 figures on most days but as it was all winnings it didn't matter. We moved house, spent a chunk on improvements and had some nice holidays and generally lived a nice lifestyle as a consequence. Then in May I lost best part of £3.5k from nowhere, which was quite challenging mentally and I didn't cope brilliantly with it and was a right grumpy git. One afternoon I had to go for a very long walk after a particularly bad shafting when I could easily have thrown the laptop through the window as I watched the end of a race where I had looked like winning but didn't, fortunately I didn't

Fortunately, I stopped for a bit, re-grouped and started again. I did a lot of work as to why May was shockingly bad, I mean why would something that was going along nicely at about 18% profit all of a sudden go to shit? Were the bookies getting better, had my luck run out, was the poor weather to blame? I never really got to the bottom of it and it certainly wasn't the books getting better So in June I started betting at £25, then upped to £30 and upwards. June scraped 4% profit but at about 25% of the previous steaks. I kept at it and July was a decent month with 21% profit with steaks now being upto about 35% of previous levels but the main difference was that I wasn't having too much trouble getting on which made life so much easier and the occasional shafting wasn't costing me small fortunes so easier to accept. August was poor and just got to 4% profit after an up and down month. September has been very good so far though with profits just under 30% and the £3.5k I lost in May has been slowly dragged back into my accounts. Overall 2016 sits at about 11% profit now.

I think I've learnt more about punting and myself in the last 6 months than I had for the previous 47 years I'm definitely a better and more patient punter as a result and am on a more even keel so the bad results don't hit me mentally like they used too, easy come easy go. I have details of every single bet I've had since January 2015, the amount of cash I've steaked is frightening for me really as its over a quarter of a million pounds. Handily the returns have just gone over £300k

I've no idea if this is going to work for years to come but I do know one thing, the bookies don't like it up em and I struggle to get 3 figures on anywhere now without being creative I'm on my 4th Hills account which is restricted to win 3 figures so not long left in that one. I know the markets inside out now and can smell a bad price from miles off and try to punish the books accordingly. When all else fails there are plenty of filthy arbing opportunities available when the books make a mistake which is fairly often. Although I think the kids call that match betting now

I've spent hundreds and hundreds of hours on this but they've all been worth it. My first bet doing this was a loser, the next five all won, the rest is history.

 

[maltaseagull]

My gambling is restricted to the office sweep stakes for the Grand National, Football Tournaments etc.

Outside of this I don't gamble

This. I cannot understand how anyone can think they can beat the system!

I have seen people in pubs changing £10 to £5 and 5 ones. Lose that on the fruit machine change the £5 to ones and lose that too then repeat the process.

When they win £50 it's a result but forget how much they have lost before that.

Not for me.

 

[Seagulltonian]

This thread's poster's appear to be split into 3 camps.
Those that don't gamble at all.
Those that have major winnings.
And, the Gambling addicts that have real problems with it.

I am in the third group. I have a major problem with gambling. Addictive personality, and a compulsive gambler. I'm now trying to seek help for my problem again.
Gambling was my stress relief for problems that I had in my life, and again I've fallen back to bad ways.

I've banned myself from all the shops within a 20 mile radius of home, but still gamble online. Luckily I don't have serious amounts of money to lose like I did in the past.

My gambling has caused relationship breakups, severe stress, and a suicide attempt. I'm still here to tell the tale.
My demons are the bookie roulette machines. I've had days were i have had £5,000 in my pocket from £100 starting stake. But 99 times out of 100, I've ended up losing it all and the stake money as well.

The killer now is how many sites there are online, with all the offers that they have.

The scary thing for me now is how many youngsters you see in betting shops, and the problems that we are creating for the future, and I can only see it all ending badly, with the government only interested in the tax pounds that they are getting from the bookies.

I attended Gamblers Anonymous in the deep distant past, and I did manage to stop totally for 6 months. Another scary thing about Gamblers Anonymous was the amount of highly intelligent people that had been bitten by the ******* that is gambling!

I just hope I can kick the habit again.

 

[pocketseagull]

Never been into gambling, doesn't really appeal.

Yet have to give thanks to NSC for making me aware that the bet365 in-play is a can't lose bet. I'd always seen those ads and thought there must be a catch but I've made near a grand in less than a year.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Another scary thing about Gamblers Anonymous was the amount of highly intelligent people that had been bitten by the ******* that is gambling!.

I think we're witnessing this on the Profit Squad thread.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

This thread's poster's appear to be split into 3 camps.
Those that don't gamble at all.
Those that have major winnings.
And, the Gambling addicts that have real problems with it.

I am in the third group. I have a major problem with gambling. Addictive personality, and a compulsive gambler. I'm now trying to seek help for my problem again.
Gambling was my stress relief for problems that I had in my life, and again I've fallen back to bad ways.

I've banned myself from all the shops within a 20 mile radius of home, but still gamble online. Luckily I don't have serious amounts of money to lose like I did in the past.

My gambling has caused relationship breakups, severe stress, and a suicide attempt. I'm still here to tell the tale.
My demons are the bookie roulette machines. I've had days were i have had £5,000 in my pocket from £100 starting stake. But 99 times out of 100, I've ended up losing it all and the stake money as well.

The killer now is how many sites there are online, with all the offers that they have.

The scary thing for me now is how many youngsters you see in betting shops, and the problems that we are creating for the future, and I can only see it all ending badly, with the government only interested in the tax pounds that they are getting from the bookies.

I attended Gamblers Anonymous in the deep distant past, and I did manage to stop totally for 6 months. Another scary thing about Gamblers Anonymous was the amount of highly intelligent people that had been bitten by the ******* that is gambling!

I just hope I can kick the habit again.

Sorry to hear this. I sincerely hope you can sort yourself out. Best wishes.

 

[Tarpon]

This thread's poster's appear to be split into 3 camps.
Those that don't gamble at all.
Those that have major winnings.
And, the Gambling addicts that have real problems with it.

I am in the third group. I have a major problem with gambling. Addictive personality, and a compulsive gambler. I'm now trying to seek help for my problem again.
Gambling was my stress relief for problems that I had in my life, and again I've fallen back to bad ways.

I've banned myself from all the shops within a 20 mile radius of home, but still gamble online. Luckily I don't have serious amounts of money to lose like I did in the past.

My gambling has caused relationship breakups, severe stress, and a suicide attempt. I'm still here to tell the tale.
My demons are the bookie roulette machines. I've had days were i have had £5,000 in my pocket from £100 starting stake. But 99 times out of 100, I've ended up losing it all and the stake money as well.

The killer now is how many sites there are online, with all the offers that they have.

The scary thing for me now is how many youngsters you see in betting shops, and the problems that we are creating for the future, and I can only see it all ending badly, with the government only interested in the tax pounds that they are getting from the bookies.

I attended Gamblers Anonymous in the deep distant past, and I did manage to stop totally for 6 months. Another scary thing about Gamblers Anonymous was the amount of highly intelligent people that had been bitten by the ******* that is gambling!

I just hope I can kick the habit again.

Good luck mate. I have the odd flutter (goes in phases) but this country definitely needs more regulation - it's everywhere.

 

[Scotty Mac]

FOBT's are a massive problem when it comes to gambling. I've stuck £10 in one for a couple of games of Blackjack and the next thing you know £50 has gone and that is betting just £2 a time. The sooner the government look at introducing a maximum stake that is far far lower than the £100 you can currently lose on a 20 second spin of roulette the better, even if it could have a serious knock on effect in terms of killing off the high street bookmakers

 

[indy3050]

Football accumulators. £2.50-£5 every night, win some lose some. A pint costs more than that, enjoyable and I learn more and more about clubs and their players too. Only ever play what I can afford to lose. Gambling can be fun if you play it properly.

 

[Swillis]

This thread's poster's appear to be split into 3 camps.
Those that don't gamble at all.
Those that have major winnings.
And, the Gambling addicts that have real problems with it.

I am in the third group. I have a major problem with gambling. Addictive personality, and a compulsive gambler. I'm now trying to seek help for my problem again.
Gambling was my stress relief for problems that I had in my life, and again I've fallen back to bad ways.

I've banned myself from all the shops within a 20 mile radius of home, but still gamble online. Luckily I don't have serious amounts of money to lose like I did in the past.

My gambling has caused relationship breakups, severe stress, and a suicide attempt. I'm still here to tell the tale.
My demons are the bookie roulette machines. I've had days were i have had £5,000 in my pocket from £100 starting stake. But 99 times out of 100, I've ended up losing it all and the stake money as well.

The killer now is how many sites there are online, with all the offers that they have.

The scary thing for me now is how many youngsters you see in betting shops, and the problems that we are creating for the future, and I can only see it all ending badly, with the government only interested in the tax pounds that they are getting from the bookies.

I attended Gamblers Anonymous in the deep distant past, and I did manage to stop totally for 6 months. Another scary thing about Gamblers Anonymous was the amount of highly intelligent people that had been bitten by the ******* that is gambling!

I just hope I can kick the habit again.

I think this thread is split into four groups. Those who don't gamble at all, those who gamble for fun but are okay with it, those who have problems with gambling and those that won't admit it.

You really need to stop the gambling online. Cut up your cards so you cannot, if you have banned yourself from all the local bookies then online is your only outlet. I know it sounds cliché but try and get something else to do, it may sound ridiculous but sometimes when I had the urge I would drive and drive until it went. The urge was like a knot in my stomach where I just felt the need to have a flutter. I have had times when I have gone back and gambled, but luckily it never lasted long.
I have had weeks where I have been 15-20k in profit, but over the next two I would give all back and more besides. Gamblers like us NEVER EVER WIN, as we give it all back and more.
It's also amazing how gamblers always find money to gamble, when I stopped I was surprised how much money I had(once I had recouped all the tax and VAT money I had spunked).
Good luck mate!!

 

[Swillis]

What I mean by that is I wasn't spunking the mortgage payment up the wall, nor was I drawing on credit cards that I could only repay if I won. No one around me was any worse off for me having a punt. My partner was often in the same group of people when we'd end up in a Bristol casino, so it wasn't like some sordid secret I was keeping.

As above though, I won't deny that slightly sickening "I could have spent that money on X instead" feeling.

I saw you say you have been in a position where you have chased losses, thankfully you never truly got sucked into it though. Others are not as wise though. As I have said before, I never ever thought I would get hooked on something that involved me throwing money away.

 

[Ernest]

FOBT's are a massive problem when it comes to gambling. I've stuck £10 in one for a couple of games of Blackjack and the next thing you know £50 has gone and that is betting just £2 a time. The sooner the government look at introducing a maximum stake that is far far lower than the £100 you can currently lose on a 20 second spin of roulette the better, even if it could have a serious knock on effect in terms of killing off the high street bookmakers

All the time they are making tax off of them I doubt anything will be done

 

[Sheebo]

To anyone feeling there may be an issue or is an issue with online bits I'd say use the 'self exclude' option on all accounts. Or ask them on live chat or email to permanantly close account so it can't be used again ever! That way you cannot go back to them. I always do this - closed all accounts bar one having done welcome offers etc. Personally made a lot from these but have to know when to call it a day and it's not always that simple. Mistakes are easy to make but you have to learn from them. Not into casino / roulette really myself which is def a good thing. Seen people do thousands on these. Just one account left now mainly for the Inplay offer they do but will knock that on the head when they inevitably stop it etc...

 

[Bry Nylon]

Another scary thing about Gamblers Anonymous was the amount of highly intelligent people that had been bitten by the ****** that is gambling

I think we're witnessing this on the Profit Squad thread.

Gambling has never appealed to me and so I've never placed a bet in my life. As such, most of the betting terminology on this thread is like an impenetrable foreign language to me.

I had seen the Profit Squad sticky but as gambling isn't my thing hadn't bothered opening it until I read HT's comment above, which intrigued me. So I've just read most of the Profit Squad thread and I can't help thinking that this isn't going to end well. I fully understand the principle of using the free bets on offer to guarantee always being on the winning side, but if the price of doing this is to open as many on-line betting accounts as possible, there will be many damaged people and wrecked lives as a result.

I must be getting old as I was genuinely sad to see this service being promoted on a forum I've come to consider as 'home' because I know that some on here tempted to sign-up will get badly damaged as a result. Guaranteed.

 

[Sheebo]

You are shitting me

It'll be virtual flies climbing up a window next.

There is indeed virtual cockroach racing on the machines - I'm not jokin - watched a mate play it

 

[Tarpon]

Gambling has never appealed to me and so I've never placed a bet in my life. As such, most of the betting terminology on this thread is like an impenetrable foreign language to me.

I had seen the Profit Squad sticky but as gambling isn't my thing hadn't bothered opening it until I read HT's comment above, which intrigued me. So I've just read most of the Profit Squad thread and I can't help thinking that this isn't going to end well. I fully understand the principle of using the free bets on offer to guarantee always being on the winning side, but if the price of doing this is to open as many on-line betting accounts as possible, there will be many damaged people and wrecked lives as a result.

I must be getting old as I was genuinely sad to see this service being promoted on a forum I've come to consider as 'home' because I know that some on here tempted to sign-up will get badly damaged as a result. Guaranteed.

Agree with this. It doesn't feel quite right somehow.
Anyway have you seen my glasses as I have lost my pipe and slippers?

 

[Moshe Gariani]

So I've just read most of the Profit Squad thread and I can't help thinking that this isn't going to end well. I fully understand the principle of using the free bets on offer to guarantee always being on the winning side, but if the price of doing this is to open as many on-line betting accounts as possible, there will be many damaged people and wrecked lives as a result.

I must be getting old as I was genuinely sad to see this service being promoted on a forum I've come to consider as 'home' because I know that some on here tempted to sign-up will get badly damaged as a result. Guaranteed.

You are 110% correct and I personally think Bozza has dropped a massive bollock in backing this particular horse.

The NSC community obviously includes a large number of blokes who enjoy a sporting approach to life. Encouraging the idea that engaging with internet gambling sites is a good thing to do is a major error of judgement.

It is blindingly obvious that the buzz derived from the occasional big money wins has the potential to be highly addictive. It is also blindingly obvious that for quite normal personalities the adrenaline hit from guaranteed steady accumulation could easily, either quickly or eventually, become insufficiently exciting.

If only one NSC person ends up with a catastrophic gambling problem somewhere down the line thanks to the Profit Squad sticky then that would in a sense be a good result - but I fear the reality is it will be several more than one and I do not see how that can possibly be a good or acceptable thing.

NO-ONE, I repeat NO-ONE, will ever go on the internet and say "I was doing matched betting and making steady profits but then I got addicted to the adrenaline rush involved in gambling and ended up recklessly almost deliberately losing money I couldn't afford to. You know what I did today? At 5.00pm I was £300 up for the day thanks to my matched bets but then I just really fancied a proper bet with a bit of a buzz involved so I decided just to have one real bet on the last race at York. I lost more and more and by the end of the night I was lobbing £5,000 on a 2/5 fav in some random American horse race just to try and get my £2K back..." and then "Hi, it's me again. Things have moved on a bit since my last post a couple of months ago. I just thought I'd come on here in amongst all of you happy people making your steady profits from matched betting to update you. My gambling is completely out of control. My wife opened a credit card statement this morning and has now discovered that I have accumulated debts several times my annual income. She is leaving me and our house will be repossessed. I am at rock bottom and have no idea what I am going to do next. I came on here just to let you guys know and to wish you well with your matched betting. I know it really works if you stay disciplined - no hard feelings."

 

[Rugrat]

This thread's poster's appear to be split into 3 camps.
Those that don't gamble at all.
Those that have major winnings.
And, the Gambling addicts that have real problems with it.

I am in the third group. I have a major problem with gambling. Addictive personality, and a compulsive gambler. I'm now trying to seek help for my problem again.
Gambling was my stress relief for problems that I had in my life, and again I've fallen back to bad ways.

I've banned myself from all the shops within a 20 mile radius of home, but still gamble online. Luckily I don't have serious amounts of money to lose like I did in the past.

My gambling has caused relationship breakups, severe stress, and a suicide attempt. I'm still here to tell the tale.
My demons are the bookie roulette machines. I've had days were i have had £5,000 in my pocket from £100 starting stake. But 99 times out of 100, I've ended up losing it all and the stake money as well.

The killer now is how many sites there are online, with all the offers that they have.

The scary thing for me now is how many youngsters you see in betting shops, and the problems that we are creating for the future, and I can only see it all ending badly, with the government only interested in the tax pounds that they are getting from the bookies.

I attended Gamblers Anonymous in the deep distant past, and I did manage to stop totally for 6 months. Another scary thing about Gamblers Anonymous was the amount of highly intelligent people that had been bitten by the ******* that is gambling!

I just hope I can kick the habit again.

[MENTION=33732]Swillis[/MENTION] talks a lot of sense, I'll second him!

I've also been in your position and the truth is you can never say you've overcome it. For me the point came when I knew if I lost more my whole life (work, family) would implode around me. I think I was lucky in finding a gambling outlet I could control (poker) and where I developed an edge but I know some of that is denial

You have to take a really hard line, cut up every card you have, get hold of every site you've ever been on and get them to exclude you forever, it does work. I've tried to get them to revoke and they won't!!

That's just for starters of course, if GA worked before then try again?

 

[Rugrat]

I must be getting old as I was genuinely sad to see this service being promoted on a forum I've come to consider as 'home' because I know that some on here tempted to sign-up will get badly damaged as a result. Guaranteed.

I had a real problem with gambling, specifically on line Casino but managed to kick it, found an alternative and didn't go near them for a good 5 years.

Then a mate tells me about matched betting. "It's not gambling" so what the hell. Yes it makes money (not much) and is excruciatingly tedious, the hourly rate is by no means attractive.

But what it does do is give a huge amount of exposure to sports books and casinos .... and guess what? I was right back into it and losing my shirt. It's been the most difficult struggle to break it again and didn't come without some pretty nasty side effects

My advice (and it's a straw poll of one) if anyone has any kind of gambling habit/problem then Matched betting is not something to get in to, indeed avoid it like the plague!