Do you Gamble? and how much $ is too much?

[The Mint Man]

Recently we have been in hot debate over 'recreational drug use' in another thread and I have found the topic very interesting, hearing input from both sides.... Some full on coments in there, thats for sure.

Anyway I was wondering today how many of you gamble on a regular basis? what do you bet/gamble on? and how much?

I like to put lotto on each week and if there is a jackpot I will put some money down for that too. Usually I will spend $10-$20 depending whats on. Now just say that I put $20 on week after week all year round, that would be $1040 per year!
So it obviously comes as no supprise that I am shocked when I see people pumping pokies with $50 one after the other, what would their yearly spend be?

Just like I have seen drugs wreck lives, I have also seen gambling wreck lives.
I can remember going to the club with my mates and without fail hearing the same names being called over the speakers 'Mrs XYZ you have a phone call' without fail every week, and from what the staff said this happened everyday.
A couple I know got that sucked into gambling that they lost their business and house. their kids would always be ringing the club to see when they were coming home to cook dinner.

I very rarely play poker machines these days, even when I do go to the club. I also have a mate that works for Aristocrat and he told me exactly how they work and how clubs over recent years have lowered the percentages of wins... Thats right, they are completely rigged. It dosnt matter if they are full of money or empty. He could also tell me where to go to have the best chance of winning but over all they [the clubs] were all bad.
So if you play poker machines and have thought that it has become harder and harder to win, then you are correct. I definitely noticed the change when I used to play them.

 

[professor_frink]

I don't bother playing lotto or powerball unless there's 20 million or more up for grabs! So I don't play that often. I do play the pokies, but when I do, normally I'll put a dollar in and play 1c a hit. passes the time just as well and I don't lose very much.It's funny how many people give you funny looks for not betting much- personally I think I should be the one giving them funny looks when they slip a few fifties in!

 

[Yezzy]

Never have been much of a gambler. Though I've only been of age for a few years now. I don't put any money on lotto either, I remember one of my first assignments for maths at university was working out the odds of winning first, second and third division, and they weren't pretty.

 

[Rafa]

I gamble... BUT only on the stock market...

(i know its somewhat of an educated gamble, but a gamble it is none the less, especially on these speccy small cap resourse stocks... )

 

[The Mint Man]

I gamble... BUT only on the stock market...

(i know its somewhat of an educated gamble, but a gamble it is none the less, especially on these speccy small cap resourse stocks... )

I was actually going to say not to vote yes if you just play the stock market but after some thought decided to not say anything just to see if anyone realised that most of us on here (if not all) have that gambling instinct in some way. So rafa you hit the nail on the head. Exactly what I was waiting for.
I mean alot of people borrow money to invest, is this not a gamble? I would think so! an educated one? yes, but a gamble never the less.
just to add to this.
I once read an article on a pro gambler in the Daily Telegraph, it was about 2 pages long. It explained how this particular gambler would bet huge amounts (100's of thousands at times) each day and actually profit from it. He even employed people to help him place bets, be at the track to monitor horses preparation etc. He drove a $250000 sports car and had a penthouse which was his 'place of work' as he called it, he even wore a suit, he said he just wouldnt feel right if he didnt. The penthouse was all set up with about 3 computer screens and a couple of TV's hooked up to SKY from memory. he studied the horses etc just like we would study the sharemarket and in his opinion he was making an educated decision when he placed a bet. he also pointed out that sometimes he would loose (just like traders would, god knows some people have felt that lately... OXR etc) and he would always have a set amount he would spend on any one day depending what races are on.
It was quite an amazing read actually
Anyone else catch this story? it was within the last year.

 

[Jay-684]

My first ever gamble was a multi last week on the Mundine fight and Arsenal v Barcelona. $20 paid $126...

Now to say the least since then I have made more bets (who wouldnt winning their first time) however since then have lost. I have decided though that I will only spend the total of my original winnings, and then stop. Its more just fun for me as all of my mates gamble.

I have thought about it for a while this year though and I have no idea why people play the pokies to win money. Betting on sports games or playing poker if your really talented at it have much better odds of winning, and atleast if your betting on a sporting match eg Super 14 or NRL there are only 3 possible outcomes - win/lose/draw, and through research you can have a fair idea of the potential outcome. With pokies your simply putting your money in and hoping.

That and watching a sporting match is much more social than pressing a button for 30mins

 

[dreilly]

ive had issues with gambling off and on for a while now. what woke me up was when i tallied what id done in a 6 month period was 40% of my wages.

Ive heard countless different theories about why ppl do it. Most of these explanations seem to want to pidgeon hole a gambler into 2 different categories which i think is incorrect.

I dont trade as a replacement for gambling, i trade for my future prosperity. I gave up gambling as it threatened that prosperity. My reasons for getting into gambling had nothing to do with making profit, however i didnt realise this until i reflected on it a long time after i quit.
This is common for most people with a habit whether it be booz, drugs or gambling, the problem is that once they have made it routine it becomes a hard cycle to break or for that matter even identified as a problem to themselves.

 

[tarnor]

I play texas holdem down with friends every now and again for the last 6 months or so.. Usually 10 dollars buyin .. is gambling with friends still gambling? up a couple of hundred dollars all up as i don't drink much

Caz my last trading gamble ever ..

 

[The Mint Man]

Some good points there Jay & dreilly.
I hear what your saying dreilly. I done the same thing at one stage... even had a tab account hehe . I was 18 at the time, probably more of a novelty then anything else... ended up losing the money I had won, havnt bet at the TAB since, excluding Melb cup day as that would just be un-Australian. I'm willing to bet (pun intended ) that you will do the same, lose the money that is.

 

[justjohn]

does footy tipping comps count, if they do i need help because im in 3 plus a punters club

 

[The Mint Man]

yeh that counts...
Im in 2 of them.

 

[dreilly]

I play texas holdem down with friends every now and again for the last 6 months or so.. Usually 10 dollars buyin .. is gambling with friends still gambling? up a couple of hundred dollars all up as i don't drink much

Caz my last trading gamble ever ..

Its all relative, a couple of hundred to you could be nothing but to others it is a months grocery money...To define a gambling problem is when you are throwing your rent/food/kids money on the BJ table and not really caring about the consequences. This is how GA defines a gambling problem... For me i never bet my rent, but 40% of my salary going to the casino was the straw that broke my camels back.... GA said that because i was using disposable income to fund gambling it did not make me a cronic gambler, How warped is that!..

Gambling with friends is still gambling, but thats tottally ok.... i think that perhaps that the word gambling itself has a negative stigma that people associate with people with real problems, which should not be the case.

 

[tech/a]

Definition is important.
What is having a punt classified as.
Problem gambling where it affects ones lifestyle and particularly those around you,needs to be a seperate issue I feel.

Yeh I have a punt .

Everytime I drive in a car or hop in a plane,or ski down a slope its all a gamble.

 

[wayneL]

I only buy lotto tickets when I have this overwhelming gut feeling that I'm going to win the big one.... about twice a year.

Of course I never do

 

[kgee]

My interest in Gambling started when I was 16 while watching the first Rugby world cup in 1987...it just seemed to me that it was pretty easy to determine the result of most of the games

In 2oo4 I got a computer and started gambling on the rugby world cup .Over the competition I picked every game except one (uruguay vs georgia)I've been gambling for about 3 years now taking last year off work to give it a full go...although this wasn't a conscious decision- My contract had ended at work and because I was getting taxed at 49 cents I decided to take a couple of months off work untill the start of the new finacial year...this turned into 13 months

During that time there was one moment where i debated with wether what I was doing was a good decision or not. So I decided to put a bet on golf ( I know nothing about golf ) I put $50 on ten random players to make the top 5 of the British Masters....7 of the 10 got up and I made $4500 .Since then I've been pretty comfortable with my decision to gamble

As posted on another site I do sometimes worry about the psychology of losing...my main concern is that contrary to new age thinking I believe its frustration that drives me on to better things, ie its not till I get really pissed off with somthing that I decide to get off my **** and do somthing that I really want. So I'm just hoping it's not a financial loss that sparks me off to do somthing else or maybe some part of me does crave a loss so I do do somthing else!?!?!?

A book that I highly recommend is "gambling wizards" it's a scary and amazing read...how some of these people live there lives is just crazy!
And on the subject of Addictions check out the dvd "what the bleep do we know" part of the dvd is concerned with the biological/chemical aspects of addiction's and suggest's everyones lives to some degree is driven by there addictions,well worth a look although the movie in it's whole is a little too new age "hokey" for me

well excuse my ramblings I'm a little hungover ...damn addictions!!!

 

[kgee]

PS. drielly ...I know what you mean about the negative stereotype of gambling...when I was gambling full time ....I hated meeting people and when asked what I do for a living telling them I was a gambler...especially woman!
now that I'm back working (4 days a week) it's nice to be able to tell people what my day job is...even though my job means nothing to me

 

[regatwests]

I work in the Gaming and Racing industry

I do not speak for any institution.

IMO
Problem gamblers are people who cannot afford to lose
and are compelled to keep chasing losses or ignore limits.

People who spend too much time at it just have a `problem'.

All legal gambling works to a formula; between 85 and 97%
is returned to the punters. (one person wins big- 50 people lose)

The institutions skim 15% - 3% of the turnover and do their best to ensure
no blood is let and these transfers occur in pleasant surroundings

My stock answer is. "If you wager $10 and win $10 back, then you are beating the odds."

 

[kgee]

Regatwests,
Working in the gaming industry I was wondering wether You knew any people that make a living from gambling
I'm most interested in your views of what makes these people successful
any correspondence would be most appreciated

 

[chemist]

My first ever gamble was a multi last week on the Mundine fight and Arsenal v Barcelona. $20 paid $126...

Now to say the least since then I have made more bets (who wouldnt winning their first time) however since then have lost. I have decided though that I will only spend the total of my original winnings, and then stop. Its more just fun for me as all of my mates gamble.

I have thought about it for a while this year though and I have no idea why people play the pokies to win money. Betting on sports games or playing poker if your really talented at it have much better odds of winning,

That's a major understatement. Your chances of winning long-term on the pokies are zero; if you work hard at it there's no reason why you can't make a profit from sports gambling indefinitely.

cheers,
Chemist

 

[chemist]

...
During that time there was one moment where i debated with wether what I was doing was a good decision or not. So I decided to put a bet on golf ( I know nothing about golf ) I put $50 on ten random players to make the top 5 of the British Masters....7 of the 10 got up and I made $4500 .

If this selection method is the basis of your success, I cannot help feeling your career as a full-time gambler would not have been a long one, had you not chosen to return to work.

cheers,
Chemist