Does anyone gamble?

[Jackdaniels]

I used to play fruit machines when I was younger, started in Uni when my mates showed me how to win a few quid from 1 pound in, I was hooked and then I just played them and didn't care about my mates in the bar, I only focused on the machine. The worst thing was when they moved from 25p play to 30p play which meant that they always had a spare play if you only put a couple of quid in so you kept playing. I moved onto the bigger 500 quid machines and started playing at service stations and always thought I had a technique to win.

One of my darkest days was that I got to the M1 services at 6pm and chased my losses till 6am in the morning. 12 hours straight in the services playing a 2 quid a spin machine. Ended up losing a few hundred but at one stage I was 1k into the machine.

Not sure if its the same for other but if I win a jackpot in the first few quid, I wouldn't feel happy I would just carry on thinking maybe I can get a double jackpot, end up putting it all back in and more and then if I was lucky break even and then walk away happy. So crazy that I would be happy about it.

Ended up quitting cold turkey and only stick a quid in occasionally but definitely not interested any more.

[KavKav]

I had a brilliant education in gambling and it was not through my pocket!

In my early 20's I used to manage betting shops for a national chain and I watched my customers lose their money week after week, here is a little of what I learned:-

1. YOU are NOT smarter than bookmakers.

2. The racing 'tip' you have been given is mostly worthless, you will absolutely NOT get to hear about the best information.

3. There ARE a very few punters who regularly make profit, why on earth do YOU imagine that you are one of these guys?

4. Racing is NOT run for the benefit of punters, never has been, never will be!

5. Legends like Barney Curley and Phil Bull beat the system, if YOU think you are a betting legend then bookies will want to shake your hand and say 'Welcome my boy'!

6. If you want to back horses, do it for fun and small stakes. Be a disciplined each-way thief, look for 'value' in the odds and confine your betting to second or third favourites each-way in non-handicap fields of 8-9 runners where the favourite is a short price. Keep records of your profits/losses, at the end of the year if you are 6%-8% in profit then you have done EXTREMELY well! (Be aware that bookies do not like this type of betting on a regular basis, smallish stakes will keep you under the radar, larger stakes will result in you being invited to bet elsewhere!)

7. Do not have a credit account, it is easier to lose money and if you win on any kind of regular basis, your account WILL be closed!

8. By all means have a bet, but bet for fun and amusement and bet comfortably according to your means.

9. Do NOT increase your stakes in order to chase losses, if you have lost then live with it. Your loss is history and your ego is irrelevant and dangerous.

10. Read the above again.

[Sweepinghand]

I had a brilliant education in gambling and it was not through my pocket!

In my early 20's I used to manage betting shops for a national chain and I watched my customers lose their money week after week, here is a little of what I learned:-

1. YOU are NOT smarter than bookmakers.

2. The racing 'tip' you have been given is mostly worthless, you will absolutely NOT get to hear about the best information.

3. There ARE a very few punters who regularly make profit, why on earth do YOU imagine that you are one of these guys?

4. Racing is NOT run for the benefit of punters, never has been, never will be!

5. Legends like Barney Curley and Phil Bull beat the system, if YOU think you are a betting legend then bookies will want to shake your hand and say 'Welcome my boy'!

6. If you want to back horses, do it for fun and small stakes. Be a disciplined each-way thief, look for 'value' in the odds and confine your betting to second or third favourites each-way in non-handicap fields of 8-9 runners where the favourite is a short price. Keep records of your profits/losses, at the end of the year if you are 6%-8% in profit then you have done EXTREMELY well! (Be aware that bookies do not like this type of betting on a regular basis, smallish stakes will keep you under the radar, larger stakes will result in you being invited to bet elsewhere!)

7. Do not have a credit account, it is easier to lose money and if you win on any kind of regular basis, your account WILL be closed!

8. By all means have a bet, but bet for fun and amusement and bet comfortably according to your means.

9. Do NOT increase your stakes in order to chase losses, if you have lost then live with it. Your loss is history and your ego is irrelevant and dangerous.

10. Read the above again.

All very negative

But I'd say this why the f does anybody other than a grade A mug bet in a betting shop these days?


No interviews with trainers and jockeys are aired, Mickey Mouse offers to fleece your pocket every ten mins, fixed odds betting terminals all over the place (absolute idiots play these as if it's real)

No - racing can pay - many many people are using the exchanges well

Racing has moved on

Curley was the king, I was lucky enough to be tipped off about a big acca he pulled off a few years ago and though didn't put them all on my ticket I did have three of them

Betting needs to be looked at as a social fun thing or a professional approach

I choose the latter - my choice and I'm doing well

Fruit machine addiction I had myself as a late teen
They should be banned

[kevkojak]

What have you been gambling on Loki? That's quite important.

Someone has already posted a link but I was bang in trouble with gambling in my teens and 20's.
33 now and just about debt free. If you can walk away now then do, though once you're caught I suspect it'll take more than a little bit of will-power.

I couldn't deal with the losses frankly, if I lost £100 I went back with £200 to win it back. Sometimes managed it, usually lost more...
Before long I was in a hole £100,000 deep (bear in mind this is spread across maybe a decade).

I now have a totally different mindset and while maybe not wise I do still gamble on occasion.
I will have a little bet on some of the matches in the Euro 2016, but only if I'm going to be watching them - and when I say a little bet I mean a tenner or less. It's not a money making exercise, it adds a bit of excitement and is purely for recreation. I also still play micro-stakes poker, although a friend of mine is trying to book a trip to a big poker event in a couple of years so I might also splash out on that (long debate as to whether poker is gambling or a game of skill but that's for another day).

Casinos are out, I excluded myself from them all in 2008 and haven't been in one since (I tell a lie, mates stag do in Manchester we went in 235 for a couple of hours, could have been avoided but would have been a bit embarrassing).
I only go in the bookies to pick up a footie coupon. Love having a couple of pounds on the football but the roulette terminals are the devil. I trust myself now but still, I hate being around them.

Loki, have a look on GamCare forum, even if it's just for a shock to stop the rot. There are recovery diaries from addicts and lots of stories from both problem gamblers and concerned loved ones - it's very sobering to see how many lives have been destroyed, I consider myself one of the lucky ones, there are guys on there in their 50's and 60's who have been addicted for their entire lives.

Edit - I backed three horses in the Grand National (the only horse race I ever bet on, horses never interested me). Anyway I got first and third and it paid for a bloody good night out on the town.
Mate of mine had the winner as well, won a few hundred quid and all of a sudden he's an expert on the Gee Gee's. Now bets daily on his mobile phone and it's killing me to watch it. He won't tell me what sums he's betting but when he quotes some of the numbers he'll win "if this one comes in" it must be in the hundreds of pounds.

[ryanb741]

This works however this is typically the Racing Post price boosts which come into play on saturday morning for the horse races. These arbs are seen as acceptable by the bookies as they are deliberately offering them to entice punters. If you arb on non price boosts (i.e. where the bookie has offered unintentionally generous odds) where the lay on Betfair/Smarkets is lower then you will quickly get restricted as the bookies don't like you taking value.

Ok
You can't win? Rubbish - that's the start
Gambling is only gambling if you don't know your thing
High street bookies make me lol

The way to bet risk free is to ARB which is fun

How it works
Get say £100 on a horse at 9/1
Potential return £900 profit

Sell the horse (lay) for less... Say 7/1 (costs you £700 to cover it) and you have the £200 running for free


That's v v basically it


The prob is this
I can show you every Saturday morning where the ARBs will be
They are there for a few mins only
The big prob is getting the £100 on
I kid you not
I e had all of my accounts limited as have won a lot of money doing this


If it sounds complex and you just wish to bet as a normal punter then my rules are as follows

Firstly - use odds checker - a tool which checks all of the bookmakers to show who is offering the best odds on the horse you wish

Only bet in the higher class of races

Concentrate on one level of racing (I prefer jumps racing, mainly hurdles)
The reason? You aren't guessing at horses you don't know
A smaller pool of data to fish in will give you better results

Only bet what you can afford

Don't bet huge silly accumulators - the bookies love those bets
They hate however a large single

Don't bet on every race
It's the road to the poor house - as above - be selective

Above all, if you're rubbish at it, knock it on the head

Stay out of casinos too.... Pathetic loser central places

[sundial]

Many years ago I witnessed the heartache of a poker addict's wife interrupting a regular Friday morning poker school. Happened at Gt Yarmouth blue bus depot where on Friday pay day the busmen poker addicts commenced playing from 7am in the morning in the 'rest room'. The wife stormed in and demanded her housekeeping money from her bus driver husband but he had lost nearly all of it (as per usual) and could not pay her. She tipped the poker table over and kicked him off his chair whilst shouting, screaming and crying. The driver was not able to quit his habit and his mates usually had to lend him money after a poker game - money he could not repay. He was not the only busman who invariably went home broke on a Friday - thus they had no money to buy food or pay the rent. Gambling addition is a serious illness and unless friends and family can bale out a victim can lead to e.g. moneylender debt which can never be cleared.

Gamblers boast about their winnings but few boast about their losses. My father was a heavy gambler and my family suffered when he lost; I've known him lose over £1000 on anti-post bets after which our lives were hell - in ways I could not document. He always thought he could beat the system but he never did. Bookmakers thrive on such individuals. In 1950 my father won £250 on the football pools - a lot of money in those days - but he blew the lot on a party for all the neighbours and more gambling.

I have gambled but learnt my lesson after losing and witnessing others' heavy losses. Walk into any bookies and witness the losers shouting for their chosen horse to win … "Go on my son!!" … as if their lives depend on it … as if they've had a premonition they're going to win. And witness their disbelief when the horse loses. Some of those addicted gamblers look ill, malnourished, and often drink too much to drown their sorrows. Addiction is their way of life. They're born losers.

dunk

[village]

I was a bit addicted to fruitys in my youth and had to kick that habit. I also went through a phase of roulette...I was quite happy to sit at a table for hours at a time using my 'system'. I have no doubt that I lost overall but I obviously only remembered the wins. I called it a day when I went about a grand down and sat there stubbornly for another few hours until I turned it into a couple of hundred profit. It could easily have gone the other way. On the very rare occasion I might find myself in a casino now I have no interest in roulette and might only have a go on the blackjack tables but only with small stakes and never for long as I get easily bored with it.
I never really got the fixed odds machines in bookies,however I have the odd small bet on the horses and I quite like the odd trip to the races with a couple of mates but keep,the stakes small. The only exception to this is the annual trip to the Chletenham Festival for which I allow a slightly bigger betting pot.

[KavKav]

I was a bit addicted to fruitys in my youth and had to kick that habit. I also went through a phase of roulette...I was quite happy to sit at a table for hours at a time using my 'system'. I have no doubt that I lost overall but I obviously only remembered the wins. I called it a day when I went about a grand down and sat there stubbornly for another few hours until I turned it into a couple of hundred profit. It could easily have gone the other way. On the very rare occasion I might find myself in a casino now I have no interest in roulette and might only have a go on the blackjack tables but only with small stakes and never for long as I get easily bored with it.
I never really got the fixed odds machines in bookies,however I have the odd small bet on the horses and I quite like the odd trip to the races with a couple of mates but keep,the stakes small. The only exception to this is the annual trip to the Chletenham Festival for which I allow a slightly bigger betting pot.

Sounds to me that you have a very well balanced attitude to gambling! My last bet was a tenner each way on Secret Brief at 16/1 in the Lincoln which 'I am pleased to say' won. I have a bit of early ante-post on US Army Ranger for the Derby and that will do me for this year.

[sundial]

If you must gamble, put a few £'000 into Premium Bonds - unlikely you'll win the big one but you'll likely have a few small wins - and you can always cash them in and get your stake back.

dunk

[TaketheCannoli]

If you must gamble, put a few £'000 into Premium Bonds - unlikely you'll win the big one but you'll likely have a few small wins - and you can always cash them in and get your stake back.

dunk

I was always told that about Premium Bonds but I've had mine for 40 years and never won a penny - and I actually mean not one single penny. I heard a financial analyst on 5Live earlier this week talking about how they're a terrible idea as your chances of winning anything are absolutely miniscule.

[Dan83bz]

Does speculating on financial instruments count? Then yes, guilty as charged?

I guess it depends of people's perceptions, since many activities could fall under the moniker. For some its horses, for others its bingo tickets

[Dynam0humm]

I play a bit of online poker and do the occasional sports bet for fun, but I only ever bet in-play and use Betfair for the best prices. If I'm watching Man U vs Swansea for example and the game is 0-0 after half an hour and Swansea are dominating I'll stick a few quid on them as the price will still have Man U as favourites, despite how the game is playing out. For boxing or UFC I'll watch how the fighters enter the ring and if the favourite is looking nervous I'll put a small bet on the underdog. One of my favourite bets is for the fastest lap in F1. Usually its a Mercedes or Ferrari that should get it but I always have the Betfair screen open in case there's a collision in the last 10 or so laps. If a Sauber for example gets a tap and damages a wing I'll stick a few quid on him getting fastest lap, usually with long odds but you have to be quick. The Sauber pits for a new wing and then comes out for the last few laps on new tyres when the all the others have 20 lap old tyres on. It doesn't always work as the Sauber may come out behind traffic but if he gets a clear track the new tyres will make a huge difference to his pace compared to the others.

I don't make any big profits from doing this as it's small stakes and just a bit of fun to me but It must be 8 or 9 years since I've deposited any money in my Betfair account.

I've also seen the damage gambling can do to those who get hooked on it and despise fruit machines and betting terminals. One guy I worked with was at the bookies every lunchtime and I remember one Thursday when we got paid and he went to the bookies with a double wage (we were paid weekly and got a double wage as it was prior to a week off for easter). Needless to say he came back after lunch without a penny to his name and had to go grovelling to his Mother for a loan as he was due to go on holiday for a week with the wife and kids.

Back in the 90's a couple of mates were hooked on fruit machines and a group of us went on a lads holiday to Tenerife. The hotel had a fruit machine so those two would spend all day on it while the rest of us were having a laugh by the pool. Then in the evening when the rest of us were out in the bars and clubs they would still be in the hotel throwing money at the machine. Pathetic.

[Christian]

I was always told that about Premium Bonds but I've had mine for 40 years and never won a penny - and I actually mean not one single penny. I heard a financial analyst on 5Live earlier this week talking about how they're a terrible idea as your chances of winning anything are absolutely miniscule.

Depends on how many bonds you hold. If you hold maximum amount, you'll likely 'win' £25 a month. I held about £30k's worth a couple of years ago. I went through a 6-month spell of not a single win. Even in an instant access account, I could have expected £50 per month interest. Couple that with the fact that your stake is shrinking in buying power terms due to inflation and it's not a good bet. I think the odds got even worse lately.

[Neil.C]

Depends on how many bonds you hold. If you hold maximum amount, you'll likely 'win' £25 a month. I held about £30k's worth a couple of years ago. I went through a 6-month spell of not a single win. Even in an instant access account, I could have expected £50 per month interest. Couple that with the fact that your stake is shrinking in buying power terms due to inflation and it's not a good bet. I think the odds got even worse lately.

I think Premium Bonds are a good bet for spare money you might need in a hurry i.e to meet an unexpected bill.

My wife and I have a few bob in there and we generally get two or three £25 "wins" a month which gives a bit of a thrill when the envelopes arrive, not unlike gambling in that respect.

Never had a big win but did get £1000 not long ago and when I add up all the win tickets we have done OK over the years.

Instant access accounts are unlikely to do much better and are a bit more boring.

I am a keen investor as well but although you can get the money pretty fast it may not always be the best time to cash in.

[Devonian]

The odds of winning on premium bonds has got worse, but then so has all returns I guess. The are actually quite a poor return, however your money is safe and there's a chance of winning big. It might be incredible small but a chance all the same. This is a good thread on them:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/premium-bonds

[Devonian]

Yes, I would just like to make this clear that this is NOT a subtle "cry for help" thread. I am fine, I am still in control and although the loss isn't nice (any loss isn't nice to be fair) I just wanted to know how people get over their losses. I am far from going bankrupt etc. Also some great replies by the way, I enjoyed reading most of them.

No idea but I wonder if my post was one that you 'didn't' enjoy reading. I say that as it was quite negative. I made it negative for a reason. The reason being your post set alarm bells ringing. I've seen it happen to people so many times.

I'm glad as you say it wasn't a 'subtle cry for help' and a truly hope that your £2,000 losses aren't £5,000 soon. Let's hope history in your case doesn't repeat itself like it does with so many gamblers. I would urge you to google gambling addicts/ bookies betting machine etc because some of the stories are horrific.

Here's one but there are hundreds out there:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33566034

[Loki324]

...

Hi Kev,

First of all I would just like to say thank you for your story, it was a very interesting read and has certainly put me off chasing my losses. I started off gambling on horses at the Cheltenham festival and although I had a few wins I lost more than I won so I was down overall. Then I moved onto football betting and the same thing happened...I lost more than I won so again I was down overall, this was done on a daily basis although my stakes aren't huge they do add up over time and at that point I just thought I'm no good at betting so might as well just give up.

I have just recently stopped betting altogether because it just seems like I am fighting a losing battle and I do not want it to get out of control because after reading all those horror stories about people losing their houses etc. I realised that a loss of £2k is nothing and I should quit while I'm not too in the red. I will admit that I do think about chasing my losses at the back of my mind but it's not enough to make me gamble again so I think I have this under control.

[Loki324]

No idea but I wonder if my post was one that you 'didn't' enjoy reading. I say that as it was quite negative. I made it negative for a reason. The reason being your post set alarm bells ringing. I've seen it happen to people so many times.

I'm glad as you say it wasn't a 'subtle cry for help' and a truly hope that your £2,000 losses aren't £5,000 soon. Let's hope history in your case doesn't repeat itself like it does with so many gamblers. I would urge you to google gambling addicts/ bookies betting machine etc because some of the stories are horrific.

Here's one but there are hundreds out there:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33566034

Oh no haha I actually enjoyed reading yours too, I know you're just trying to help me out so thank you. The more stories I hear about gambling addicts the better as it would put me off gambling completely. I was just curious how people deal with losses, but from what I've experience I can't handle losses that well so I'm going to avoid betting from now on and spend it on better things for my hobbies and more money on watches!

[Jdh1]

I was always told that about Premium Bonds but I've had mine for 40 years and never won a penny - and I actually mean not one single penny. I heard a financial analyst on 5Live earlier this week talking about how they're a terrible idea as your chances of winning anything are absolutely miniscule.

How many have you got? They pay an average rate of about 1.25% so with the maximum amount (£50,000) you can expect to win about £625 a year with average luck, and there's always the chance of a big win. I find it works out that way, although I've never wone more than £500 in one prize.

However, if you have £100 worth or something like that, with average luck you can expect to win £1.25, except you can't because the minimum prize is £25. With £100 worth you can expect to win one prize every 20 years. Obviously there's no statistical significance to that, so you could very easily go 40 years without a win.

[classics]

Premium Bonds - I put in £500 20 years ago and have won £50 twice, but surely Premium Bonds is not gambling as you get your money back???
Lottery, shares and the stock market is gambling.

[alfat33]

How many have you got? They pay an average rate of about 1.25% so with the maximum amount (£50,000) you can expect to win about £625 a year with average luck, and there's always the chance of a big win. I find it works out that way, although I've never wone more than £500 in one prize.

However, if you have £100 worth or something like that, with average luck you can expect to win £1.25, except you can't because the minimum prize is £25. With £100 worth you can expect to win one prize every 20 years. Obviously there's no statistical significance to that, so you could very easily go 40 years without a win.

There is a good calculator here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/sav...ds-calculator/ which proves this. The average premium bond holding is roughly £240 (c.£5bn held by 21m people) and given that some have up to £50k , most people will have less than £240. According to the calculator anyone with £240 or less, ie most people, has about a 1 in 10 chance of winning anything within the next 5 years. Not great odds really for a supposedly safe investment aimed mainly at people without the money to invest in shares etc., and they get worse the less you have.

I've only ever gambled a few times with small amounts I was basically spending on the fun of the occasion (night out with friends in a casino, Grand National etc.). Don't think I won anything but even when I was up I just kept going as I'd written off the money before I started.

I did work years ago on a bid to run the National Lottery. There is nothing untoward about the Lottery itself, but having understood the odds, how the money is divided up and how it's all run I resolved there and then never to buy a ticket.

I know a friend who worked at Betfair for quite a while. According to him they can track that a tiny proportion (small fractions of %) of professional gamblers make a decent living from gambling, and everyone else loses.

A friend does the arb thing with the online bookie's special offers. He either wins a few hundred quid or 1 quid so I suppose it works but I worry it will just drag him in. What will he do when he sees a 'dead cert' but there isn't an offer available?

Finally I am fed up with most sports events being dominated by gambling and cheating related to gambling - so much is being ruined.

[simoscribbler]

Lottery, shares and the stock market is gambling.

Lottery, yes, because like gambling there's a binary outcome, and a short term exposure.

Investing in the stock market, as part of a diversified portfolio of investments and not trading on margin, is a perfectly rational form of saving. Many - probably most - people don't believe it, but it's true... (There are plenty of things in the market that are effectively gambling, but long only equity exposure, on a buy and hold basis, doesn't really meet any sensible definition of gambling.)

[Christian]

Premium Bonds - I put in £500 20 years ago and have won £50 twice, but surely Premium Bonds is not gambling as you get your money back???

You don't though. With inflation, your money is losing buying power. You are spending interest while watching your pot of money go down in value. £500 in todays money is worth about £280 back in 1996 using RPI so even with your £100 total winnings, you effectively lost £120 plus whatever interest you could have earned from £500.

[proby24]

I was going to type I don't gamble and then had a chance to think it over.

I play poker once every month or two for small stakes (20 quid buy in) and also class the money for entry as the price of entertainment and the company of friends. And it is a lot cheaper than drinking at the bars in Singapore.

I place a bet on the NFL Superbowl and NHL Stanley Cup champs at the start of each season, just 10-20 quid.

Living in Singapore, with a huge Chinese population that LOVES to gamble and one of the biggest casinos in the World (Singapore's two casinos bring in more revenue than the whole Vegas strip) there are temptations. But casinos have never done much for me....

[Aquavit]

I have never been attracted to pure gambling as such but I've been doing matched betting for a few months and I'm a similar amount up to what the OP has lost.

I don't see it as gambling as you can't lose, (providing you remain disciplined) although it does require a fair bit of time relative to the amount made. I treat it as a business - a form of income generation that I hope to build on but, as others have mentioned, it's a constant battle to keep accounts open.

[Sweepinghand]

It's easy money

Eh; today you can bet in William Hill shops to a max of £50

4/1 France to win euro 16

You can then Immediatly LAY the bet off at 4.4 (3.4-1)

Even paying five per cent commission you are guaranteed a nice profit at no risk at all if they win

I've managed to get £350 on across a number of shops today and have laid £200 of it off

I will then lay the other £150 off when the price shortens tomorrow when the ARB closes

THAT is a good way of "betting"

I don't have to fancy France

I don't lose regardless

It's a free pop at the .7 of £350

[zanderpants]

I literally have no idea of what any of that means! 😁

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