Do you gamble?

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  • rupert_pupkinrupert_pupkin Posts: 3,975
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    I do small football accumulators, that way if one comes in I win a substantial but not life changing amount and it hardly dents my pocket. It's more of a hobby to have an interest in every game and keep track of how teams are doing

    If you can afford to bet big you don't need to
  • IzzySIzzyS Posts: 11,045
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    The Wizard wrote: »
    But it's false hope not to mention greed. You don't need a life changing amount of money to be happy in life. If you feel you do then maybe you need to need to readdress your priorities. You have more chance of getting knocked down by a bus than winning the lottery. Personally I'd rather save the money and have a guaranteed end of year spree with it than the more than likely outcome of losing it all.

    I know but its the hope I like. There's a greed element to it that I don't like. I'd rather they had more smaller jackpots than something daft like one big jackpot for 20 million - 1 million would be more than enough for me(!). 20 one million pound winners would be better but I guess some people would rather have less of a chance of winning 5 times that amount perhaps, some weeks, than a better chance of winning less? that aspect is a shame.

    Anyway if I saved the £2 per Lotto game, I'm not sure what I'd spend the money I'd saved, on at the end of the day. It wouldn't be a great deal, I suppose. I'm not sure what to spend a few hundred on, if that. I'd probably end up giving a fair bit to charity and the National Lotter gives money to charity anyway. I suppose im not sure what I'd do if I had millions but it'd give me something to motivate me to figure out, at least (lol). I just dont enjoy my job much at all and ive no idea what else to do or whatever.
  • Chuck WaoChuck Wao Posts: 2,724
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    Bet on a few things - especially footie on Betfair
  • spookyLXspookyLX Posts: 11,730
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    used to play the lotto but have not for awhile
  • walterwhitewalterwhite Posts: 56,564
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    The Wizard wrote: »
    Nope. If I spend a pound I want something in return for it. Gambling is for idiots. The odds are stacked against you and these things are only there to make money for someone else. Best way to make money is to open a bookies. They never lose.

    I have never seen the enjoyment in sticking money on a bet where the chances are you're about to lose it all or maybe break even and if you're very very extremely lucky you might win something.

    That would depress me not cheer me up. If my dad stuck the £8 a week he spends on the lottery in a savings account he'd have ten times more money to spend after a year than what he wins. It not even like being at a casino where you can enjoy playing the games while losing money. Where's the enjoyment of going to a shop to buy a ticket? Sorry buy I just don't get it.

    People who say gambling is for idiots aren't doing it properly.
  • walterwhitewalterwhite Posts: 56,564
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    The Wizard wrote: »
    But it's false hope not to mention greed. You don't need a life changing amount of money to be happy in life. If you feel you do then maybe you need to need to readdress your priorities. You have more chance of getting knocked down by a bus than winning the lottery. Personally I'd rather save the money and have a guaranteed end of year spree with it than the more than likely outcome of losing it all.

    What do you say to the many, many people (including me) who make a decent to huge amount of money in profit each year gambling then?
  • Chuck WaoChuck Wao Posts: 2,724
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    People who say gambling is for idiots aren't doing it properly.

    ...that's very true .
  • BedrockGBedrockG Posts: 46
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    Every single day.
  • Grabid RanniesGrabid Rannies Posts: 4,588
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    I would never gamble myself, but having been to Las Vegas at the beginning of the year, I can see how it is a literally 'awe-some' industry. I'm NOT saying that as if it's a good thing, just that that was the reality of it.
  • SherbetLemonSherbetLemon Posts: 4,073
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    Other than a lotto ticket when it's a rollover, never. Having seen the devastating effects of a disabled member of family spending literally every penny of their benefits on online bingo/casinos, I would never ever be tempted.
  • blueisthecolourblueisthecolour Posts: 20,123
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    I spent years winning and losing a few quid on the fruit machines but the new ones were costing me far too much so had to quit. I used to be able to go to the pub, have 4 drinks, play a bit on the fruitie and still have change from £20. Now i'm ending up spending well over £30 if I play.

    Used to play on the online games in the evening when I was bored but I realized that it was just a way to lose £20 quickly.

    I go through spells of betting a fiver bet on football matches but my luck (or judgement) is awful so there's little incentive. Same story with horse betting - I now only bet when I go to the races.

    I very occasionally buy scratch cards but I find them a waste of time. 1 in 3 times I get my £2 back, I once won £20 but that's it.

    Sorry if this is all sounding a bit depressing but I get annoyed of all the money i've spent on betting and never had a serious win. Of course I expect to lose overall but maybe 50% of my stake, not 95%.
  • sodavlacsodavlac Posts: 10,607
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    The Wizard wrote: »
    Nope. If I spend a pound I want something in return for it. Gambling is for idiots. The odds are stacked against you and these things are only there to make money for someone else. Best way to make money is to open a bookies. They never lose.

    Whislt the odds are stacked against the punter, to state that bookies never lose be that in the short-term or even the long term is incorrect. John McCririck, the horse-racing presenter is a failed bookmaker. Also, on sites like betfair, you can be the bookie and I can assure you that everyone doing that is winning. If you think it's easy why not give it a bash?

    As for gambling myself, not much these days. Used to bet on horses and football quite regularly. It was a hobby of mine, and I never particularly bet huge amounts. Most I ever won was £400, most I lost £210. That £210 bet was by far the biggest bet I ever had and even that was split up into 7x£30 bets on 3 different horses incorporating singles, doubles and trebles.

    I'd try to take a statistical approach to gambling and enjoyed looking at the form of all the horses in a race, handicap marks, the going and whether or not it would suit a horse, the influence of the draw in a flat race, trainer & jockey form, allsorts of variables. Whilst I'm sure people would spend longer sometimes, I could happily spend an hour or a little more studying one race.

    The same with football matches although not quite as in depth for one match. I'd look at the home team's home record vs. the away team's away record, both team's overall records, recent form (overall and home and away), injury/suspension news and a my own knowledge of how I thought the teams would match up in terms of style of play if I knew the teams well enough, that sort of thing.

    At the end of all this number crunching and analysis I'd often be happy to place no bet if I didn't like the odds or couldn't come up with a likely winner be it a horse or a football. I found the attempted statistical analysis rewarding in itself. If I did place a bet then the reward of the feeling of being right and correctly solving the puzzle was almost as rewarding as winning money. I found it an ego boost, thinking of myself as being clever. Similarly, I sometimes felt embarrassed or stupid if I got it horribly wrong. I'll not say I could have decided who I thought would win then not bet and still got the same satisfaction, there would have to be a pound or two on it, but that's really all it would have to be to fully enjoy it when I got it right.

    I could spend a full day doing this sort of thing at one point.

    Also got into online poker for a while quite heavily at another point in time. Simlilar story with that, I really loved the maths involved, plus the game theory and the psychology. I would read and study a lot. Micro-limit poker, or little $5 tournaments/sit-and-go events were enough to satisy me.

    All I do now is the occasional Euro-millions when it's a big jackpot and even then not all the time. I know there was big one this past week or two, not sure it has been won yet. Anyway, I didn't do it.

    Might re-visit the poker or the football/horse racing one day. Getting heavily into something for a span of 1-5 years and then dropping it altogether for a while is something I do often. Right now I'm back into computer games after leaving that alone for over a decade (with the exception of playing Football Manager). Bought more than I'll ever play in my lifetime in the past year or so.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 7,182
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    I play the euromillions and the lotto sporadically. Occasionally I'll place a bet on the grand national, but those gambling machines in pubs always looks so complicated. Plus I've never really shown an interest in casino games as they always seem a bit too difficult to win at.
  • Pumping IronPumping Iron Posts: 29,891
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    Spent a load on 2p machines tonight, won a load of rubbers and plastic toys. I just couldn't stop!
  • Chuck WaoChuck Wao Posts: 2,724
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    I

    Sorry if this is all sounding a bit depressing but I get annoyed of all the money i've spent on betting and never had a serious win. Of course I expect to lose overall but maybe 50% of my stake, not 95%.

    You ' re gambling in line with the odds of winning in your chosen field , hence you are losing 95% + . Its generally best to gamble where the odds aren't so damn crappy and more in your favour .
  • treefr0gtreefr0g Posts: 23,596
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    I used to gamble in order to win and make money and always lost.

    Now on the odd occasion we will have a works outing to Windsor racecourse and I I'll have a bet just for the fun of it with no thought of financial gain and I always win.

    Isn't it ironic?
  • chopsimchopsim Posts: 3,522
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    I do small football accumulators, that way if one comes in I win a substantial but not life changing amount and it hardly dents my pocket. It's more of a hobby to have an interest in every game and keep track of how teams are doing

    If you can afford to bet big you don't need to

    I do this. 5 fold accumulator for £1. Sometimes i'll do a couple of them. Sometimes 5 of them. If i win, great. If not i've only wasted a couple of quid.
  • chopsimchopsim Posts: 3,522
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    I would never gamble myself, but having been to Las Vegas at the beginning of the year, I can see how it is a literally 'awe-some' industry. I'm NOT saying that as if it's a good thing, just that that was the reality of it.

    You went to Vegas but didn't gamble. Why go?
  • chopsimchopsim Posts: 3,522
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    Spent a load on 2p machines tonight, won a load of rubbers and plastic toys. I just couldn't stop!

    I'm not sure but weren't you going to Blackpool this weekend? I love those 2p sliding shelf machines. £5 and you get a huge tub of 2p's then you can play for ages.
    It's the winning that's exciting, not how much you win.
  • neelianeelia Posts: 24,186
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    Just the lottery occasionally. I used to play poker when I was a student - but penny in amounts. I haven't played arcade machines in a long time. They ceased being fun.
    The Wizard wrote: »
    Nope. If I spend a pound I want something in return for it. Gambling is for idiots.
    Bit sweeping! It is not idiotic to do something that gives you pleasure worth the investment.

    I have never seen the enjoyment in sticking money on a bet where the chances are you're about to lose it all or maybe break even and if you're very very extremely lucky you might win something.
    So because you don't see the enjoyment anyone who enjoys it is an idiot?
  • Pumping IronPumping Iron Posts: 29,891
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    chopsim wrote: »
    I'm not sure but weren't you going to Blackpool this weekend? I love those 2p sliding shelf machines. £5 and you get a huge tub of 2p's then you can play for ages.
    It's the winning that's exciting, not how much you win.

    Yes am here now :)
  • neelianeelia Posts: 24,186
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    The Wizard wrote: »
    But it's false hope not to mention greed.
    How is it a false hope? And how do you know it is greed. The person may have medical concerns or have causes he wants to support.
    don't need a life changing amount of money to be happy in life.
    I don't need lots of things to be happy in life but I choose to have them.
    If you feel you do then maybe you need to need to readdress your priorities. You have more chance of getting knocked down by a bus than winning the lottery. Personally I'd rather save the money and have a guaranteed end of year spree with it than the more than likely outcome of losing it all.
    And you are of course entitled to make that choice for yourself.
  • chopsimchopsim Posts: 3,522
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    Yes am here now :)

    Is it better than you thought?
  • Pumping IronPumping Iron Posts: 29,891
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    chopsim wrote: »
    Is it better than you thought?

    Yes actually, I am enjoying myself :)

    I am really scared of heights, but after about 45 mins plucked up the courage to walk on the glass floor in the tower.
  • walterwhitewalterwhite Posts: 56,564
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    chopsim wrote: »
    You went to Vegas but didn't gamble. Why go?

    Thousands if not millions of people visit Vegas every year without gambling. Infact I read it's about half. There are lots of things to do in Vegas other than gambling.
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