[jjgold]

I compare it to drugs in a way. It starts off as fun and then you get in over your head. The typical guy starts off betting $10 a game and before you know it he is betting a dime a game. It happens to most. On so many weekends I would staert off betting $100 per game and by Monday Night I was up to approx 3k per game.

I know very few that control gambling as it grows on you fast.

Even in poker, 8 months a go I was playing in 1/2 games and when I peaked I was playing in $200/$400 games and lost a ton and I do not even like poker.

Be careful it might happen to you or no it probably will happen to you.

[tacomax]

http://www.trackchampion.com/forums/...ad.php?t=10084

[jjgold]

I am a prime example

Taxy tell us your story

[jentude]

have to agree JJ. I started at 13, and have yet to find anything as intoxicating, other than sex!

[BuddyBear]

true...very addicting. I remember in high school a guy use to walk around with these slips with the games and it had the NFL and NCAAF games and if you selected 4 all right you won $100. Later I would learn it was a parlay. So I would throw $10 plus $3 "handling fee" and I would never win. As I entered college online gaming just exploded. Lost quite a bit...lot of bad moments but I kept going to I finally learned things like money management, line shopping, line analysis, line movement, the value of the underdog, public hype, etc... and then I finally started to make money.

But it was a tough lesson to learn.

One thing I learned quickly is that you should never ever under any circumstances play at an online casino. Biggest mistake of my life was playing at one. To this day I regret it...but I finally feel i have made enough to surpass my losses and I feel i am only getting better.

[Mudcat]

Most People That Gamble Are Compulsive Gamblers

I think what you're doing there is projecting. You have obsessive/compulsive behaviors around gambling - and you surround yourself with people who are all about gambling all the time - so you are having trouble understanding how anyone could be different.

The truth is gambling only becomes a problem for a small percentage of people. Most people can just have social fun with it and it will never be more than that.

It's a lot like drugs/alcohol. I work with addicts/alcoholics all the time and that is something I hear over and over. They know how their brain works - and they always surrounded themselves with like-minded people - so it's a surprise when they clean up to find out that most of the population's life doesn't revolve around getting high. It's just an enjoyable little diversion.

But yeah, it seems safe to assume that a higher percentage of people reading a forum like this would be prone to (or already immersed in) gambling addiction than the general population.

[natrass]

Yeah, Im not so sure at all to be honest. Just like with the drink/drugs analogy you used, I would say its not how much or how often you gamble but what it means to you.

For me, its purely financial .... I do OK and sometimes I think I should just put more on but I think, deep down, I know its important to stay within my financial comfort zone.

Ive been in positions where Ive really needed a tickle ... car bills, expenses above the norm and Im strapped .. and to lose then is just sh*t and to win then is the best.

They say most alcoholics dont know they are ... so maybe I am addicted, just doesn't feel like I am.

[Senator7]

With my sportsbetting, I actually have a business plan/gameplan. Although I have a full time job, I still take my betting very seriously, almost business like. I have a list of rules that I follow and my girlfriend (an innocent bystander) helps enforce them when necessary. It has worked out very nicely for me the last three years I've been betting.

Senator 7

[natrass]

Yeah, rules are essential to discipline ..

... but if youve ever sat at a blackjack table putting the same stake plan through its grind you know how tedious that can become ... I dont know, there is something in human nature that just wants to chase a thrill, take a chance and I think that catches people against their better judgement...

[raiders72001]

But yeah, it seems safe to assume that a higher percentage of people reading a forum like this would be prone to (or already immersed in) gambling addiction than the general population.

Captain obvious strikes again


It's tough when you see your friends turn into degenerate gamblers. I use to hang around with a guy that was a lot of fun and he really knew his sports so it was fun to talk to him.

Horses finally got the best of him though. He lived at the track. He would even sign for guys for a small fee that had taxable win tickets.

I had to distance myself from him as it was sad to watch him go downhill. You can only do so much to help guys but if they don't want the help there's not much you can do.

The last I heard the IRS was on him for all those winning horse tickets that he signed for.

[THESCOUT]

Most people who post are cumpulsive posters

[Illusion]

Most people who post are cumpulsive posters

Not jj, he is a pro.

[pags11]

have been there...has taken me 20 years to learn how to be a handicapper...that is, having money management skills and having a system to picking games...try not to bet too much that it makes you completely sick to watch the game...

[Cap dat 4ss]

Not jj, he is a pro.

[bobbyfk]

6 year old bump? bored much Cappy?

[JOHON8]

true...very addicting. I remember in high school a guy use to walk around with these slips with the games and it had the NFL and NCAAF games and if you selected 4 all right you won $100. Later I would learn it was a parlay. So I would throw $10 plus $3 "handling fee" and I would never win. As I entered college online gaming just exploded. Lost quite a bit...lot of bad moments but I kept going to I finally learned things like money management, line shopping, line analysis, line movement, the value of the underdog, public hype, etc... and then I finally started to make money.

But it was a tough lesson to learn.

One thing I learned quickly is that you should never ever under any circumstances play at an online casino. Biggest mistake of my life was playing at one. To this day I regret it...but I finally feel i have made enough to surpass my losses and I feel i am only getting better.

Do you believe you've made enough money to cover the time spent and the units risked? I know guys who've spent 1000's of units only to be up a few 100 over the span of a couple years. Can you give maybe just a picture of what making money in this business is for you?

[AribaAriba]

99 percent loses......... thats y we dont see a long term record to most cappers here LOL

[laxbrah420]

most people who post on gambling websites are addicts, but id bet 50% of dudes who watch more than 3 sporting events a week bet in some way, but not nearly that much have a problem

[tblues2005]

not me. I do this for a lot of fun and that is it. I don't raise my bets very often. I have a budget to go by and bills go first before anything. I say about 40 percent has a problem from what I know. As long as I go with my budget I will be fine. I do that at the horse race track is bring a set amount and if it is gone I still have money sitting at home. It is easy to get carried away there but as far as sports go I just deposit a set amount of what I have on my budget and that is it. You have to use your head and not get too carried away. I do have a friend that bets heavy and he has not had the greatest of years in football. He has hit it big before and I think he has only had maybe 3 good weeks this year because the usual teams didn't have a good year like Oklahoma and Florida which teams he bet on which I thought that he was crazy on some of them weeks.

[plzkthx]

So you have no control. Ive never played more then what I can afford. Bankroll
Management

[dbnmln]

how many of you cashout on a weekly basis, just curious...i only wish to be like some that do.

[jjgold]

man I was so right years ago

Amazing how I call so much stuff

[Wrecktangle]

wow, many of the posters at SBR were not even born when this thread was started.

[jjgold]

Everyone learn from the thread


All I do is teach

[zam77]

Goldbond... you share so much of your personal life on here, please share your financials with us. How much income do you bring in every year? At the end of the month how much money have you made/lossed? Not just with gambling, but everything considered. I'm guessing your net worth is over $1mil. (your welcome for the compliment, in advance). Is this even close? Details please.