Gambling.

octatonic

Read this BBC News story just now: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-49314326/they-offered-me-cash-bonuses-to-keep-gambling

I've never gambled- well $5 in Las Vegas when we went there but that was it
I can't understand how it is a thing people enjoy doing or do at all- especially up to the point of looking over £600k doing it.
I have three questions.

How?
Why?
How?

PolarityMan

brexit

ESBlonde

Strange isn't it. I might know someone in a professional capacity that is middle aged, has a secure well paid job, excellent prospects etc.

They recently had to sell the family home and downsize, crystalize thier rather generous company pension and take to regular 'repayments' to keep thier knees inside thier legs.

Is it addiction or stupidity?

lysander

Think Gear Acquisition Syndrome but 100x worse. It's an addiction and can range from mild to mental illness - that's it really, not much else that can be said.

fretmeister

Poker is an honest trade.

The rest is for suckers.
(nips off to buy a lottery ticket)

DrCornelius

octatonic said:

I can't understand how it is a thing people enjoy doing or do at all- especially up to the point of looking over £600k doing it.

Without sounding condescending, feel grateful that you don’t understand it, I used  to dabble when I quit my city job . I missed the buzz of the dealing room so traded (basically gambled) from home. Won and lost 10s of thousands every week and thank God ended up pretty much flat when realised it was the first and last thing I thought about every day.

Luckily managed to walk away without any damage done but know quite a few blokes who lost everything. One said to me once that for problem gamblers like him the best feeling in the world is winning a bet and the second best is losing a bet as you are buzzing and pumped up even when you lose.

EDIT - re reading this it looks like I could afford to win and lose 10s of thousands every week - I couldn't of course. I remember one Friday I was £22,000 down on a day trade (fancy name for a short term bet) bet on the Dow Jones, I kidded myself my background meant I had an edge and I was trading but it was pure gambling. Like a typical mug punter I doubled up on my bet and by pure fluke it came back my way and I got out of it actually making about £100.  You can imagine that sort of rollercoaster would give you a buzz and reinforce in my mind what a genius I was for doubling up and getting my money back but tbh I was scared sh1tless of telling my Mrs that I'd lost that sort of money and promised myself that if I got it back I wouldn't bet again.

10 years on and thankfully haven't been tempted other than the odd boxing and football bet.

TimmyO

Gambling is an addiction and like most addictions it's really hard to understand for those of us who aren't affected like that by it. 

LastMantra

Gamblers only tell you about the wins. They almost seem to be blind to the fact they've spent twice as much to get it. 

I suppose it's a high like other additions.
My mate spends pretty much all his wages in the bookies. His wife pays for everything else. Been like that for years. He's never drank smoked or taken anything else.

octatonic

TimmyO said:

Gambling is an addiction and like most addictions it's really hard to understand for those of us who aren't affected like that by it. 

I can sort of understand a few addictions that I don't suffer from (alcohol, drugs etc).
I can see how a bit of dabbling in something sets up a reward mechanism and each time it takes a little bit more to get the buzz.
That makes sense, up to a point.

I guess with gambling I don't really understand how you get to that point- you clearly have to know going into it that the house always wins so why start? I just can't parse the mindset that would say 'yeah this is something I am going to do'.

TimmyO

octatonic said:

TimmyO said:

Gambling is an addiction and like most addictions it's really hard to understand for those of us who aren't affected like that by it. 

I can sort of understand a few addictions that I don't suffer from (alcohol, drugs etc).
I can see how a bit of dabbling in something sets up a reward mechanism and each time it takes a little bit more to get the buzz.
That makes sense, up to a point.

I guess with gambling I don't really understand how you get to that point- you clearly have to know going into it that the house always wins so why start? I just can't parse the mindset that would say 'yeah this is something I am going to do'.

I think of addictions like custom velcro - every addiction has its unique configuration of hook and loop. If your brain doesn't have the matching loop, you can bump into it a thousand times and it doesn't even feel sticky. But for a few... 

octatonic

TimmyO said:

octatonic said:

TimmyO said:

Gambling is an addiction and like most addictions it's really hard to understand for those of us who aren't affected like that by it. 

I can sort of understand a few addictions that I don't suffer from (alcohol, drugs etc).
I can see how a bit of dabbling in something sets up a reward mechanism and each time it takes a little bit more to get the buzz.
That makes sense, up to a point.

I guess with gambling I don't really understand how you get to that point- you clearly have to know going into it that the house always wins so why start? I just can't parse the mindset that would say 'yeah this is something I am going to do'.

I think of addictions like custom velcro - every addiction has its unique configuration of hook and loop. If your brain doesn't have the matching loop, you can bump into it a thousand times and it doesn't even feel sticky. But for a few... 

You and your sexy talk...

VimFuego

just to clarify, betting on bum fights doesn't count as gambling, right?


erm, asking for a friend.

octatonic

VimFuego said:

just to clarify, betting on bum fights doesn't count as gambling, right?


erm, asking for a friend.

Have you put your house up as collateral?

VimFuego

octatonic said:

VimFuego said:

just to clarify, betting on bum fights doesn't count as gambling, right?


erm, asking for a friend.

Have you put your house up as collateral?

not mine, no. 

Philly_Q

octatonic said:

TimmyO said:

Gambling is an addiction and like most addictions it's really hard to understand for those of us who aren't affected like that by it. 

I can sort of understand a few addictions that I don't suffer from (alcohol, drugs etc).
I can see how a bit of dabbling in something sets up a reward mechanism and each time it takes a little bit more to get the buzz.
That makes sense, up to a point.

I guess with gambling I don't really understand how you get to that point- you clearly have to know going into it that the house always wins so why start? I just can't parse the mindset that would say 'yeah this is something I am going to do'.

It does seem to be possible to keep it under control, for some people.

A friend of mine is completely obsessed with horse racing, has been for at least 40 years.  I think his dad took him to betting shops as a kid, he had a pre-university job at a bookies and he follows all the races every day of the week.

But he never bets big money and although I'm sure in the long-term he must have lost more than he's won, he's never got into financial trouble (of course I don't know his personal finances, but his wife's more than sharp enough to catch him out if it became a problem).

Personally I don't seem to have the gambling gene at all.  I've placed bets about twice in my life, lost my stake and thought "well fuck that for a laugh".

EricTheWeary

Of the many stories about my grandfather...when he was in the army any downtime was spent playing cards and betting whatever they had so he came back to civvy street obsessed with cards and gambling. There would be a big game every Friday night and his wage packet would go in the pot. If he won he'd be on top of the world for the week, if he lost miserable as sin and my father would have to go next door to his aunt to get fed because they had zero money.
I guess it's about returning for those highs, just one more go, one more win. 

fretmeister said:

Poker is an honest trade.

The rest is for suckers.
(nips off to buy a lottery ticket)

My nephew does online poker and wins a few thousand £s across the year ( although I guess he wouldn't tell us if he lost). But he has a PHD in some theoretical maths thing ( that's how well I understand it) so it's not a game for idiots. 

Edit: not a game for idiots if you want to win. 

Kilgore

The gambling industry is a cesspool.

Money laundering, bitter labour disputes, links to organised crime and senior executives linked to murders, extortion and triad gangs. 

Of course, that's at a Trump casino. I'm sure the rest of the industry isn't quite that bad.

munckee

My friend's granddad was a big time gambler who won so much in a day at the races in the 1950's that he bought a house for cash on the way home and (allegedly) never bet again as he wanted to be the one who quit while ahead.

midlifecrisis

gambling has always been around and people have always become addicted. the big problem now is its so accessible, with 24 hours 7 days week online,and anonymous. personally i would like to see them all outlawed. I knew a so called profesional gambler with a masters degree very intelligent bloke who was always saying its a mugs game and he only bet on things he'd studied and drew up plans and model etc, until one day he broke down in tears admitting he was £50k in debt and couldnt get anymore credit.   

Nitefly

A bloke who worked for the same firm (a major utility company) as Our Maud embezzled £120k over a couple of years, by closing off dead accounts with credit balances.  Most of it went on gambling.

When he got found out, he was of course sacked and eventually went to prison.

His boss, who was supposed to be checking what he was doing, also got sacked with an £86k golden boot...

Grunfeld

TimmyO said:

I think of addictions like custom velcro - every addiction has its unique configuration of hook and loop. If your brain doesn't have the matching loop, you can bump into it a thousand times and it doesn't even feel sticky. But for a few... 

I know that's not a scientific explanation but I think you've described it well. 

I don't know what the evidence really is but I heard that a disproportionately high amount of gamblers said they experienced a decent win right at the start.  Of course that could be a bias too where they simply discount their initial losses and only remember the win.

I'll go with the custom Velcro simile.  I like that!  You could leave me in a casino or bookies all night; no problem.  I've got different Velcro.