Gambling

[Londim]

So NSG, what are your thoughts on gambling? Do you partake in it? A bit of harmless fun or something that could lead to problems later life? I was wondering this because my housemate and I were looking at odds for a few bets, in this case a 4 match accumulator for the Premier League. We may just have a small bet, literally only £1 for this weekend and see if we get anything.

We're both sensible and for me this bet is a one off should I lose. If I win however then I will take any future bets from the cash I have won and so not taking money out of my bank account. What I ask is do you gamble, do you have any tips or do you see gambling as wrong?

[Longhaul]

When I was much younger (i.e. a teenager with my first job and the seemingly endless amount of money that it brought me) I developed quite an addiction for playing fruit machines, which rapidly became a bit of an expensive problem, so I stopped it and didn't do anything of the sort for a long, long time.

Nowadays I do gamble from time to time (usually, as you're proposing, on various permutations of results across a small set of football matches). It's not something that I feel the need to do all the time, and it's not something I'd ever do using money that I couldn't spare, but I'll have a flutter if I like the odds that are on offer.

I also occasionally go and gamble in a casino, which can be a fun night out as long as you never take any cash in there that you aren't prepared to lose, and I very occasionally dabble in some online poker (every couple of months) just for a laugh.

I view the whole thing as being simply a form of entertainment, no more nor less damaging (to me) than any other form of entertainment that I pay for.

[Ashmoria]

gambling should always be seen as a game not as a way to make money.

if you can keep it in perspective and not bet more than what other people spend on their frivilous hobbies i dont see any reason not to do it.

i buy powerball lottery tickets (the lottery is the most boring, most useless form of gambling) and play poker online and in casinos now and then.

[Risottia]

So NSG, what are your thoughts on gambling? Do you partake in it? A bit of harmless fun or something that could lead to problems later life?

Well, sometimes I play Texas Hold'em for real money, and also I occasionally bought tickets to national lotteries and placed minor bets (never more than 2€) on the football championship.
It's a bit of harmless fun if you a) don't exceed and b) keep in mind that gambled money is lost money: don't expect to make regular gains by gambling.

As usual, pecunia, si uti scis, ancilla est. Si nescis, domina. (If you know how to use money, it is your servant. If you don't know how, it is your master).

[Saint Jade IV]

I have a flutter on the horses when I go to the races. It's a great conversation starter with cute boys.

"Oh I'm an innocent little sweetheart who has no idea how to bet - could you show me? You look like the smart, sophisticated type that would know about this sort of thing *shameless eyelid flutter accompanied by annoying girlie giggle*"

Usually they throw in the champers as well

[Vault 10]

So NSG, what are your thoughts on gambling? Do you partake in it?

Gambling is fun. For instance, it's far less interesting to watch a sports event if you don't have anything put on it - could be as little as the loser(s) paying the sport bar's bill - but something.

I personally engage in active investment, formerly on stock market, now (after losing at the onset of the recession) mostly trading futures, which is highly speculative, and could be viewed as a form of professional gambling. But, at least, it's a positive-sum game, unlike organized gambling which is always negative-sum.

A bit of harmless fun or something that could lead to problems later life?

Without going into tirades, let's just say I'm not an opponent of social Darwinism. So - harmless fun for those who can handle it, survival test for the rest.

[Charlotte Ryberg]

One of my relatives buys a lottery ticket nearly every day but I never got attracted to the lottery or gambling that much because the only way to win risk-free in my opinion is to save money, rather than gambling (premium bonds are okay since no one loses money there despite no interest offered).

However, I did end up with a stash of £10 in 2p coins out of just £2 one night.

[Neesika]

I get nervous. I won't even gamble with pennies. It bothers me too much, so I just don't do it. I'm not particularly drawn to it, luckily. Doesn't interest me. When I go to Vegas, it's for sex, not gambling...sluts, not slots!

[EvilDarkMagicians]

I started gambling when I was five..it's fun to throw your money away.

[Kobrania]

I play poker.
Both Omaha and texas hold 'em.
I earn around £3000 extra a year.

[Kamsaki]

When I was much younger (i.e. a teenager with my first job and the seemingly endless amount of money that it brought me) I developed quite an addiction for playing fruit machines, which rapidly became a bit of an expensive problem, so I stopped it and didn't do anything of the sort for a long, long time.

Normally, I don't mind the idea of Gambling too much, but the Fruit Machine is something I find absolutely crazy. Why on the world would anyone trust their luck to a black box designed in the intention of making money out of you? At least in games of cards, dice and roulette you're up against random systems or other players, and the likelihood of your winning is something you can evaluate in some sense.

[Bitchkitten]

Gambling has no interest for me. My roommate used to work in a casino and I found it a total bore. Though I do admit to buying a lottery ticket a couple of times a year. Generally when I spend money, I want something concrete and immediate for it.

[Sitspot]

So NSG, what are your thoughts on gambling? Do you partake in it? A bit of harmless fun or something that could lead to problems later life? I was wondering this because my housemate and I were looking at odds for a few bets, in this case a 4 match accumulator for the Premier League. We may just have a small bet, literally only £1 for this weekend and see if we get anything.

We're both sensible and for me this bet is a one off should I lose. If I win however then I will take any future bets from the cash I have won and so not taking money out of my bank account. What I ask is do you gamble, do you have any tips or do you see gambling as wrong?

Successful gambling is almost entirely about bankroll management.
On one level that can be simply about never betting anything you can't afford to lose - i.e. Decide that the entertainment value of the lottery or a 4 team accumulator is worth a pound (or whatever) to you, pay it out, enjoy the thrill of watching the results knowing you paid a pound for the privilege and if you do win see it as pennies from heaven and enjoy the occasional treat.
On another level it can be about deciding how much you are willing to invest in gambling and allowing that decision to dictate the size of bet you make. For example say you decided you had 4 pounds to invest on football matches and though the bookies always paid out evens on these particular matches, your superior skill and knowledge made you sure you'd be right 60% of the time, giving you a huge advantage.
Even with that advantage, if you bet your four pounds all at once, 40% of the time your gambling enterprise is over the first time you try. On the other hand if you decide to bet a pound at a time there is approximately a 97% chance that you will still be solvent after 4 bets. So spreading the risk allows you to survive longer and let the law of averages work in your favor.
Accumulators aren't a good way to spread the risk and serious sports betters seldom do them. They are much more like doing the lottery. But they are a lot of fun if you don't take them seriously and don't try to chase your losses. Personally if I was just doing it for fun and wanted longer odds I'd rather bet on the score of a game that was on live so that I'd get extra entertainment while watching it.