How did you start gambling?

When I was 16 mother worked at a grocery store, brought me home a couple proline (parlay cards) to play at the lottery terminal there. Would wager 2 to 5 bucks per card, and eventually evolved into online when I was around 20, 25 now. 

13 yo. roosevelt raceway. my dad put $2w&p on keystone pioneer with herve filion in the sulky.. he won and paid $11 win and $4.60 place. i thought i won the lottery.

What were those shares of microsoft worth when that happened?

i think most of us wished we never had that fateful day

shootin pool before i had hair on my peter and every thing else followed course.Good thread

a few kids i grew up with had fathers that ran numbers........ 

My uncle raced greyhounds at Raynham Park in Massachusetts. My Dad "distributed" parlay tickets to the neighbors. I remember the first time I won an NFL 4 teamer for a dollar. It paid $40. 

40-1 is pretty sweet on a 4 teamer

Lucky, or unlucky enough that my family had race horses.

I don't even remember I don't know what the heck im doing on here some days.

I think you are always taking that chance and betting on everything you do.   Then there is the gambling for lucre.  I always bet my car will start and the rain will stop and the light will be green.  Then there is the lucre?

I started playing poker at 13. Cashed out $8500 at 14 from Pacific poker, thought I was the shitt

Started filling out those Parlay football tickets around 4th grade ...

Loved Guessing the following weeks point spreads right about the same time ...

WAS skipping school and growing a stache in 6th grade to bet on th Ponies at OTB

Made my first bet with a Bookie in 7th grade ....

When i was about 7, my grandfather would reward my good grades with lottery scratchers. When i was in college, a bookie approached me, who had seen me score checking some basketball games, been hooked ever since...

in a word.....  football

1. Cruise ship in elementary school playing the wooden horses (numbered 1-6) that moved around the track based on if their number was rolled.  Couldn't get enough.

Scratch offs led to winning NCAA bracket over 500 as a sophmore in high school 96. Had UK winning it all. That led to sports betting in college and poker and casinos and blackjack and late night partying playing ace ducey and c lo. 

First bet was $5 on the super bowl when the Cowboys were playing the Steelers. Won, and also was the first time getting stiffed by someone .

My dad used to place small $10-$20 wagers with someone at work, so he taught me about point spreads when we'd pull them out of the Washington Post weekly. It amazes me how even adults can't understand the concept of +7 and -7, and how spreads can have half points .

Started betting bigger freshman year of college. Friend father was a middle man. Won my first chase bet for $300 when Belichik took an intentional safety. Started online after getting a 50% deposit promo. Promptly lost $1000 in the online casino and didn't have the stomach to go to class after. Such a waste of a 103 yard INT return by Ed Reed as time expired against the Browns.

Been dumping all the money I've made ever since, and I live a pretty frugal lifestyle by any comparison.

I just would like to say that when I was 22-26 or so, I could gamble all day, all night, and still go to work and to class. At the age of 28, I've pretty much hit a wall where I get tired much more easily and can't do that anymore.

28 is also the age when time catches up with you, and you've gotta think about your career path, getting married, buying a house, etc. Realizing that I'm this old, been working since I was 16 and have nothing to show for it is a kick in the behind.

That's probably why you see active posters fade away sometimes. It's a road to nowhere, and of course I'm already trying to figure out how much I can afford to gamble next football season.

Endnote: If I never started gambling I would be in such a better place in life now. I've also become numb to winning and losing, so life doesn't really excite me anymore. If and when I ever have kids, I'm definitely going to educate them on how addicting this stuff is and how you could get screwed if you're not careful. Wow didn't intend for it to be that long.

Bodog was also the book I primarily used when I started up. Got hooked on their poker room and heads up tables. It was so addicting because of how rigged it was. You would run unbelievably well, or unbelievably bad.

I don't think I've ever had 4 of a kind ever in real life, but I would get one like every session, sometimes multiple times on bodog.

Started betting my Sophomore year in college. Listening to Fraternity brothers talking about it. Didn't have a clue put in $40 bucks online and took a 3 game 10 point teaser that a buddy told me to take. The rest is history. Miss the good ole days where they would direct deposit your winning in your bank account. Grew from online to having a local. Do remember as a kid pops asking me who I liked better in NFL games. So born into as well.

hi everyone...new to the boards.

I get started shooting pool and playing those tightass poker machines when they were legal in my state...thank goodness they banded them in 2001.

Grandpa was a bookie, taught me how to bet football and baseball a little bit.