All Forums | General Discussion

How has Gambling Effected your Life?

...
Participants:
Search model icon
Views: 1611
Posts: 53
 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Dec, 2004
Posts: 4711
Posted: #26

Quote Originally Posted by peppy222:

    --- No. You are.  

 

Vanzack has a book sign me up

 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Jul, 2007
Posts: 1129
Posted: #27
Quote Originally Posted by BarryDingle31:

Husker: Thats nice to know your daughter saved you from all that... It's stories like that, that give me a good feeling inside, to know Family is still #1 in some peoples lives.  I have a question for you, did you ever feel wrong about being a bookie, or have you felt bad taking money from degenerate people who just couldnt win?  

To be honest with you, no, I pretty much had no conscience.  I mean during the time I was a bookie, I also had a bookie.  It was mainly for laying off some of the hit if a game got a little too one sided for my liking, but I also used to it to bet some games.  I guess I kept betting just because I didn't want to give up the experience of being right.  And I know what you mean about your bets going up also.  When I started it was 1 - 2 games a week with 50 to 100 riding.  After I had been into gambling for about 6 - 7 yrs I was betting 500, 1000, and in some instances if I was down, up to 3K.  I'll never forget those games.  Thankfully I won them.  But it just shows how after awhile, money is no object.  First year 50 bucks got me excited and after awhile I wouldn't bother betting less than 500. 

And I know there are some big bettors out there that think those amounts are nothing, but it was and still is a substantial money to me.  Especially to be chancing it on something that I have NO control over.

 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Feb, 2006
Posts: 4455
Posted: #28
I could be in the majority or the minority but I hate gambling with a passion. I tell my friends I hate gambling and they laugh because they see how much money I make.

Some people gamble for fun but I have always said I gamble to pay bills. I started in 2002, bet small to begin with. From there on I bet on everything and anything for a year and realized I needed a break because I was gambling to gamble. In 2005 I graduated from grad school and was short on cash because the job didn't pay well. I started gambling again to pay my bills and have money to go out. For two years I became dependent on that and did very well. Then, I went into my first tailspin and lost four grand in a little over a month and that killed me. I took another year off and started again a few months ago because with the economy the way it is things have gotten tight and expensive again. I am up five grand - check pending - and cannot wait until I can get another job to stop gambling again.

I hate staying up for the west coast game, hate capping random shit bag games, hate knowing the most obscure stats, hate waking up early to watch a tennis match, hate spending midway at work watching a game, it sucks. But, if you are good, gambling is a source of income that people need.
 
Banned
Participation Meter
Joined: Aug, 2008
Posts: 751
Posted: #29
It's helped me earn a decent living where i can fund my amateur porn company.  Let me know if your daughter, mother, sister, aunt, or grandmother would like a role.
 
Banned
Participation Meter
Joined: Aug, 2008
Posts: 751
Posted: #30
Drug addicts welcomed; I do not discriminate
 
Hall of Fame
Participation Meter
Joined: Jul, 2004
Posts: 25609
Posted: #31
it has given me a life that I love and hope for everyone else
 
 
.
 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Jun, 2008
Posts: 1194
Posted: #32
Quote Originally Posted by Terpsbaby:

I could be in the majority or the minority but I hate gambling with a passion. I tell my friends I hate gambling and they laugh because they see how much money I make.

Some people gamble for fun but I have always said I gamble to pay bills. I started in 2002, bet small to begin with. From there on I bet on everything and anything for a year and realized I needed a break because I was gambling to gamble. In 2005 I graduated from grad school and was short on cash because the job didn't pay well. I started gambling again to pay my bills and have money to go out. For two years I became dependent on that and did very well. Then, I went into my first tailspin and lost four grand in a little over a month and that killed me. I took another year off and started again a few months ago because with the economy the way it is things have gotten tight and expensive again. I am up five grand - check pending - and cannot wait until I can get another job to stop gambling again.

I hate staying up for the west coast game, hate capping random shit bag games, hate knowing the most obscure stats, hate waking up early to watch a tennis match, hate spending midway at work watching a game, it sucks. But, if you are good, gambling is a source of income that people need.



You're in the majority for hating it, because most lose and hate it.. But you're in the minority for hating it because you win.. But then you tell your story and I see why you might hate it..  It sounds like it owns your life and everything revolves around it.. but Then again if you do it to pay the bills, it's no different than any other job if you can find some certainty in it.   goodluck to you and I hope you find the job when you're up a lot of $$
 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Jun, 2008
Posts: 1194
Posted: #33
Quote Originally Posted by husker6974:

To be honest with you, no, I pretty much had no conscience.  I mean during the time I was a bookie, I also had a bookie.  It was mainly for laying off some of the hit if a game got a little too one sided for my liking, but I also used to it to bet some games.  I guess I kept betting just because I didn't want to give up the experience of being right.  And I know what you mean about your bets going up also.  When I started it was 1 - 2 games a week with 50 to 100 riding.  After I had been into gambling for about 6 - 7 yrs I was betting 500, 1000, and in some instances if I was down, up to 3K.  I'll never forget those games.  Thankfully I won them.  But it just shows how after awhile, money is no object.  First year 50 bucks got me excited and after awhile I wouldn't bother betting less than 500. 

And I know there are some big bettors out there that think those amounts are nothing, but it was and still is a substantial money to me.  Especially to be chancing it on something that I have NO control over.



That sounds a lot like my experiences, besides the part of being a bookie.  I suppose you have to put away alot of your sympethetic feelings being in that business.. Was collecting ever a problem? I bet you heard every story out there.

One of my things was.. when I would bet larger and say I would lose.. People would say to bet smaller, but then that just pisses me off more when I win because it's gonna take 2 or 3 of those games to get me 1 of my previous wagers.. It's crazy right, getting pissed even when you win..
 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Jun, 2008
Posts: 1194
Posted: #34
Quote Originally Posted by ValueforRent:

Not to turn this into a nature vs. nurture debate but I think there is something to be said for the ability someone has to manage money properly that is simply inherent in them.  Some people just aren't good with money, look at the massive amount of debt across the U.S. and consumer spending habits.  How many books and authorities are there on this subject?  And yet the problem is arguably only getting worse.  Millions of people just don't know how to manage money.  I'm not dismissing the notion of someone improving their money management skills because I have seen first hand people become better but some people just can't do it.  I will thank my Scottish ancestry for partially leading to me becoming a cheap, frugal nit.



Yeah you're so right, I guess thats why locals get paid.. people are not limited to what they have and begin to dig deep into credit hoping to get $$ back that they didn't have to begin with
 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Jun, 2008
Posts: 1194
Posted: #35
Quote Originally Posted by searchwarrant:

Win or lose gambling's a horrible affliction. It effects your moods, personality, temperament, relationships and your overall physical well being. Anybody that's involved with it on a daiy basis over the long haul claiming otherwise is either in total denial or completely full of mule dung.



I guess thats why I have so much in common with people at this forum.. lol, so true again.. however when i win it effects my mood in postive ways, and I know thats not good..

If I could steal a quote from the poem "IF" b Rudard Kipling..

" If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same"

I think that should be one of the commandments for all gamblers
 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Jun, 2008
Posts: 1194
Posted: #36
Ha looks like Kipling was a gambler too lol


If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Jul, 2007
Posts: 1129
Posted: #37
Collecting was definately a problem.  Not with the people that were making 8 bucks and hour.  It was with the fuckers that had 5000 sq. ft houses and BMW's in the driveway.  Those are the one's I always had problems with.  I had a guy owe me 10K, and his work was driving a truck hauling crops.  The dude presented me with a payment plan and payed me off without any problem.  The most wealthy fuck that bet me would argue, piss, moan, not answer his phone, and generally just ignore me until he wanted to bet again.  Fucker still owes me 2K.  But what was I to do?  Back then I lived in Lawrence, KS, you break somebody's leg, arm, jaw, sternum, whatever, everybody knows about it.  My stepson whooped a guys ass b/c the dude owed him money from a bet.  My stepson hit the kid one time, broke the dude's jaw, and still has a felony on his record.  I always knew that I wanted a clean record more than a couple of thousand bucks.
 
Legend
Participation Meter
Joined: May, 2003
Posts: 71024
Posted: #38
Quote Originally Posted by VGPOP:

I don't gamble. If I study/handicap a game, I am not gambling.
 
That's just the way I see it.

VG you're a solid vet but c'mon...you know that's a crock. There is absolutely positively know way the human adrenaline delivery mechanism and nervous system can tolerate long term fluctuations without severe psychological damage. We just aren't designed to do this. Being in fight or flight mode more than even twice a week is the reason a lot of us become different in personality. Once you've been doing it for years you just enter a state of bliss....not much of anything rattles your cage because the emotions shut down and hybernate into protection mode.

 

 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Sep, 2002
Posts: 1263
Posted: #39
i have a lot less money.
 
Prospect
Participation Meter
Joined: Jan, 2006
Posts: 87
Posted: #40
Every important decision in life is a gamble.  Those who have studied probability, through gambling, have a better idea about what may work or not, then those who enter into, say, business or marriage blindly. 

Gambling can teach you a lot about yourself, because you basically have to examine every belief you have.  And destroy it. ;)

Those who do make money in sports betting consistently, and they are few, could be more successful in the stock market.  The same skill set, but a lot more money to go around.  At least until recently. ;)

In the long run sports betting can be extremely time consuming.  So always keep simplifying systems and angles, and play only the strongest angles. Don't get into betting 1000-2000 bets per year, because doing so will take over your life.  It's about lifestyle; not the lifestyle.

And, finally, to the bible thumpers who were behind the internet legislation that made betting online so much harder: 'Verily, I say unto you, there is no greater gambler than the Lord Himself. Or He would not have created man.'  Amen.
 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Dec, 2003
Posts: 2964
Posted: #41
Quote Originally Posted by searchwarrant:

Win or lose gambling's a horrible affliction. It effects your moods, personality, temperament, relationships and your overall physical well being. Anybody that's involved with it on a daiy basis over the long haul claiming otherwise is either in total denial or completely full of mule dung.

Agree 100% with you on this one.

I'm 26 years old and have been betting sports since I was 18 as well as going to the horse track since before I was 10 with my dad which is what got me into gambling.  My mood and personality change based on how I'm doing in my games that day or night.  If I have a bad night then I'm a dick and don't want to be around my Wife or friends and if I win then I'm a free spender and by everyone drinks while thinking about who I'm betting next.  It took my life over and that's all I thought about, and that's exactly why I quit, that and I lost my grandfather's inheritance which still makes me want to vomit.

 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Jun, 2008
Posts: 3827
Posted: #42
Quote Originally Posted by PocketJacks:

I just tail Vanzack.......he gives me his picks when we are out on the yacht. 

 

 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Jun, 2008
Posts: 1194
Posted: #43
Quote Originally Posted by DarkHorse21:

Every important decision in life is a gamble.  Those who have studied probability, through gambling, have a better idea about what may work or not, then those who enter into, say, business or marriage blindly. 

Gambling can teach you a lot about yourself, because you basically have to examine every belief you have.  And destroy it. ;)

Those who do make money in sports betting consistently, and they are few, could be more successful in the stock market.  The same skill set, but a lot more money to go around.  At least until recently. ;)

In the long run sports betting can be extremely time consuming.  So always keep simplifying systems and angles, and play only the strongest angles. Don't get into betting 1000-2000 bets per year, because doing so will take over your life.  It's about lifestyle; not the lifestyle.

And, finally, to the bible thumpers who were behind the internet legislation that made betting online so much harder: 'Verily, I say unto you, there is no greater gambler than the Lord Himself. Or He would not have created man.'  Amen.


What does the first thing I highlighted mean

I liked a lot of what you said.. but you can't tell me that God was gambling when he created man... what was he gambling?
 
Captain
Participation Meter
Joined: Jul, 2007
Posts: 7205
Posted: #44
I have been gambling on football since 1958.  I have made a few nice hits and lost a few big (for me) bets.  I imagine I am a few thousand behind over the years but I really enjoy gambling.
 
Let me tell you a collection story.  An old time bookie (now dead) in Hot Springs, AR had a dentist down in south Arkansas that lost $15,000 and refused to pay.  After letting this go on for a few weeks he got a "hitter" and drove down to the dentists house one night and knocked on the door.  When the dentist came to the door he told him "I'm here to collect, if you don't pay he (pointing to the hitter) is going to kill you".  The dentist said "Wait here just a minute, let me go to my safe" and he came back with the $15,000.  I am sure that it would have gone down that way if he hadn't paid.  The old bookie was in his seventies when he told me this, that was back in the eighties, I am sure he is dead.  If you are going to collect you must be prepared to do whatever is necessary to collect.
 
Prospect
Participation Meter
Joined: Sep, 2008
Posts: 33
Posted: #45
Up until last year I'd bet anything & everything. Over the years I've won in spurts & lost in spurts. When I was up my book always called me to see what I wanted.
 
Well last fall I went on a nice roll. I collected and bet more. I hit again and my bankroll grew. I collected again............My run kept going then my book put the breaks on.............
 
Anytime I've down I've paid. Now my books down I have to wait. It's been 11 months now. I'm not worried about it, just sux.
 
 
Banned
Participation Meter
Joined: Oct, 2008
Posts: 148
Posted: #46
Quote Originally Posted by DiverRon:

 

  Vanzack? He's a paid poster who has earned about $10,000 from Covers over 7 years, and who-knows-what amount from who-knows-how-many other Web forums? He's just someone who can say whatever he wants whenever he wants, as long as it attracts responses. HEATED responses. That's what they pay him to do.
 
Legend
Participation Meter
Joined: Nov, 2001
Posts: 60080
Posted: #47

Quote Originally Posted by peppy222:

  Vanzack? He's a paid poster who has earned about $10,000 from Covers over 7 years, and who-knows-what amount from who-knows-how-many other Web forums? He's just someone who can say whatever he wants whenever he wants, as long as it attracts responses. HEATED responses. That's what they pay him to do.

Exactly.

And 10K is way low.  Add a couple of zeros to that.  I wouldnt work for 10K over 7 years.

I need to support my losing gambling habit, and covers knows it, and in my recent renegotiation with them they tried to take away my special "cost of living" increase.  Well guess what?  It didnt work.

I am now the highest paid poster on the internet, and this is the only thing that allows me to lose money at the rate I do.

Dont you wish you had my job?

Dumbass.  Paid posters.  Funny.

Support your local animal shelter. I am on twitter.
 
Veteran
Participation Meter
Joined: Mar, 2007
Posts: 2061
Posted: #48
its been a nightmare that will never end
 
All-Star
Participation Meter
Joined: Aug, 2006
Posts: 10368
Posted: #49
people dont realize gambling takes alot of practice and you have to develop your own style. Just like being a pro football player or pro whatever, you have to be really fucking good at what you do in order to get paid. Of course sacrifices have to be made in order to reach your goal and its these sacrifices that can break or make a gambler. How much are you willing to lose to be living the dream? Its all in your ability to calculate risk with reward and skill comes from playing the game. A true gambler has instincts to beat the line. Unlock your mind and set your addiction free.
" DONT READ THE BOOK, WRITE THE FUCKING BOOK"
 
 
Prospect
Participation Meter
Joined: Oct, 2008
Posts: 216
Posted: #50
I've been betting on sports for 13 years. At first it was the school of hard knocks. Lost as much as I won and then some. Tried buying picks from so called experts and still didnt work. I don't really know what happend but I put 2 and 2 together about 2 years ago and started winning. I have my own style of betting and don't follow anyone. Hey it works for me and pays for allot. Theres not a day goes by that I don't have money down on something. Mainly NHL, NBA, MLB,  NCAA BB. I clean up on these and just toy with NFL and NCAA Footbal betting small amounts on my favorites for the week.
 
If your going to be a sports gambler and just starting out I hope you have a big bankroll. Your gonna need it. It takes a while to get good at this but you will find out how along the way and over the years if you can support the school of hard knocks lessons and they are hard. I forgot to mention money, manage your money THATS VERY IMPORTANT..Don't ever bet your bankroll or more than you can afford to loose. I recommend only betting 3% to 5% of your bankroll on all bets this will help keep you safe.
 
 
No One beats the odds unless you have the discipline to beat the odds. You have to be very discipline to play the odds and beat them. Discipline puts the odss in your favor.
 
Good Luck.
 
VinMan86
All Forums | General Discussion
About Us
Contact Us
Careers
Our Team
Brand
Testimonials
Betting Guides
Sportsbook Reviews
Sports Betting News
Podcasts
Responsible Gaming
Betting Sites
Canada Betting Sites
Canada Casinos
Best Betting Apps
Contests
Streak Survivor
King of Covers
Office Pools
The Covers community has
810,221
lifetime members worldwide
Covers 30 Years Logo Established in 1995,
Covers is the world
leader in sports
betting information.
Site Map Help Privacy Terms of Service youtube logo facebook logo twitter logo instagram logo linkedin logo google news logo
Covers is verified safe by: Evalon Logo GPWA Logo GDPR Logo GeoTrust Logo Evalon Logo
Copyright © 1995 - 2026 CS Media Limited All Rights Reserved.

If you choose to make use of any information on this website including online sports betting services from any websites that may be featured on this website, we strongly recommend that you carefully check your local laws before doing so.It is your sole responsibility to understand your local laws and observe them strictly.Covers does not provide any advice or guidance as to the legality of online sports betting or other online gambling activities within your jurisdiction and you are responsible for complying with laws that are applicable to you in your relevant locality.Covers disclaims all liability associated with your use of this website and use of any information contained on it.As a condition of using this website, you agree to hold the owner of this website harmless from any claims arising from your use of any services on any third party website that may be featured by Covers.