Taking a 365 day break from all forms of gambling...

In theory, probably nothing, but it will mark the 365 day barrier that the old lady wants me to meet. I'll probably still sit out until the 2012 NFL season because I'm pretty snakebit in baseball. I am getting better at recognizing my strengths and weaknesses as a capper, and my strength is the NBA. Maybe I should just stick to that sport.

Hutch -- thanks for the post man, I appreciate you taking your time out to give me your thoughts. Having a psych background does let me understand the nature of addiction, its diagnosis, etc. Because of that, I don't know what I could really "learn" from counseling?

Baseball is what got me too.... I went (literally) 4-30 in my last 34 wagers. That killed me, and as I got to the end of that horrific run, I chased and lost bad.

I like gambling for the challenge more than anything else. The action is fun, but I actually don't enjoy the prospect of losing money. They say that it hurts more to lose than the feeling of enjoyment that comes with winning, I know that to be the case and I'm sure many here do as well. For me, it was "can I beat this bookmaker?" rather than "I need to have money on the game to enjoy it". Like you, I don't particularly like watching games I have action on, especially if it is a large wager. I've had too many bad beats over the years that when I watch a game in that spot, I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop (which it seems to do a disproportionate amount of the time when I have a large wager going).

I argued initially about the fantasy games as well, but her thinking was "is there any entry fee? (yes). Is there a chance at the end of the year that you can win the pot? (yes). Then it's gambling". I think that's horseshit but I'm not willing to go to war over it with her.

I will still be around for sure, MM. I'm not going anywhere, I love this community way too much (as my nearly 27,000 posts since November 2007 probably make clear). I'll give my thoughts on game and may even still list picks just for practice/tracking purposes, but I won't have any real money in play for 365 days.

My old lady is the same way -- hates it but tolerates it (in general). She can't play table games in Vegas or anything like that because she hates the thought of losing the money that could have gone to buy shoes, clothes, whatever. I imagine that feeling will get stronger once a baby arrives (god willing). She has been understanding up to this point, but the amount I owe my local is probably 7 times my average offshore deposit so needless to say, she's not happy about it.

Women are the ******* rake!

I argued initially about the fantasy games as well, but her thinking was "is there any entry fee? (yes). Is there a chance at the end of the year that you can win the pot? (yes). Then it's gambling". I think that's horseshit but I'm not willing to go to war over it with her.

_________

It's an argument that has some bite.  And if it's splitting hairs and it's that important to her, then I would waive the white flag.  A smart person told me a while back that it's nice to be right on principle, but it's not worth turning your daily life into a constant argument. 

FYI, when my buddies and I go to or watch a game, we gamble on EVERYTHING.  But we do it for dollars. When we watch a hockey game, we draft all the players.  Each goal is worth a buck, each assist a buck, each fight worth a buck.  We bet a buck on which zamboni will go off the ice first.  We pick a time on the clock.  If there is a stoppage of play and it lands on that time, it's a buck.

In Nascar, we draft the field.  Top 3 places get paid.  First crash gets paid.  Last place gets paid.  Most laps led gets paid.  Top manufacturer gets paid.

In football, we all ante a buck in a cup.  We pass the cup on each first down or change of possession.  If the cup makes it all the way around, everyone antes $1 more.  The person who has the cup when there is a score scoops the pot.

We do a similar thing in baseball trying to guess what the batter will do (single, double, triple, homer, ground out, fly out, pop out, etc., K, BB). 

There are a thousand games you can play during these events and it's almost impossible to lose more than $30 or $40. 

I am going to Talladega in a few months for the fall race.  I'm already looking forward to that draft. 

And the fun stuff about this is you get to be involved for the whole game.  Where as in baseball, if you have the Twins and they go down 20-1, you kind of already know you've lost. 

I get more out enjoyment out of a game with my friends doing this low buck wagering than I did when I had $1,000 on Michigan during football season (a bet I lost, of course) some years back. 

Man, sounds like your lady runs the household here or something. My wife has absolutely zero say about my gambling. If she was paying the bills and I didn't work, sure then she can say something. However, if I pay the bills, then there is definitely going to be discretionary spent of gambling. Good luck though.

congrats Kap on becoming a dad

sounds like you lost all discipline in your wagering...it happens to all the degenerates. hope you learn from it and never repeat it or you're going to risk bringing home misery to your family.
last time i placed a wager was for the Mavs and haven't bet a game since. feels good in some ways and you might agree or disagree but you'll have to substitute all that time you spent capping doing other new things...golf!

on a side note, your bookie is a moron for giving you unlimited credit. that in itself is asking for trouble. i don't know how much you lost but for you to tap out your bank account, that is wrong. instead of putting you and your family at risk, pay him off a grand a month or whatever. your families security and well being comes first.

but you already know all this, right? 

good luck Kap...you have a Jr Kap on the way

Sucks to hear Kap!

I know we all have demons and especially in this gambling world and for you to step back ( with a lil help of course ) and realize that you need to reevaluate the situation is a token for the person you are and the person you marries , but that's what being married is about!....When they see you fucking up they should step in and help the situation....Looks to me like you have a very solid marriage and for something like this to ruin it would be go against all the hard work that was put into it!!

The NBA was a fun ride this year brotha!!...If we have a season I most definitely look forward to reading your writeups....Stay up Kap!!

I'm going to give some serious consideration to capping games without actually wagering on them... it will still fulfill my "fix" but it won't be risking any actual conflict with the wife. I think it could help train some chasing behavior out of me too.

Stopping all forms of Gambling for a Year + is a Great idea

 

 

 

Not sure I could Do it .....

may God Bless You Brother

Good luck Kap and congratulations to your wife and you regarding the pregnancy of your child.

I'm in a different situation, gfinger. Both my wife and I have significant investments in our education, and right now she brings home about 80% of what I bring home. In the future, because I am in private business and she is in the public sector, my earning potential will greatly outweigh her top earning point. If that happens, and she does not work after the kids are born (which is what I want, but she is not so gung ho about it right now), then she'll obviously have less of a leg to stand on. But as it is right now, she brings home a hefty chunk of change as well so she does have a say as to how our joint money gets spent.

Thanks pokin -- I'm excited to be a dad and think it will be one of the best things to ever happen to me and my wife.

I definitely lost my discipline, and that's my fault and no one elses. I knew I was chasing when I entered the wagers, but I still did it because I thought I was "due" for a win considering how long of a losing streak I was on. Bad idea, and one that (honestly) I knew was the wrong approach but I did it anyway. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I am concerned about what I would do to fill the time that I spend capping on a daily basis. It's really my only significant intellectual outlet that is non-work related. I mean I enjoy reading books (I devour them) and I have started taking a highly increased interest in learning about the nature of the universe and all that stuff, so that will probably work in portion. But like Papa mentioned, I'm probably gonna try capping without wagering, see how that is like.

I didn't have unlimited credit with my local, there was a weekly limit. I didn't hit that limit (probably came  close to 75% of the limit). In terms of real dollar figures, it won't empty my savings account or anything (or even take half of it away).

No fun, Island.... My wife said she felt like she couldn't handle this problem on her own ("my love is not enough to help you fix this"), and she's probably right. She thinks I need an objective third person to tell me these things (which I already implicitly know).

I will definitely be around for the NBA if we actually have a season . Just because I can't actually put money on the games doesn't mean I can't follow and give my thoughts during the season, does it?

Thanks DoubleUp -- always been a stand-up guy

Maybe I should take your approach when I get back in the game and just do a straight futures approach.

Thanks amd, appreciate the kind words... the wife is only like 2 months pregnant. Her due date is around the early portion of March. I told her the baby is gonna be born on 3/11 because 311 is my favorite band and it is destiny. I was only half-kidding.

Best of luck to you Kap.  I agree that when you become a father, you need to play it safe.  If you are the type of person to chase losses, you can dig yourself a hole very deep very quickly.

I was going to tell you the same thing about futures.  These are the best bets if you want to have action on games.

1)  There is so much time between making the wager and collecting or losing, that when you lose you don't feel the need to chase.

2)  For a set amount of money, you get action on a huge number of games.  If you bet VA Tech to win the ACC, you can root for them all year, and root for UNC and Miami to lose all year.  Bet on Bama to win the BCS, and you have action on 4 or 5 games a week.

3)  I don't have the time or energy to handicap all week every week, but with futures I can spend a week in the summer with Phil Steele, put in my bets, and be done with it.

4)  Betting individual games has a lot of aggravation, you can drive yourself crazy thinking about why a line moved, having it move against you, thinking is the line is too good to be true, hedging at halftime, etc.


I wish you would post your picks though.  Whenever I make picks without putting money on them, I hit a very high percentage. 

 Not much I can add to what has already been said here............I'll just agree that I think you're doing the responsible thing & I applaud you for that. I wish you the best.........do pop into the CFB forum occasionally & say Hi.

 Congrats to you & wifey..........very cool.

 Your life will change forever.............this is a good start. I think you'll find you won't miss it as much as you fear at this point.

See you when NBA season starts 

Kap, if there is an NBA season I'm going to ride your picks all season. I have a feeling since you're not wagering you will kill it.

Kap, if there is an NBA season I'm going to ride your picks all season. I have a feeling since you're not wagering you will kill it.

You don't have a gambling problem.  You have a Money Management problem.  Your Gambling Bankroll has to be a specific account, YOUR OWN account, completely separate from anything else involving wife or family.

Take some time off and squirrel away a Gambling Bankroll.

Do business correctly and you avoid all problems.

Try 2 future bets 1 in college and 1 in pro football. That should give you a reason to follow the football season.

Good luck Sir, you have your whole life in front of you.

I got burned many years ago with the credit and the chasing.

It got so bad that my local knew I was a Mets and Jets fan and always gave me a bad line. He also told me years later that I always asked for a line where I always put my selection first.

There will be time for you to climb back up on the horse.

FAMILY FIRST,  ALWAYS    

Good luck to you and your family

Good Luck but no offense, theres no way you dont wager on somthing for 1 str8 year. you have 27000 posts on a gambling forum and still are going to be following lines in the NBA and offering GAMBLING ADVICE? Comon dude seriously? IMHO this is not about proving your not an adict, its you setting yourself up to fail imo. gl tho.