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Gambling on football.....who here knows what I'm talking about?

Jonesy

Jonesy

Got Ink ?
Joined
Mar 17, 2007
Messages
7,481
Ok, I admit I'm a gambler, that's half of the problem right there isn't it? To me it's not. I study football as it's my passion. I can tell you who's hurt, what the line is, what the temp and wind is going to be like, but at the end of the day, how much of that really matters? There's a saying amongst us football gamblers, "Monday night football is your last line of defense". If you play an early game and lose, no biggie...you have the 4:15 games to make it right. If you're still losing, so what??, you've got the Madden/Michaels game coming on at 8:15. You lose again, awwww hell, "I've still got the Monday night game to make it back....., but what happens if you lose again?
I admit, I shouldn't be gambling. My wife just started working again a few weeks ago, the transmission in on of my vehicles went out on Friday, when times got tough for me, someone was there to help me out and I need to get a little flowing their way also. I guess what I'm asking is, " What is too much"? I lost $150 on an early game and panicked, because I don't have the money to lose right now so what do I do, I go for the break even on the late game. Thankfully, I hit, so the only thing I owe is the vig off of my first loss. It is a big deal because before the game was over, I couldn't sleep, I was worrying about where the money would come from, I was wondering do I go with the Chargers @ -9 tomorrow night for the full amount or do I back down to $150 in case I'm unlucky again? I only have 2 rules when it comes to gambling.1) never gamble on the Panthers or the Eagles...too much emotion involved, 2) 1 bet per Sunday.....I broke both rules today. Inside the thoughts of an addict.
I've always thought I'm pretty good at what I do because over the past four years, I'm hitting at around an ~70-75% clip....but it's days like today, when the sole betting is done to raise money I don't have but need, that's when you need to keep the phone hidden and just enjoy the games. It could have gotten pretty nasty for me today (thank you Cowboys! :love: ) but it didn't. I was just wondering if there were any others of you that have gone through this?
Please, I don't need the one line responses telling me I have a problem and need help..that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for guys that have done the same thing and would share with me their feelings and experiences on the matter.This also isn't something I keep from the wife either. She knows that I only bet pro football and I let her know each week that I'm making my bets ( I don't catch any shit because normally, I'm good at this.) and she 's ok with the situation for the most part. I'm sure there will be some of you voicing your disappointment at me for doing this when I've got no business doing it, but for me, this is an integral part of each year. Just remember before you make that disparaging post, that 95% of us all have some sort of vice that has a hold on us.

Just looking for other real experiences like this. It's always better to know you're not alone than to sit in the corner by yourself.
 
I can relate. I lost a hundred on the Cowboys game last weekend that I thought was a lock, but they didnt cover the spread. Told myself I'm not betting anymore until i'm ok with losing it. And of course, every game i picked this weekend, and was extremely close to betting on, all won. In my opinion it's not good to do it unless you can handle the ups and downs and have some cash behind it (easier said than done). It's tough, cause it's a lot of fun. I'm sure you'll be alright, when your calling 75%, I wouldnt be worried to much, hang in there.
 
bfisher88 said:
I can relate. I lost a hundred on the Cowboys game last weekend that I thought was a lock, but they didnt cover the spread. Told myself I'm not betting anymore until i'm ok with losing it. And of course, every game i picked this weekend, and was extremely close to betting on, all won. In my opinion it's not good to do it unless you can handle the ups and downs and have some cash behind it (easier said than done). It's tough, cause it's a lot of fun. I'm sure you'll be alright, when your calling 75%, I wouldnt be worried to much, hang in there.
Click to expand...
Not bad when the dogs almost outdid the fav's this week on the big betting games! What's your cell #? :laugh:

edit for clarification
 
95% of us all have some sort of vice that has a hold on us
Click to expand...

Yeah it sounds like a "problem" but you are aware of it. Not going to make any judgments because as you said we all have our "vice". I am glad that I am not too close to anywhere I can gamble because I like to play cards - Poker, Blackjack etc. I love to play and pretty good too - but not all the time.

The best advice my father ever gave me regarding gambling is only bet what you have and are prepared to lose.

Keep it under control. I would hate to hear that you had a bad beat and will lose the house or something.
 
PuroEsq said:
The best advice my father ever gave me regarding gambling is only bet what you have and are prepared to lose.
Click to expand...
Even though this seems like common sense, this is some of the most sound advice I've ever heard regarding gambling
 
I would back it down, just in case. I'm not a big Jets fan but I am a huge Farve fan. Chargers defense hasn't come around like I expected they would, even without merriman. Now they may be down LT, and while sproles has looked awesome early on, I'm still not sold that he is michael turner-esq. They may not cover the 9...Then again, there are some that are going to say the jets defense is suspect, and that may be the case, but we are still only a few weeks in and they still may have enough gas in the tank to put up a solid performance...I mean they have only yielded 19 points at most this season against a brady-less new england, and 14 points to a miami team with a new qb (their old qb).

The real question I have though, is what in the world were you thinking, not betting against the lions? I'm still kicking myself for not leaving a enough money to drop a bet at the sports book in vegas while I was just there.
 
I used to be pretty heavily into betting College and Pro. This was around 5 years ago and I was hitting pretty good on College Saturday and then losing it and then some on NFL Sunday. I had it bad for awhile, I was freshly divorced and depressed.

So my buddy and I would even go to the casino every other night as well and drop anywhere from $200 - $600 a night. We were doing some side projects at our job to get extra money, but sadly it was being donated to the casinos.

Luckily I met my wife and she got me on the straight and narrow. Now I will only occasionally bet an online casino, maybe $20 every other month. Other than that nothing.

I have definitely been there Brian and maybe more. I feel you man, hang in there and bet with your head.
 
If you are going to gamble, be sure that you can afford the loss. You, on your own admission, could not and therefore had no right to indulge.
I would be embarrassed to post what you did quite frankly.

Brian
 
I used to bet quite heavily back when I was in college. I was betting both Saturday and Sunday and I was the king of the parlay/teaser bets. I did fairly well at the start and then I started to hit a losing skid where I was sure that pro football was rigged. On paper, you would think something was a sure bet (take the Pats/Dolphins game yesterday) and that is where I really saw my downward trend. I stopped betting when I had to run cash out to my bookie at 11:00pm one Sunday night because he had to pay his guy and couldn't wait or cover my loss. I was in a spooky part of town with $200 in cash which was a lot to me as a recent grad in search of a job. Nothing bad happened to me while delivering my money but it really made me take a good look at what I was doing. I luckily joined a fantasy football league after that so that was a less risky option for enhancing my football watching. I'm thankful I stopped betting as I'm sure I would've squandered unknown amounts of hard-earned money on something that I have little to no control over. I hope you find what you're looking for here #2 and I wish you good luck with whatever decision you make.
 
Gambling addiction is a disease, just as many other vices. I have a facility full of individuals that the state pays me to treat for this issue. Gambling should never be used for investment purposes of any kind. If the dollars are not aqvailable to lose you simply should not be betting them. How do I know all these things, well I lost over $90,000 in 2002 because I too thought I was good at what I did until I hit a stretch that I was unprepared for. I spent hours preparing each week for the upcoming games. I knew the lines, yada, yada, yada, but in the end it did not matter because my betting had increased because I was good and thought I was unbeatable. Caution is your friend. Just be careful :).

Jim
 
I enjoy gambling from Table games to Sports book betting. But I have always know my limits.

Rule of thumb I follow. " ONLY GAMBLE WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE" odds are you will lose! If you win consider it a bonus.

example: If you can afford to lose 20K per year without it affecting your life, family, mortgages, etc etc than I would say that would be your limit.

Bets of any kind should never be considered SURE THINGS. If you do end up winning dont go and bet that money away. Save it for a rainy day!
 
Keeping gambling money (again, only that which you can afford to lose) in a separate place or account away from your "real money" can also help to prevent any real-life consequences. Consider it okay to dip into your gambling fund for real-life expenses, but not the other way around and you'll stay out of trouble. I know it's much easier said than done, but if you draw that firm line in the sand for yourself, it'll really help matters in the future.
 
I don't do it because I know how my mind thinks. More is better ran my life for a long time. I just know even if I did gamble if I was up $500 I would want it to be $1000. There would never be enough and I would find myself much like Stepthirteen was talking about in the hole big time and in short order.

I will play the Mass lottery if it goes over 100 million and 1 ticket only. This way I know I am not going to win so I would not be stressed about it. If I got into sports betting I would be stressing every moment of every game. I would make life very unhappy for everyone around me.

It could be the 1st quater of the early Sunday games and I could be down 2 points on the spread and I would already be thinking of how I am going to recoup Monday it would be insanity. Banging my head against the wall and expecting different resuls never worked on my other bad habits and I know gambling would be the same
 
I don't gamble, even slot machines in Vegas. The rare times when I'll take a bet on some game, it'll be a fiver of smokes or something else tangible. I consider that stake as "gone" from the start. I'm also one cigarette away from being a smoker. I have deferred that smoke for about 8 years now. I have deferred the bet for more than 20.

You're clearly shocked at your own behavior. Only you can do something about it.
 
I have been there. I remember one Thanksgiving weekend that I lost over $1k. That was 20+ years ago. The only way I had the money to pay the man was due to the fact that I was able to draw my paycheck a couple days early. Had no money for the 2 weeks until the next payday. That is when I realized I was a complete ass for betting money that I could in no way afford.

You will NEVER be ahead if you do this long enough. I know too many people that lost everything betting on games that were locks.

Do yourself, your health, and your marriage /family a favor, and give it up cold turkey. Believe me, you will be much happier on Sunday evenings.
 
Jonesy said:
Ok, I admit I'm a gambler, that's half of the problem right there isn't it? To me it's not. I study football as it's my passion. I can tell you who's hurt, what the line is, what the temp and wind is going to be like, but at the end of the day, how much of that really matters? There's a saying amongst us football gamblers, "Monday night football is your last line of defense". If you play an early game and lose, no biggie...you have the 4:15 games to make it right. If you're still losing, so what??, you've got the Madden/Michaels game coming on at 8:15. You lose again, awwww hell, "I've still got the Monday night game to make it back....., but what happens if you lose again?
I admit, I shouldn't be gambling. My wife just started working again a few weeks ago, the transmission in on of my vehicles went out on Friday, when times got tough for me, someone was there to help me out and I need to get a little flowing their way also. I guess what I'm asking is, " What is too much"? I lost $150 on an early game and panicked, because I don't have the money to lose right now so what do I do, I go for the break even on the late game. Thankfully, I hit, so the only thing I owe is the vig off of my first loss. It is a big deal because before the game was over, I couldn't sleep, I was worrying about where the money would come from, I was wondering do I go with the Chargers @ -9 tomorrow night for the full amount or do I back down to $150 in case I'm unlucky again? I only have 2 rules when it comes to gambling.1) never gamble on the Panthers or the Eagles...too much emotion involved, 2) 1 bet per Sunday.....I broke both rules today. Inside the thoughts of an addict.
I've always thought I'm pretty good at what I do because over the past four years, I'm hitting at around an ~70-75% clip....but it's days like today, when the sole betting is done to raise money I don't have but need, that's when you need to keep the phone hidden and just enjoy the games. It could have gotten pretty nasty for me today (thank you Cowboys! :love: ) but it didn't. I was just wondering if there were any others of you that have gone through this?
Please, I don't need the one line responses telling me I have a problem and need help..that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for guys that have done the same thing and would share with me their feelings and experiences on the matter.This also isn't something I keep from the wife either. She knows that I only bet pro football and I let her know each week that I'm making my bets ( I don't catch any shit because normally, I'm good at this.) and she 's ok with the situation for the most part. I'm sure there will be some of you voicing your disappointment at me for doing this when I've got no business doing it, but for me, this is an integral part of each year. Just remember before you make that disparaging post, that 95% of us all have some sort of vice that has a hold on us.

Just looking for other real experiences like this. It's always better to know you're not alone than to sit in the corner by yourself.
Click to expand...


Also since you seem to be big into football. Might I suggest getting into Fantasy Football. It is all the fun of watching the games without the risk of losing your ass. You have a vested interest in watching all the games because odds are you will have a player playing in one of those games! You can still get your football fix without having to bet the house. And it is a safe addiction :thumbs: Only thing you will lose is a lot of time watching the games on Sun and Mon.
 
alexgtp said:
Jonesy said:
Ok, I admit I'm a gambler, that's half of the problem right there isn't it? To me it's not. I study football as it's my passion. I can tell you who's hurt, what the line is, what the temp and wind is going to be like, but at the end of the day, how much of that really matters? There's a saying amongst us football gamblers, "Monday night football is your last line of defense". If you play an early game and lose, no biggie...you have the 4:15 games to make it right. If you're still losing, so what??, you've got the Madden/Michaels game coming on at 8:15. You lose again, awwww hell, "I've still got the Monday night game to make it back....., but what happens if you lose again?
I admit, I shouldn't be gambling. My wife just started working again a few weeks ago, the transmission in on of my vehicles went out on Friday, when times got tough for me, someone was there to help me out and I need to get a little flowing their way also. I guess what I'm asking is, " What is too much"? I lost $150 on an early game and panicked, because I don't have the money to lose right now so what do I do, I go for the break even on the late game. Thankfully, I hit, so the only thing I owe is the vig off of my first loss. It is a big deal because before the game was over, I couldn't sleep, I was worrying about where the money would come from, I was wondering do I go with the Chargers @ -9 tomorrow night for the full amount or do I back down to $150 in case I'm unlucky again? I only have 2 rules when it comes to gambling.1) never gamble on the Panthers or the Eagles...too much emotion involved, 2) 1 bet per Sunday.....I broke both rules today. Inside the thoughts of an addict.
I've always thought I'm pretty good at what I do because over the past four years, I'm hitting at around an ~70-75% clip....but it's days like today, when the sole betting is done to raise money I don't have but need, that's when you need to keep the phone hidden and just enjoy the games. It could have gotten pretty nasty for me today (thank you Cowboys! :love: ) but it didn't. I was just wondering if there were any others of you that have gone through this?
Please, I don't need the one line responses telling me I have a problem and need help..that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for guys that have done the same thing and would share with me their feelings and experiences on the matter.This also isn't something I keep from the wife either. She knows that I only bet pro football and I let her know each week that I'm making my bets ( I don't catch any shit because normally, I'm good at this.) and she 's ok with the situation for the most part. I'm sure there will be some of you voicing your disappointment at me for doing this when I've got no business doing it, but for me, this is an integral part of each year. Just remember before you make that disparaging post, that 95% of us all have some sort of vice that has a hold on us.

Just looking for other real experiences like this. It's always better to know you're not alone than to sit in the corner by yourself.
Click to expand...


Also since you seem to be big into football. Might I suggest getting into Fantasy Football. It is all the fun of watching the games without the risk of losing your ass. You have a vested interest in watching all the games because odds are you will have a player playing in one of those games! You can still get your football fix without having to bet the house. And it is a safe addiction :thumbs: Only thing you will lose is a lot of time watching the games on Sun and Mon.
Click to expand...

X2 My wife says I am even more glued to the TV on Sunday's as before.
 
"You don't know when to quit, do ya Griswold?... Here's an idea: Why don't you give me half the money your were gonna to bet, then we'll go out back, I'll kick you in the nuts, and we'll call it a day! "

:laugh:
 
I guess I need to clarify a little seeing some of the responses I've gotten (and yes, this morning when I got up, I wish I hadn't started this thread at all). First of all, I don't have a "problem" with gambling. Pro football is the only thing I bet, I only bet on one game a week win or lose, I never bet more than $200 on a single game (and up until yesterday, had never bet with money that wasn't there), and I keep my emotions out of my betting. I do it because I enjoy the preparation for each week along with my fantasy teams. I hadn't planned on doing any betting at all this year because of how life has been this year for me, but I decided to go for it and see if I could make an "easy score" Sunday to give me a little extra cash flow this week. I've never done what I did yesterday as far as betting with money I didn't have and making multiple bets and because of the scare I went through, there won't be any more betting this year. I was just curious to see if there was anyone out there that had to keep rolling from game to game to try to break even and see if that kept them from betting again or was just part of the "thrill" for them...that's all. It wasn't about an admission of a problem, it was to hear other stories that some of you may have gone through. I guess this was the best $15 I've ever lost because of the lesson learned.
 
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