I just quit gambling... and happy new year to all of you :)

[powerball]

First off, I had second thoughts of making this post, I mean, if everyone made posts like these, this forum would be run over by whining and other depressive stuff. But I still feel like sharing my thoughts around this subject.

I consider myself a fairly smart person when it comes to gambling, but my desire to have some fun, has been higher then my ability to be smart :P

I have therefor played the slots on and off for about a year now. It has been fun, but the last few weeks had me thinking. Why do I throw money into a machinery that has a 5% edge over me? And the more you start thinking about it, the more ridicilious it sounds.

But we knew that all along, didnt we? Well, yes, ofcourse I did. But you always think and hope for the day when you win big. Well, that is what I have realized. It is almost imposible to win "big enough" for it to be worth the risk. Let me further explain what im thinking. Lets say you sit down for the night, planning to deposit 50£ and have some fun. You play, lets say 50p a bet. A decent bet for that deposit. And you start playing. If you are lucky, you get a 100x win, if you are extremly lucky, you get 2 100x wins without dropping your balance that much. But how often do this happen? Not very often. But how often do you end loosing your whole deposit? This might sound as babbeling. But my point is, what I realy feel im doing, is grinding away with 5% edge against me, in the hoping of maybe doubling or trippling my deposit. For it to really make up for all the times you loose your deposit, you need to hit something like a 1000xbet hit once in a while.. But I have played for over 1year, and I have never seen that happen.. Infact, I think the most I have been able to pump my balance up is 3-4 times my deposit.

Now, whats the point of all this babbeling? I have come to the conclusion that it isnt worth it. For it to be "worth it" (meaning you could hit som really big wins now and then) the slot would have to bee extremly high varriance. Now, the problem with extremly high varriance is that, vell, it is extremly high varriance the other way around aswell.. So you may be bound to loose 20x50£ deposits before you, maybe, hit something like a 1000x win. I E, it still isnt worth it. (In my eyes)

What you could do tho, that wouldnt be 100th of the amount of stupidity that I feel playing slots is, is playing a game like videopoker. If you play optimal strategy the house edge is 1\50th of what slots are. 1\50! that is mind boggeling. Yes, the varriance is extremly big in these games aswell, but you can hit that 1000x bet I talked about, making it "meaningfull" to try and hit. If you play with bonuses aswell, it could even be +EV. But until you hit that royal, you wil still be grinding against the house, with your deposits flying out the window. But in my opinion, if you have to play something, you should play videopoker. It is 1\50 the stupidity of playing slots :P

Now, you might be thinking, why did you play slots when you have this opinion? Well, because slots are funny, lets face it, it is funny to see the lights flashing and see the scatters, free spins starting etc. But what I have come to realize the last few days, is that the best I really could hope for, is doubling or trippeling my deposits. I have then come to realize that it just isnt worth it.

I will always bee a gambler in my heart and my soul, I am not an addict, but, the desire to have some fun wil always be there. But from now on im gonna be smarter. When I want to play, I wil play sportsbetting. I have a fairly good knowledge of odds, betting and.. soccer. At worst, I might be an even bet against the bookies (i use tools so i always place bets where i have the highest odds)

So, why do I post this here? Well, it is sort of my manifest of what I feel right now. Many of you have probably been where I am, thinking of what you are doing, why you lliterally throw money away, for, best of, doubling or trippeling your deposit. (Ofcourse, if you pump up your bet after each win, and you are incredibly lucky, you could win big, but most of us dont got the stomach for that) My goal and hope is that with this post, I could maybe help others to realize this. For me, I just hope I could hold on to the goal I have set myself. There are so much more usefull things to use money on, than grinding it away with a 5% edge against you... What about spending all the money you planned spend on gambling on stocks\stock funds instead? That way you easily have a positiv expectation on your money.. Or what about buying your wife something lovely each month? :P Or save up some money and go for a nice vacation every year? In my ears, it sounds better than grinding it away with 5% against you, hoping to just double or tripple your deposit.

I for myself plan to buy a unicorn darts-board and some high-end unicorn darts, and start practicing. Then you have something to do when you are bored aswell :P

Happy new year to all of you, take my adivce, cut down on the gambling, if you have to play, play something like videopoker. Or hell, just delivery your lottery-cupon each week. You might win big someday

[silkprint]

Happy New Year and best of luck to you Powerball .

[Mousey]

Sounds like you've got a handle on it, powerball. Practice up with those unicorns (mind the wall ).

You have a great new year ahead of you.

[hippo925]

we've all been there and i'm sure have all had the same insightful thoughts. i myself used to play $5 and $10 spins on slots regulary because i could afford it, but after quitting for a while, i realized it was the same "rush" playing low limits. slots are fun...period. when they are no longer fun, it's time to think about it again.

with every new year comes new opportunities and choices and i hope the ones you make are right for you

happy new year to you as well!!!

[yameater]

Good post Powerball. Good fortune to you in all of your forthcoming endeavors.

[oyw7862]

good post powerball.

Quit gambling is hard, because we all used to it.

I registered a world of warcraft account, hope this can get me out of that blood sucking slots.

best wishes to both you and me.

[hippo925]

Originally Posted by oyw7862

good post powerball.

Quit gambling is hard, because we all used to it.

I registered a world of warcraft account, hope this can get me out of that blood sucking slots.

best wishes to both you and me.

before you do that, watch the southpark episode "make love, not warcraft"
apparently, it can be just as addicting and unhealthy too!!

[lojo]

Good post PB, it made sense without having to use too many numbers. Sounds like a good 'aha!' moment for you. Best of luck

[anniemac]

PB, I appreciate your post. I am in the same mind frame as you are. I am quitting also. Not because of any one thing, just a lot of little things that have happened that made me see the 'light'. I think that after you play certain slots for a period of time, you see what is actually happening. Don't get me wrong, I have cashed out several times in the last few months but not anywhere close to what I have spent. I love slots but it has gotten too stressful for me. Not that I have gotten in a financial bind because of it but just because it has gotten to where I feel like they are waiting for me to deposit so I can just lose it.

I deposited $100 tonight at a certain casino and got a free spin bonus once. Played several other slots there and nothing. Whereas I use to get the free spins at least once in every $10-15 played, now once in every $25-30. It's really not the winning (great to do, no lying about it) but I just like to play and want to play more than 15 minutes before I am bust. It doesn't matter if I low roll or high roll, still nothing. So I am hanging it up. Am going to find a new hobby that certainly costs less with at least a small amount of return.

Not bitching, just stating facts.

[lojo]

I have a new hobby People can 'deposit' to one of my ewallets, and I will rarely and randomly send them a pretty picture - sometimes I'll just lift a winning screenshot from here, sometimes it will be a copy of the mona lisa, and sometimes (rarely and randomly) I'll transfer money back to your ewallet!! (if you're lucky) Sound fun?

Or how about we all pitch in for some research and development on a paper shredder that only accepts real money (like a soda machine does) and when it chews it up all kinds of cool pictures flash on the screen! (of course it would have to be next to a real ATM that occasionally kicked out a buck or two so we could keep feeding the pretty-picture-paper-shredder when our madmoney was gone.

lol the longer I go without depositing, the more absurd it seems sometimes.

Good luck all, and if you are planning to quit and have any trouble, remember there are links on the main page here (as well you can pm me for alternatives) I suspect I'll play again when I have disposable income (omg ain't that the ahaaa, disposable)

Live long and Prosper!!