My confession, and where I am now...

[sticks1977]

I have not told many people this - and would like to share my experience and possibly get some replies to what course I should be going down in the next few weeks...

Lately I have been using gambling as an alternative source of income to try and pay down on some debts that I have slowly managed to abuse over the last few years. I have been gambling online for roughly 12 months and have had some rotten moments of luck. The main problem I have had is resorting to credit cards to fund my balance in the online casino.

I won't exactly advertise or promote the site that I have been playing on - but they have a Live Dealer Roulette table that I often play at.

Just this week I have cashed out $2,500 out of my account to pay off one of my credit cards that I had maxed out due to gambling. The cash out request it still being processed but this is the first time in months that I have actually cashed out the money and have felt good about it... I do not want to really go back to where I was a few weeks ago...

I still have a LONG way to go and I guess registering here and writing up this thread - I want some advice and ideas from the people out there that may have had a similar experience to me, or can at least guide me in the right direction.

I mainly play a system and set myself goals at the start of every month. My current goal is to win $180 per day and spread this over 3 sessions of play in the morning, afternoon and evening (attempt to win $60 per session). In the past I have been able to stick to a strict regimented way of playing and not letting greed and impatience take over. Unfortunately though it has been easier to say than do and have sometimes found myself in a heap of trouble.

So far my current casino balance is sitting at $3,090. I wanted to get to $3,120 this morning but the way I was playing and risking a lot of money (at one stage was $200 behind where I needed to be). I find especially lately that is has been very hard and difficult to win on Roulette even placing small bets.

My main method of betting in the past has been to cover 2 of the 3 dozens (eg. 13 - 36) on a European Wheel, the initial bet amount per dozen being what I want to win - $10 on each dozen to win $30, a profit of $10. If the first spin was a loss I would then triple my bet on the next spin - $30 per dozen. This method worked well when I happened to fall into a win but turned dangerous when I happened to always not be betting on the dozen that came up!

Recently I have been using a 'Labouchere' method of betting and in the short term it has worked well. But it has it's own down-falls when I run into a loss streak of 5-10 spins when betting on an even result (eg. 1-18, Even, Red, Black, Odd, 19-36). Keeping in mind I am only wanting to win a total of $60 over a session of play (which often lasts for 15-30 minutes).

So - after everything I have mentioned above - I would welcome feedback and any advice that I should be looking into. I have wondered whether to change my focus to Blackjack as the probability of losing 5-7 hands in a row on Blackjack may be less?

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to any replies and also contributing myself to this forum in the coming weeks and months. It may help me even keep my feet on the ground and realise what I have done in the past but to also focus on the future!

Regards, Shaun (sticks1977)

[takethemoney]

You are not going to like my feedback, but here it is: close every damn credit card account and casino account that you have. Work out a repayment plan with your creditors and understand that your salvation is not going to come from gambling in any form. Find a new hobby, or treat gambling as a hobby and play for fun. Chasing losses and hoping to recoup them, with the dream of getting back on top is the delusion of pretty much every gambler who has had problems or has gone too far. The casinos recognize this and that psychological aspect is built right into the games. It's a trap. Run Jim!!! (Shaun)

[4 of a kind]

I’m one of the old men here and have been gambling most of my adult life. My first emotion was to respond to your post like a father and give you hell for your obvious lack of education when it comes to gambling.

This forum is loaded with many educated gamblers that will give you a good ass whipping for even suggesting any type of system for any gambling game offered by any casino, land or online could possibly work for the long term.

You state you’ve only been gambling online for 12 months with the delusional thoughts of thinking gambling could act as an alternative source of income and in turn help you pay off your debts created over the last few years with your winnings. Since you didn’t specify how you actually put yourself in debt over the years, I could only assume it wasn’t from gambling, since you certainly wouldn’t consider to expect online gambling to give you a different outcome. (I hope)

I see that your only 33 years old, and there is a good chance you like the millions and millions before you that thought the same way only to learn the hard way, that gambling with money you couldn’t afford to give to charity will certainly nail your coffin closed. Considering the fact that your still young means there is plenty of time left for you to get off the ground and brush the dirt off.

You sound like a rookie gambler; yet, smart enough to realize there is a problem. I hope you didn’t come here expecting someone to give you the winning recipe.

My favorite saying is: “Las Vegas wasn't built from paying winners”.

What takethemoney says above, although short and to the point is dead on balls. Take that advice and remember you could always try gambling again for some fun later on in life when your back on your feet and mature enough to gamble with the right expectations.

[dominique]

Sticks, I only have one comment:

SYSTEMS DO NOT WORK!

Run fast and run far! Gambling is entertainment, not an income. Never gamble what you cannot afford to lose!

[BingoT]

Sticks, I only have one comment:
SYSTEMS DO NOT WORK!!

A great saying from Albert Einstein

"No one can possibly win at roulette unless he steals money from the table while the croupier isn't looking." — Albert Einstein

[Pulver]

Worth a read:

http://www.wizardofodds.com/gambling...ngsystems.html

[4 of a kind]

A great saying from Albert Einstein

"No one can possibly win at roulette unless he steals money from the table while the croupier isn't looking." — Albert Einstein

You forgot to mention that he said that after his first and only visit to Vegas, and made that comment just after watching the game for awhile without playing it. Guess he did the math in his head without risking a penny.

[jstrike]

I one time saw a guy pay his rent by taking the half he had to Vegas, betting it on one spin and winning. But the odds were against him. He had the good sense to walk away. You want to live your life hoping to get lucky on something you got a 47% chance of scraping by on? You got debt -- everybody's dealt with it. Doubling down on it is the wrong answer. You can't win when you walk into a casino hoping for your life to change. The only time you ever win is when you got enough to not care about the money you lose, and you get lucky, and walk away while you're up. You go in thinking this'll make a difference, you're dead on arrival. Man, you should know this. Your ability to win goes hand in hand with your state of mind. Here's what I mean.

Technically speaking, your roulette system is gonna cause you to lose just as much as any other bet you'd make. It might, MAYBE, be able to consolidate your losses into losing sessions, and your wins into winning sessions, but over time you're gonna lose the same average amount per bet. You can't beat the house. And yet... I've seen people have amazing runs of luck. And I'm not sure what to attribute it to... sometimes it just seems almost impossible that someone could be that lucky. I know, mathematically that means some other player's going to be incredibly unlucky, and I've seen that too. But what makes one guy be lucky and another unlucky? I don't think the mathematicians or the philosophers have really answered that question yet. If there's a hope of you getting more out of a casino than you put into it, it lies in the undiscovered territory concerning why some guys are luckier than others.

If there's any kinda science to that, I'd submit it has something to do with need, and something to do with self-control. And either one without the other is worthless. If you need your rent and somehow get lucky enough to win it in Vegas, and then try to double up, forget it: You just blew the cardinal rule. The only thing about your system that makes some kind of sense is that you have a daily win cutoff. That's smart. That could work for you, if luck's on your side and you hold to that cutoff amount religiously.

Even so, there's a 99% chance over time you're gonna go down trying to make money this way. And the more it matters to you, the more it's gonna hurt. So just work your way outta the hole, stay away from the casinos, and focus on producing something good for humanity that pays the bills and makes up for the mistake. Before you bet another dime, go to the bookstore and buy "The Gambler" by Dostoevsky. It's all about Roulette, and it'll change your life. We've all made mistakes, and we've all been in that pit. Maybe those of us who run casinos more than players. How you get out of it is what shows what you're worth as a man and what kinda character you got as a human being.

[Westland Bowl]

...........I mainly play a system .....

I play betting systems too. And I have won much money from them (see the Heroes Casino thread). However, I have only won ONCE since November 2009 after winning over $60,000 that year. I can tell you that control of the cards is hidden and in the online casino's hand. Do you really trust that the online casino will allow truly random games if you are a consistent winner?

........My current goal is to win $180 per day and spread this over 3 sessions of play in the morning, afternoon and evening (attempt to win $60 per session).

It is ok and advisable to have a goal. But not every session is going to be profitable. You just need to have more winning sessions than losing sessions and the average winning sessions be higher than the average losing sessions.

......So far my current casino balance is sitting at $3,090. I wanted to get to $3,120 this morning but the way I was playing and risking a lot of money (at one stage was $200 behind where I needed to be). I find especially lately that is has been very hard and difficult to win on Roulette even placing small bets.

Doesn't it seem like the online casino "knows" you are trying to reach a certain plateau? I can't count the number of times when I came close to reaching my goal, "just $20 more to $2000", only to lose it all. One time I lost $1595 trying to reach that last $5 to reach my $1,600 goal. To me, $3090 is damn well close enough. Take it off the table and don't sweat that last $30.

.......I have wondered whether to change my focus to Blackjack as the probability of losing 5-7 hands in a row on Blackjack may be less?

Believer me, the probability is not less at all. In a brick and mortar casino, you will once in a while come to a 7 hand losing streak but it happens all the time in an online casino. The more often you win with a system in an online casino, the more likely it "figures out" your system and it will strategically place losing double-downs, losing splits and incredible dealer 5-, 6- or 7-card 21's against your 20.

If you are going to insist on playing blackjack or any other casino games, I would suggest playing in a land casino. I win consistently there and don't come across the ridiculous obvious sh*t that online casinos have been pulling for nearly two years now. But some same sh*t is being pulled in land casinos now....stay away from the i-tables by Shufflemaster. If you see a Continuous Shuffle Machine (CSM) with two cords coming out of it, one a power cord and the other is a data cord, then likely it is tracking how you play with the help of RFID chip in the casino chips and cards and RFID readers beneath the table under each player's spot. Just play blackjack at tables that have the stand alone shoe.

[chuchu59]

Sticks, I only have one comment:

SYSTEMS DO NOT WORK!

Run fast and run far! Gambling is entertainment, not an income. Never gamble what you cannot afford to lose!

I beg to differ. SYSTEMS DO WORK, in favour of the casinos though.