Has anyone cut down or stopped gambling?

[ChillBill]

With MGS slots seeming to be a lot tighter this year and already 50K in the red, I've decided to give it a rest for a few months. I'd be far better donating this to a nominated charity each month (tax deducible in Australia), than flushing it down the toilet like I have been lately.

When you look back over 250 odd deposits @ $200 a hit and you haven't had a single cash-out. It's time to give things a rest for a while.

Excellent thread btw

 

[whodatrec]

Same for me must have lost 20-30 000 Euros in the past 6 months or so.. The last win was 10 k and after that it seams impossible to win anything. To be honest im sick and tired of playing online, and im starting to realize i have a gambling problem. Its just so hard to quit..

Sometimes my frustration is trough the roof. I cannot understand how i can lose and lose and never win for 6 months straight. Its insane right? Average deposites i make are 100-200 euros average beat 1-2 euros never hit anything anymore..

Im seriuosly starting to think these slots are operating on an account based system because it cant be random im sure of it... Its like rolling a dice 200 times and getting 1 each time..I think they are taking an advantage of people who bet hard and deposite alot.. Because it seams that when im new at a casino its easier to win. But if you start to lose you will lose and lose and never win if you keep depositing. Just makes me sick to my stomach... I think i seriuosly need help to stopp gambling its really fucked up my personal finaces and i have debt because of my recent losses. Just dont know what to do. Everytime i self exclude there is a new casino around the corner...

Ive sought help and im to start treatment next week. I really hope this can help me because i just cant take it anymore. Sometimes when i lose alot i get really depressed and just wish i was dead. No i have to take responsibillity and pay my debts back and its gonna eat a good chunk out of my paycheck for years to come... I can handle it for now but if it becomes any worse i might fuck up my life so bad that i might not recover from it finacially.

 

[chris87]

Same for me must have lost 20-30 000 Euros in the past 6 months or so.. The last win was 10 k and after that it seams impossible to win anything. To be honest im sick and tired of playing online, and im starting to realize i have a gambling problem. Its just so hard to quit..

Sometimes my frustration is trough the roof. I cannot understand how i can lose and lose and never win for 6 months straight. Its insane right? Average deposites i make are 100-200 euros average beat 1-2 euros never hit anything anymore..

Im seriuosly starting to think these slots are operating on an account based system because it cant be random im sure of it... Its like rolling a dice 200 times and getting 1 each time..I think they are taking an advantage of people who bet hard and deposite alot.. Because it seams that when im new at a casino its easier to win. But if you start to lose you will lose and lose and never win if you keep depositing. Just makes me sick to my stomach... I think i seriuosly need help to stopp gambling its really fucked up my personal finaces and i have debt because of my recent losses. Just dont know what to do. Everytime i self exclude there is a new casino around the corner...

Ive sought help and im to start treatment next week. I really hope this can help me because i just cant take it anymore. Sometimes when i lose alot i get really depressed and just wish i was dead. No i have to take responsibillity and pay my debts back and its gonna eat a good chunk out of my paycheck for years to come... I can handle it for now but if it becomes any worse i might fuck up my life so bad that i might not recover from it finacially.

I do sympathise with what you're saying. It's so easy to become addicted and so difficult to stop. Like you I've lost too much but try to have gamble free days. I had a bad session last Wednesday so had a break until yesterday when I got tempted by a VIP offer and ended up only very slightly down. There is a number of on line organisations and forums to help stop compulsive gambling but little medical help (in the UK anyway) as it's not really recognised as an illness.

As for the performance of slots, as a slot player on line for a number of years the patterns you outline are much what I've experienced, good wins when you first join a casino then a poor run. If you're then lucky enough to hit a big win invariably there is a long period of losing.

I know debates have raged on this forum as to whether the slots are "rigged" or as claimed each spin is subject to a random number generation (RNG), random meaning that each spin is purely unique of which the outcome can be a win or a loss. In my experience I don't believe that each spin is purely unique as there is certainly a correlation between your play history and your success or otherwise. For example after a withdrawal your luck doesn't seem to be as good. Also in my experience when your trying to hit a wagering requirement to release a bonus the slots seem much tighter.

I'm not saying the slots are rigged. What I believe is that every spin is not unique as a result of a random number. When you've being playing for sometime you start to see certain patterns based on your play over the weeks and months resulting from your previous play history. Either way given that all RTPs are under 100% the house always has the edge and in my experience some fall well short of the advertised RTP, so unless you have a big win and then give up completely I guess your paying for (expensive at times) entertainment.

 

[gokkie]

I have cut way down lately.
I miss the excitement but I do not miss the frustration of losing deposits. I used to play daily but after my disaster runs at 32red and guts I will only deposit once a week or so.
Just so sick of constantly losing without any playtime whatsoever.
I did not deposit for 3 days and deposited 90€. I played 200 spins at 0,90 cents and the money was gone. What a waste! No more deposits for me this month, just not worth it.

The advantage of playing less online is that I am way less agitated and spend more time with my family. Today we went on a picknick, that was nice.
Two weeks ago I started running/ jogging again, want to lose some weight (sitting down playing slots with beer and chips is not that healthy) and get in shape. Also I have started another old hobby again which is playing pc adventure games.

Much more entertaining, healthier and more money in the bank.

 

[ChopleyIOM]

Well that's four weeks for me, a full month in which I haven't made a single straight deposit into a casino.

Unsurprisingly, now that I'm back to being a disciplined bonus-only player (and only the best bonuses at that), what was a pretty bad losing run has turned into a profitable month, and that's before you factor in the nice wedge of cash I'm making out of the AWPs in the pubs around here.

(The bonus I took at Redbet the other day is by far and away the riskiest I've taken on all month, but even there my maximum exposure was only €50, and in the end it worked out OK.)

The weekend just gone for example I cleared £200 profit across Jackpot Party, 3Dice, Redbet, and Sky Vegas - and the only way I did that was down to laser-focused bonus play. There's no way I'm going to risk that profit with straight deposits and slots play, if the bonus offers stop coming then I'll just stop playing, simple as that. Sounds a bit ruthless perhaps, but that's where I'm at with the whole thing now.

But here's a thought, maybe the casinos are too damn greedy. The house edge on slots is appalling, MG nudged under 96% RTP with Playboy (95.8%), which for a high variance monster is seriously mean. Your standard RTP on slots is around 95%, with a lot of softwares nudging under that (many of the slots at Sky Vegas are 92-94%, which is dreadful). Even WMS slots, which I really like, are all pegged to 96% RTP, and 4% is a large house edge.

If Video Pokers such as Jacks or Better can be financially viable for casinos to offer (over 99% RTP), why can't slots at least get close to that?

Galewind's slots are all running at 97.8% RTP, (over 98% including the cashback), so it can clearly be done. Some of NetEnt's higher paying slots are 97% RTP or better, but they chuck it all away with their utterly dreadful pay profile whereby it's basically impossible to win. (EggOMatic being a particularly stark example of that design philosophy.)

Anyway, whatever the reason or combination of reasons, I find myself at a point now where I simply can't imagine making a straight deposit into a casino to play slots, however much I may like them as games to play. (And in all fairness I did really enjoy my play at 3Dice yesterday, if at any point in the future I do feel like a straight flutter, it'll probably be there, but I'm certainly not in the mood at the moment.)

I'll carry on taking good bonus offers as and when they come up, and I'll most certainly continue to plunder the AWPs around here, but chucking my hard-earned money at random games with a 5% house edge? Not going to happen anymore, I'll miss the thrill of those occasional big wins for sure, but I'll miss the dreadful overall waste of money far less.

 

[dunover]

Well that's four weeks for me, a full month in which I haven't made a single straight deposit into a casino.

Unsurprisingly, now that I'm back to being a disciplined bonus-only player (and only the best bonuses at that), what was a pretty bad losing run has turned into a profitable month, and that's before you factor in the nice wedge of cash I'm making out of the AWPs in the pubs around here.

(The bonus I took at Redbet the other day is by far and away the riskiest I've taken on all month, but even there my maximum exposure was only €50, and in the end it worked out OK.)

The weekend just gone for example I cleared £200 profit across Jackpot Party, 3Dice, Redbet, and Sky Vegas - and the only way I did that was down to laser-focused bonus play. There's no way I'm going to risk that profit with straight deposits and slots play, if the bonus offers stop coming then I'll just stop playing, simple as that. Sounds a bit ruthless perhaps, but that's where I'm at with the whole thing now.

But here's a thought, maybe the casinos are too damn greedy. The house edge on slots is appalling, MG nudged under 96% RTP with Playboy (95.8%), which for a high variance monster is seriously mean. Your standard RTP on slots is around 95%, with a lot of softwares nudging under that (many of the slots at Sky Vegas are 92-94%, which is dreadful). Even WMS slots, which I really like, are all pegged to 96% RTP, and 4% is a large house edge.

If Video Pokers such as Jacks or Better can be financially viable for casinos to offer (over 99% RTP), why can't slots at least get close to that?

Galewind's slots are all running at 97.8% RTP, (over 98% including the cashback), so it can clearly be done. Some of NetEnt's higher paying slots are 97% RTP or better, but they chuck it all away with their utterly dreadful pay profile whereby it's basically impossible to win. (EggOMatic being a particularly stark example of that design philosophy.)

Anyway, whatever the reason or combination of reasons, I find myself at a point now where I simply can't imagine making a straight deposit into a casino to play slots, however much I may like them as games to play. (And in all fairness I did really enjoy my play at 3Dice yesterday, if at any point in the future I do feel like a straight flutter, it'll probably be there, but I'm certainly not in the mood at the moment.)

I'll carry on taking good bonus offers as and when they come up, and I'll most certainly continue to plunder the AWPs around here, but chucking my hard-earned money at random games with a 5% house edge? Not going to happen anymore, I'll miss the thrill of those occasional big wins for sure, but I'll miss the dreadful overall waste of money far less.

Yep, seconded. Except for the AWP's in pubs.

 

[ChopleyIOM]

Yep, seconded. Except for the AWP's in pubs.

I don't know where you live dunover or what sort of area it is, but I will say that my location is one of the major reasons I'm playing the AWPs on a regular basis and indeed am happy to do so.

Make no mistake, if I were back in Manchester - (and some of the rougher bits of Manchester as I lived in from time to time) - there's absolutely no way I'd even think about walking from pub to pub, by myself, with hundreds of pounds about my person, cheerfully dropping one AWP after another. A couple of weeks ago I got home with £500 in coins (which I had to carry around in a bag ), I just wouldn't do it in a lot of places in the UK - but in quiet little Ramsey on the IOM, on a Sunday afternoon where I'm a familiar face in all the local pubs, no problem at all, actually quite pleasant in fact.

I entirely respect your stance which is to give them a very wide berth and not bother at all, but please do understand that I'm lucky enough to be in a location whereby I can genuinely make some cash playing the buggers and even have a pretty nice time in the process

 

[dunover]

I don't know where you live dunover or what sort of area it is, but I will say that my location is one of the major reasons I'm playing the AWPs on a regular basis and indeed am happy to do so.

Make no mistake, if I were back in Manchester - (and some of the rougher bits of Manchester as I lived in from time to time) - there's absolutely no way I'd even think about walking from pub to pub, by myself, with hundreds of pounds about my person, cheerfully dropping one AWP after another. A couple of weeks ago I got home with £500 in coins (which I had to carry around in a bag ), I just wouldn't do it in a lot of places in the UK - but in quiet little Ramsey on the IOM, on a Sunday afternoon where I'm a familiar face in all the local pubs, no problem at all, actually quite pleasant in fact.

I entirely respect your stance which is to give them a very wide berth and not bother at all, but please do understand that I'm lucky enough to be in a location whereby I can genuinely make some cash playing the buggers and even have a pretty nice time in the process

I live in the Cotswolds as you can tell from my location in my header. No trouble here either if I wanted to walk about with 500. Probably more competition here than you would get though. Having said that, I seldom ever see a machine touched in a pub nowadays. I walked about on a Saturday evening once with a cloth bank bag (kindly given to me by the arcade) with 1200 coins in. The bastard was so heavy that after half an hour I was at the point on going home early leaving my mates, but one obliging landlady took 800 off of me for which I left a £20 tip for the bar staff. 400 I could just about lug about with a couple of bags in each pocket of jacket and jeans. I wouldn't do that in Salford though, big as I am. Actually, yes, I could have traded 250 of them for a 9mm handgun, to protect the 800 in notes and 150 coins remaining...

 

[silentvet]

Quit for one year

From July 1, 2012 to this July 1 I totally quit online gambling. Wanted to make sure I could.
Started back on July 2. Won $7,121 at Club World that evening.

 

[mrmark21]

Just a report back... I've stopped playing online all together (except for the odd occassion at 32 Red). Just a string of negative experiences with various casinos turned me off all together. As a result I havent visited CM for quite some time. I only play on the odd occassion these days.

I still play land based though, the other day I won $700 off a $1 bet. Something to see. I always enjoyed good bonus rounds although playing online I stopped seeing them and must have gotten used to bonus rounds that paid under 20 x the bet. Locally I play More Hearts, More Chillie, Lucky 88, and Wheres the Gold. All in the 87-95% range. Doing just about the same as I was doing playing MG

 

[ChopleyIOM]

I'm still playing but 100% ruthlessly sticking to EV+ bonus offers, my Neteller activity for the last couple of months is an absolute fraction of what it'd been every month for the previous 18 months or so.

The extra cash knocking around is undoubtedly handy, we've had a bad run on stuff breaking around the house in the last couple of months (washing machine, dishwasher, Mrs Chopley's monitor), the cost of me getting my new car and so on.

All out of the current account with money to spare, because there isn't that constant drip-drip-drip of money coming out of there to play at online casinos.

Also have some seriously good AWPs in the local pubs too at the moment, which is fulfilling my gambling desires and making me a nice wedge of cash too.

 

[Jasminebed]

Combination of bad luck, depleting previous winnings and an upcoming trip have left me without cash I'm willing to spare until after Cuba. I did dig up $25 to deposit last night with a generous offer from 32Red. A little luck in the beginning playing low stakes, but that disappeared. Was hoping for a modest withdrawal to fund more play. Was a little bummed to find the new Batman game was not yet available. I'm a little less bummed having read the related thread.

In the past couple of weeks, I've become completely obsessed with Candy Crush on facebook, to the point of not playing a couple of freechips or playing free tourneys.

Big win back in late April gave me a chance to help my daughter, visit NYC and my upcoming trip to Cuba, play a bunch, have a fabulous summer and a pretty well stocked bar.

I expect my usual pattern of spending my weekend deposits, and continuing to play, will resume in October when weather is colder.

 

[mrmark21]

Popped a $20 into Guts on the weekend. I've done pretty dismal at Guts with an 88% RTP. I wanted a change from 32 Red. Got my first withdrawal in ages a whopping $150 lol! You need a good sense of humour to play online!

Just a tip to share with other people: When you dont want to make a deposit how about take a break and play the social slots on youre mobile/tablet? Anyone else into those? I've found Slots Saga very addictive

 

[lotusch]

Just a tip to share with other people: When you dont want to make a deposit how about take a break and play the social slots on youre mobile/tablet? Anyone else into those? I've found Slots Saga very addictive

Yeah I do play slots on my phone also
And on Facebook I play the social slots but they even pay more crappy because they want you to spend money to buy fun credits...
It's all the same on the end...

 

[baleHead76]

I had fer sure cut down on my deposits earlier in the year, but then I went to vegas in july and did pretty horrible there so I came home and started making regular deposits, once a week. (im a low roller so 25-45 is my max) and my deposits went pretty fast... which is why I stopped earlier in the year.. I was tired of not getting at least an hours play time.

well just a few days ago I won a pretty good sum on $3.00 comps and so now I'm waiting it out to see if they will actually give it to me.. I've never won using comps before.. and just yesterday I had a $50 free chip and managed to complete the wager requirements and was able to cash out with the max. I think this will probably be it for my deposits for the year because either the terms and conditions will get ya or the wait for the check will get ya and for a U.S player its just a pain the ass these days.

 

[baleHead76]

Popped a $20 into Guts on the weekend. I've done pretty dismal at Guts with an 88% RTP. I wanted a change from 32 Red. Got my first withdrawal in ages a whopping $150 lol! You need a good sense of humour to play online!

Just a tip to share with other people: When you dont want to make a deposit how about take a break and play the social slots on youre mobile/tablet? Anyone else into those? I've found Slots Saga very addictive

I have tons of slot apps and they sure do help to satisfy my need to gamble and I was surprised on that cos its not real money, lol but I'm totally addicted to Titians Way slot game! its pretty cool and I really like the side bonus game they have within the game called blizzard king

 

[mrmark21]

I have tons of slot apps and they sure do help to satisfy my need to gamble and I was surprised on that cos its not real money, lol but I'm totally addicted to Titians Way slot game! its pretty cool and I really like the side bonus game they have within the game called blizzard king

Same here, I always thought that the possibility to win real money is what made gambling exciting. But when you go through an outrageous loosing streak such as the one I've had then gambling with real money kinda looses all it's appeal.

Plus the quality of slot apps tend to be really good, I've got Titan's way as well. So much fun and the good thing is that when you run out of coins you can just buy their smallest coin pack $3AUD easy to see what a saving it is compared to playing with real money. I've also got WMS slot apps that were really cheap to buy outright

 

[ChopleyIOM]

I was always playing online slots in free money mode when I was also playing for real on a regular basis, but that was because I'd use my experiences in free play to instruct my real play.

Now that I've effectively stopped playing for real I don't see the point of playing for free either.

I do still play my fruit machine emulators quite a lot - https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/50379/

Got one running over on the other side of my screen at the moment, where in the past there'd have been an online slot of some description!

It's quite odd really, to have gone from playing online slots damn near constantly, to not playing them at all, and to not miss them in the slightest.

I suppose once you finally get your head around the concept of being guaranteed to lose in the long term when you're playing random games with a large house edge, then nothing but EV+ bonus play makes any sense at all.

Chasing 3Dice Slotsmeister in June was the craziness that finally finished me off I think, and looking back now I'm glad I went a bit nuts to win it, because it'll probably save me a fucking fortune over the rest of my lifetime!

 

[mrmark21]

I'm winning by not playing I defenitely have more money in the bank. I still have the occasional punt but I certainly dont miss playing as much as I was

There's something so hypnotic about seeing those reels spin... Time to play a slots app lol!

 

[007sam]

Bonus

Going have a break, just can't turn a bonus around anymore, had 4 100% matches this week playing on my winning. Spent about half hour getting through them, no wins no features, time for a break me thinks....

 

[tinybettor]

The thing that sucks is not just continually losing but when you can't even get a single bonus round in a decent sized deposit. It especially sucks when your on a set budget per week and then 10 minutes in the week its all gone and your left waiting another week to fight it out.

 

[mrmark21]

What I used to do (back when I actually used to play) was set a realistic gambling buget for the week, realistic because then I wouldnt break it. I'd divide the amount between seven so then I could play everyday. I wouldnt redeposit, even if I got next to no play time which meant most of the time.

I started taking a bonus on every deposit. I'd deposit small take a bonus and bet higher. I didnt mind the playthrough as I was depositing to play. The features were something that really annoyed me. 500 spins to get a low paying feature? Lol! I stopped enjoying playing. I was throwing my money away and not even enjoying myself. I waste my money on allot of stuff, stuff that I enjoy doing (video games, shopping, dominos etc). Spinning away without the possibility of getting past my deposit ammount was not enjoyable. I'm still surprised that I've managed to almost completely phase gambling out of my life because it had become a bit of a habbit as with everything you do daily.

I think many of the members on this forum have allot more patience than me, more power to them, I'm not a very patient person

 

[ChopleyIOM]

Gah! Not quite so ruthless with the EV+ play on my last VIP bonus at 3Dice!

Made wagering comfortably and could have withdrawn at £20 over my deposit, (Payola and Kyoko's Quest rolled nicely, looped round Kyoko three times to rescue Pon Pon but never got more than a three scatters trigger, but the game paid decently overall), then made wagering on Super Suits albeit having seen my balance diminish somewhat, but decided to just see it out to a couple more bonus rounds on nice tame 15p spins......

Well it then went on one of its feral patches, had a 500 spin feature drought, and when it did finally drop in it paid less than 20x stake (which is VERY bad for Super Suits), had a handful of other features with similar derisory pays, and watched my balance get slowly ground down.

With just £36 left in the tank and it getting late, I decided to do some silly roulette spins, a £30 spin on red lost, then a £6 spin on the first third won, I was just trying to get back up to £100 at which point I'd withdraw, but alas it was not to bed, and I soon bust out.

No one to blame but myself there, I made wagering with a £20 profit in the bag, and it was my own silliness that caused me to plug away at Super Suits in the hope of a decent bonus round. Even on tiny 15p spins that slot can do some damage when you're on the wrong side of its variance curve!

Oh well, onto the next bonus in due course! (3Dice is literally the only place I'm playing at now.)

 

[dunover]

Gah! Not quite so ruthless with the EV+ play on my last VIP bonus at 3Dice!

Made wagering comfortably and could have withdrawn at £20 over my deposit, (Payola and Kyoko's Quest rolled nicely, looped round Kyoko three times to rescue Pon Pon but never got more than a three scatters trigger, but the game paid decently overall), then made wagering on Super Suits albeit having seen my balance diminish somewhat, but decided to just see it out to a couple more bonus rounds on nice tame 15p spins......

Well it then went on one of its feral patches, had a 500 spin feature drought, and when it did finally drop in it paid less than 20x stake (which is VERY bad for Super Suits), had a handful of other features with similar derisory pays, and watched my balance get slowly ground down.

With just £36 left in the tank and it getting late, I decided to do some silly roulette spins, a £30 spin on red lost, then a £6 spin on the first third won, I was just trying to get back up to £100 at which point I'd withdraw, but alas it was not to bed, and I soon bust out.

No one to blame but myself there, I made wagering with a £20 profit in the bag, and it was my own silliness that caused me to plug away at Super Suits in the hope of a decent bonus round. Even on tiny 15p spins that slot can do some damage when you're on the wrong side of its variance curve!

Oh well, onto the next bonus in due course! (3Dice is literally the only place I'm playing at now.)

Hey, Choppers, try the £10 NDB over at netbet.com, highly recommended!

 

[ChopleyIOM]

Hey, Choppers, try the £10 NDB over at netbet.com, highly recommended!

I'm just reading your thread now funnily enough