Gamblers & Value of money

[valueman]

I'm a part-time bettor who makes a reasonable amount from betting (not enough to live off) and keep betting funds sepearate from normal household funds.

I was just thinking on Sunday that I staked about $8300 on Saturday alone on the horses. There is every possibility that I could have lost all of that and whilst it would have pissed me off a bit wouldn't have been the first or last time that it happened.

Yet in my day to day life I am quite normal in my care for money meaning I won't just spend money not thinking about it and will shop around on the internet to save a $100 on a camera, flights etc.

I sometimes feel guilty about thinking about spending money on things for the home etc when i can go and bet $8300 in a day without blinking.

Is it right to have this duality in value of money or should I be consistent either way?

How do you guys treat money in and out of gambling? I know many people who because they win spend like crazy and when they are on a bad run it's canned hotdogs for dinner.

 

[Dante]

Valueman good post




but I feel that Anyone that is betting with money that they can not afford to lose or it will HURT you if you lose it you need to get help and stop wagering

IMHO

 

[valueman]

Dante - don't get me wrong, I live really well compared to most people - very nice house overlooking the 18th etc and bet from a betting bankroll of about $50K which I have built up over time and if I lost the bankroll would stop.

I have never mixed household funds and gambling funds ever but wonder at why I will wait a week and get my camera for $100 less from the internet rather than going down to futureshop etc. Isn't that a bit twisted considering how much I bet?

 

[Fishhead]

Valueman-

Would think you would gamble in much the identical way you would shop for a camara, looking for the best deals and bargains...........no?

Your saying you do not?

 

[bookie]

Would you feel the same way if you invested the $8300 on the stock market or similar type of investment.

If you think about it, would that not be a form of gambling as well?

 

[valueman]

Fishhead - Yes obviously I shop around for the best odds etc - fair point but $8000 means more to me in my day to day life than it does in betting - is that wrong?

 

[Dante]

Dante - don't get me wrong, I live really well compared to most people - very nice house overlooking the 18th etc and bet from a betting bankroll of about $50K which I have built up over time and if I lost the bankroll would stop.

I have never mixed household funds and gambling funds ever but wonder at why I will wait a week and get my camera for $100 less from the internet rather than going down to futureshop etc. Isn't that a bit twisted considering how much I bet?

wasn't meaning you valueman in my post.. was talking in general..

good luck to you sir and as for you shopping around for bargains it just shows that gambling is important to you and you would rather have the money to wager then buy a camera....at least thats what I think it means


I have no problem buying 150$ in poker chips to play NL but to buy a camera i'd shop around if it was 150

 

[wantitall4moi]

A very common mind set. Anyone that hangs out with gamblers (degenrates) has seen the pattern.


Especially at the horse track. Guys might have 4 or 5 hundred on them. Be unshaven, unwashed, wearing pants with holes in them, and shoes that are a compltete mess. If you are familiar with them you might ask them why they don't get some new clothes or clean up alittle. Usually the answer is they cannot afford it. Yet they routinely blow money everyday at the track. Where they get teh money is a mystery sometiems as well. I have also had guys ask to borrow money TO EAT with at the track. "where's that 50 you had earlier?" "gone" is usually the answer. So they would rather blow what they have looking to make just enough to let them keep betting than even eat.

I know a few homeles guys in Vegas, the same thing. They do day labor and they do make money so they do not mooch. But they will come in and pool their money and bet a few straight tickets and then beta few wild parlays. Well they hit one one day for about 1700-1800/ Mght as well have been a million to these guys.

But did they get a room for the night? Or buy a tent or get some stuff to help them? Nope, they kept betting and pissed it away in less than a week.
That is the vicious cycle of gamblers who do not have a plan. I am not putting you into this category. But the money 95% of the guys that gamble make betting goes right back into that betting. So where does it end?

How much would you have to win to stop? Or what would it take to make you think you had enough?

Even in Poker, chris moneymaker won 2.5 mil. two years ago in the WSOP. Some debate on how much he got personally, but on the low side say it was 750K. He was dead ass broke in Sept during the 4 Queens tourney. I personally saw him lose over 50K TWICE at this game we used to play in at Binions. He had no concept of money whichis difficult to think considering he is an accountant. But it is that mentality that kills people.

When we win we are 'invincible' when we lose we need to 'just get even'. But we never stop there. And why people rarely win anything gambling. They might have pockets of winning where they THINK they are winning, but generally those times are surrounded by a lot of losing.

The right approach is ultimately what seperates the guys that can bet and not go crazy to the guys chasing a big score, and even if they do hit it, that too is generally pissed away ina short time.

Some cal it greed. I call it lack of vision.

 

[Dante]

A very common mind set. Anyone that hangs out with gamblers (degenrates) has seen the pattern.


Especially at the horse track. Guys might have 4 or 5 hundred on them. Be unshaven, unwashed, wearing pants with holes in them, and shoes that are a compltete mess. If you are familiar with them you might ask them why they don't get some new clothes or clean up alittle. Usually the answer is they cannot afford it. Yet they routinely blow money everyday at the track. Where they get teh money is a mystery sometiems as well. I have also had guys ask to borrow money TO EAT with at the track. "where's that 50 you had earlier?" "gone" is usually the answer. So they would rather blow what they have looking to make just enough to let them keep betting than even eat.

I know a few homeles guys in Vegas, the same thing. They do day labor and they do make money so they do not mooch. But they will come in and pool their money and bet a few straight tickets and then beta few wild parlays. Well they hit one one day for about 1700-1800/ Mght as well have been a million to these guys.

But did they get a room for the night? Or buy a tent or get some stuff to help them? Nope, they kept betting and pissed it away in less than a week.
That is the vicious cycle of gamblers who do not have a plan. I am not putting you into this category. But the money 95% of the guys that gamble make betting goes right back into that betting. So where does it end?

How much would you have to win to stop? Or what would it take to make you think you had enough?

Even in Poker, chris moneymaker won 2.5 mil. two years ago in the WSOP. Some debate on how much he got personally, but on the low side say it was 750K. He was dead ass broke in Sept during the 4 Queens tourney. I personally saw him lose over 50K TWICE at this game we used to play in at Binions. He had no concept of money whichis difficult to think considering he is an accountant. But it is that mentality that kills people.

When we win we are 'invincible' when we lose we need to 'just get even'. But we never stop there. And why people rarely win anything gambling. They might have pockets of winning where they THINK they are winning, but generally those times are surrounded by a lot of losing.

The right approach is ultimately what seperates the guys that can bet and not go crazy to the guys chasing a big score, and even if they do hit it, that too is generally pissed away ina short time.

Some cal it greed. I call it lack of vision.

WOW AWESOME post...wanti you are really posting some dead on stuff lately...thanks for the good reads

 

[Dante]

by wanti...

Even in Poker, chris moneymaker won 2.5 mil. two years ago in the WSOP. Some debate on how much he got personally, but on the low side say it was 750K. He was dead ass broke in Sept during the 4 Queens tourney. I personally saw him lose over 50K TWICE at this game we used to play in at Binions. He had no concept of money whichis difficult to think considering he is an accountant. But it is that mentality that kills people.



*******

some sad ****...the guy is dead ass broke

 

[VaultedTreehouse]

Value I have seen this in myself once in awhile. The key to defeating it is to remind yourself to spend some money. For instance, if I'm betting 3 bills a game, I shouldn't think twice about a 150 dinner on me. And when you put it in those terms, its easier for me to know the value.

 

[wantitall4moi]

I am not sureof his status lately. I know he won a tourney out here in Cal that was 100K last fall. He has also been doing a lot of the promo stuff and in those "celebrity" tournies and in that battle of the sexes thing.


Plus he was pretty tight with the guy from Poker Stars, so I am sure he is getting something from there too. But in terms of the money he won in the World Series, it was all gone. I got that info frm some pretty reliable sources. Also heard from some relable sources how much he was losing at the Bellagio, and like I said, that isn't hard to believe watching how he lost in that game we had a few times during that summer.

He might be doing all right now. But even with the success poker has had, I am not sure what the endorsements or appearance fees are for these flash in the pan guys.

Typical "lottery" menatily. We all envy the people that win lotteries. But they too are usually broke within a few years, and that is winning 10s of millions of dollars.

I am not saying I haven't gone crazy. I won a 60K share of a 100K bad beat jackpot at Hawaiin Gardens Casino last summer. I pissed a lot of that away myself. But it wasn't gambling. I bought some toys mostly. Although I did sit in on a few bigger NL games and got a lot looser than I usually play. So it affects everyone I guess. But it only took a little while for the thrill to wear off. Luckily I didn't pay a big price.

But for some it does. That is why people with aplan are now getting rich of these people. And why the live games in poker (especially) are so good right now. Sports is a lot more difficult to see the influx since the money is spread over so many places. But it is there somewhat.

 

[Illini]

by wanti...

Even in Poker, chris moneymaker won 2.5 mil. two years ago in the WSOP. Some debate on how much he got personally, but on the low side say it was 750K. He was dead ass broke in Sept during the 4 Queens tourney. I personally saw him lose over 50K TWICE at this game we used to play in at Binions. He had no concept of money whichis difficult to think considering he is an accountant. But it is that mentality that kills people.



*******

some sad ****...the guy is dead ass broke

Has this been verified? How can you be broke when you have over a million in cash and a steady job? He didn't seem like a degenerate.

 

[-Slim-]

value, perhaps this might sound stupid but I think it holds true for many people.

When you bet, money loses all its value and simply becomes a number. $1000 dollars loses its value, tis no longer alot of money you can buy food, clothes, appliance with, you can pay the rent, etc etc, $1000 becomes the number 1000 which you see either grow or decrease as you wager. It becomes 1400, then 1100, later on 600, etc etc. That number simply represents how much you can play or wager with. If that number were to ever become 0, thats it. Its time to send more, but other than that, its simply the number you see on your screen or you hear over the phone when you call in. Only after you lose it do you realize you could have done alot with those 1000 bucks....

Hope some of this makes sense.

 

[jjgold]

Gamblers can care less about losing bets but in the real world we haggle over prices

I know many gamblers that lose thousands every week and then go into a store to buy a $40 shirt and here is the answer

"$40?? are you fukkin nuts for that shirt, too much money and they walk out

 

[winbet]

You have only got to read these Forum's to see how much people kid themselves on their gambling prowess. There has always been a stigma attached to losing gamblers, a sense of failure and weakness. Nobody gives a second thought to peoples pastimes that might be costing too much money but if a gambler losing an affordable amount each week pipes up, out come the dodgy looks. Its not exact but I probably know as many broken homes and Marriages through Golf than Gambling, yet nothing is ever said when the Golf bug bites.

 

[PatrickMcIrish]

Interesting thread. I see myself in some of this, I will put a large amount of cheese in action on a regular basis without blinking an eye, but if they charge me an extra .39 cents for a supersize I don't get then it's hell to pay. LOL. I think the difference is when you are betting sports/playing poker, losses are part of the game. At least short term. You can't win without losing, it's part of the deal. You play because you know the results will be there long term. It may seem like you are "pissing your money away" to some people, and yes some people do, but the game is a grind, not a sprint. However when some McDude with big clown shoes and a red nose beats me out of 39 cents that money is lost forever, LOL.

Reminds me of that big thread here about Vegas where they talked about a guy who ran an off track set up. He would sit where he could see all the windows, this a place where they would take literally any sum of money you could push pull or drag in there. Someone said a million dollar bet would be okay and the guy wouldn't even blink an eye. However he also kept an eye on the candy dish, someone took an extra piece of candy then he went wild, LOL. Difference is he knew the money being pushed through the window was coming back, the extra piece of candy in the bowl was gone forever.

 

[trytrytry]

value, perhaps this might sound stupid but I think it holds true for many people.

When you bet, money loses all its value and simply becomes a number. $1000 dollars loses its value, tis no longer alot of money you can buy food, clothes, appliance with, you can pay the rent, etc etc, $1000 becomes the number 1000 which you see either grow or decrease as you wager. It becomes 1400, then 1100, later on 600, etc etc. That number simply represents how much you can play or wager with. If that number were to ever become 0, thats it. Its time to send more, but other than that, its simply the number you see on your screen or you hear over the phone when you call in. Only after you lose it do you realize you could have done alot with those 1000 bucks....

Hope some of this makes sense.

Ya know I suggest everyone read this post a few times and think about it. I know I am. .....

 

[WHALE]

Great post....

 

[valueman]

Thanks for the responses - I had this discussion with a friend who said it all depends whether you are a winning or losing gambler.

If a winning gambler long-term then the amounts you bet are just investments and the size of the amounts does not affect your value of money outside of gambling.

If you are losing gambler long term then cash flow is a rollercoaster and you should really consider the amounts you bet as they are clearly having an opportunity cost in your outside life - this is the difference winning bettors do not through their gambling suffer a monetary/lifestyle cost through their gambling.