i don't really bother with gambling. nothing against the concept, but for me the noise in casinos is too much and the environment is too intense. once in a while i'll buy a lottery ticket, when i remember. how much did you win??? if you don't mind me asking? should i take up gambling?

XxAxX said:

I don't mind a low-stakes poker game with friends every once in awhile.

If I go to a casino, I only play blackjack. My dad was a professional gambler before he got married to mom, and he taught me how to play it to win. At least, how to play it to minimze the odds you'll lose, LOL. And no - counting cards or playing the "percentage" is NOT how you win at blackjack.

I never bet on sports or other people. I cannot stand the concept of some other people deciding who gets my money.

hell to the fuckin NO

I only "Play" games that test my intelligence or skills, not pure luck or chance

NO

Up until a about a year ago, the only gambling i did was buy an occasional lottery ticket. So last year i was in between apartments and decided to go to Vegas for two weeks. Well in those two weeks i managed to spend over a thousand bucks(that i didn't really have to spend) on slot machines. I got so caught up in the mentality that i could win big bucks, that i pretty much spent my last dollar on that fallacy.

The the thing about Vegas is the atmosphere and the fact that people do win big. All that glitz and glamour can be conducive to recklessness. And as far as winning big money? People do. Its just the odds that it will be you are not that great.

For the most part, i think gambling is OK as long as a person realizes their odds and limits. If you're a person with a addictive personality though, i would suggest that you probably shouldn't gamble in Vegas(or any casino). Just stick to buying an occasional lottery ticket. I used to hear about people developing severe gambling habits and ending up doing things that drug addicts do. I would look at them with judgmental eyes, but not anymore. A gambling addiction can be just as destructive as an drug addiction. I totally get that now.

Anyway i look forward to going to Vegas again. Next time though, i will be a much smarter(and constrained) gambler.

I'm terrible @ gambling...I'll buy a Powerball ticket, throw it on the dresser and forget about it..I'll forget to check the numbers, it's as if I never bought the thing....Years ago My Ex's, Ex-husband won $100,000 playing the $10 scratch off card...So I played those for a quick-minute and won ZERO, not even $10..I probably spent over $200+ worth of $10 scartach off cards....

I know this Marine back in Cali,

This guy goes 2 the Casino about once every 2 weeks and just kills on the blackjack table.

I'm talking 6 figures in a weekend. I tried 2 watch and figure out how he does it, but I simply can't pick it up. Blackjack really isn't my game but he sure knows it.

For him, it's easy money.

Graycap23 said:

I know this Marine back in Cali,

This guy goes 2 the Casino about once every 2 weeks and just kills on the blackjack table.

I'm talking 6 figures in a weekend. I tried 2 watch and figure out how he does it, but I simply can't pick it up. Blackjack really isn't my game but he sure knows it.

For him, it's easy money.

The only way to "kill it" is to count cards. When you get caught doing that, you get banned from casinos. If he's counting cards, he'll get caught.

The best way to play blackjack is to make the dealer beat you, because you cannot win if you bust. The dealer will bust a certain amount of the time but unless you're still in the game, you don't get paid when the dealer busts. So you have to stay in the game.

This means not hitting whne you get 12, 13, 14, 15 or 16 - no matter what the dealer has showing. You will likely bust if you hit those hands, and you HAVE to stay in the game to have ANY chance of winning.

But even doing it that way, you're still never going to shift the odds out of the dealer's favor.

Nickle and dime slot machines are all I ever played...and then I'd get bored after a couple of hours. It's no fun since they got rid of the one armed bandits you fed coins into. The best way to play is to get the free cards they give for new customers, max out the balance on the card, leave, and do it all over again at another casino. Don't spend any money doing that.

I spend almost all my free time on porn and hookers.
I got no time (or money left over) for gambling.
The only slot machines I "play" are the ones with daddy issues and are addicted to crystal meth and whatnot.

Not for me

RodeoSchro said:

I cannot stand the concept of some other people deciding who gets my money.

Most forms of gambling are manipulated in some way, most of the time, by people deciding who wins.

Even when you see something like this, a guy who sold his house and all his possessions for one spin of the wheel, you can't help but wonder if this was done to influence other people to take the same foolish risk or simply to draw attention to the guy's gambling website:

My father in law gave me $2 for the slots once. I kept it