[spoter]

Hello.I found this forum, after another stupid casino sesstion that I made.I am a professional gambler.I have been doing this for 10 years, but for the past 2 years, I’m stuggling with casino addiction, that is obsessing me and I am giving a lot of thought into this.I have been making 

good money, as I understand arbitrage betting, value betting and all sorts of betting and I have an eye on what to do and how do it.At least that was before I started playing slots.It all started with going out with friends, having a few drinks and going to the casino, then it evolved into me 

going home after the casino and wasting accounts with hard-earned money from my working betting strategies.The worst thing happened when one night I managed to win 50k in euros, which was amazing to me.I told the story to my friends, felt happy from my win, but it wasnt a win

because I blew that money in few months.50000 euros I spent in playing casino.I hated myself and felt ashamed, because I told my closest friends that I won so much money, but these money are gone and I cant share to them how I lost them because it feels painful, stupid and I cant even find

the right word.But this didnt stop me – I continue to do my betting stuff which makes money frome me, but a week or two passes and I start playing slots again and I lose the money I made.I need to stop doing this,and the first step is to write part of my story in this forum.I know that it is all in my head,

that it can be controlled, but I’m struggling to do this.I have been making promises a lot of times that I will stop doing this, but it happens again and again.The hardest part is that my work is connected with gambling and this makes it easier for me  to snap just for second and start playing in the casino again.

All in all I have been doing this for the past 5 years maybe.But in the beggining I was wasting part of my regular winnings.After I made the big win that I wasted, I am struggling with making money.When I make money, I lose them in the casino.My savings are almost gone and I need to be in control

of myself.I am looking forward to hear your thoughts on how to stop doing this!

[spoter]

And I would like to add few more words.I am very happy that I found this forum.I have been reading a lot of stories here for the past hour or two and although the stories here are about people who made bad decissions and had parts of their lives destroyed because of this bad habit, this is only the start of their story and the end of the story needs to be better.Now I am motivated to visit this forum frequently and write in this topic about my own struggles.When I feel better I will start replying in other topics to people who need the same help that I need now.This is my motivation now and I believe I can do it!

[velvet]

Hello Spoter and thanks for starting a thread in the Gambling Therapy forums

Here at Gambling Therapy we pride ourselves on being a caring and diverse online community who can help and support you with the difficulties you’re currently facing. We understand that this might be a tough time for you, particularly if you’re new to recovery, so come here as often as you need to and participate in the forums, access online groups and connect to the live advice helpline if you need one to one support. We’re in this together!

Here on the forum you can share your experiences in a safe, supportive and accepting environment. The beauty of writing it all down is that you can take your time and you will be creating a record of your progress that you can look back on if it ever feels like you’re not moving forward. So, share as much or as little as you like but do try to stick to keeping just one thread in this forum so people know where to find you if they want to be updated on your progress or share something with you.

As well as the forums New Members are invited to join Charles in the New Members Practical Advice Group On Mondays at 21:00 (UK) and Thursday at 19:00(UK)

And on that note….

I’m going to hand you over to our community because I’m sure they will have some words of wisdom for you 🙂

Take care

The Gambling Therapy Team

PS: Let me just remind you to take a look at our privacy policy and terms and conditions so you know how it all works!

[Lily Nix]

Welcome spotter to this site, i have only been here for a few weeks and the support have been very good and just reading other people stories makes me feel like I am not alone and going crazy.

I at not sure what is involved with a job as a professional gambler but I am thinking it will be hard to keep this job if you really want to stop the complusions to gamble.

Where I work we are connected by a shopping mall and a casino and for 10 years I never stepped foot in the door and then after a few trips to Vegas, one day I went in and put in 20 and 8 years later I haven’t stopped. Lost so much money I didn’t keep track, but it’s more then that, I lost my concentration, didn’t perform as well at work, etc and I lost complete control when going in, one 20, turned into thousands of dollars.

I finally after fooling myself many, many times, have admitted I can not gamble responsible and I surrender and give up the fight to win any of my lost money back, it’s gone forever.

I told my husband and we made a plan together, I have gone to one counselling session. Just admitting it to someone and saying it out loud has helped me a lot.

If you really want to do it you can, but you have to do some hard work and make some changes in your life and really want to stop.

[spoter]

Thank you for the nice words.I liked what Lily Nix said about saying it out loud.Tonight I did that.I went out for a drinks with some of my closest friends and I shared that I blew a lot of money playing casino recently.I didnt told them my whole story, but basically I explained how I felt and they got my point and it felt good.It felt good explaining people that I did some stupid things that I regret.Now I need to prove to myself that I do not want this anymore and this is not working for me.I had many entertaining times going to casino or playing online casino, but this stopped.So now I need to control my urges and I beleive I can do it.Good luck to you Sara and Lilly 🙂

[spoter]

One more thing that I feel that is important.I ended my last relationship last October.Around that time I played a lot and I beleive it was some kind of turning point.It was not a good time for me, and then i developed the habit to play every time I was nervous and streessed.Having a bad day – lets play some slots, having a boring night – lets play some slots.PLaying slots turned into a reward, when something bad happened to me.One more thing to fix!

[Johnny B]

Early in my recovery, I played “world series of poker” on my phone. It is a “free” app. I played the tables, mostly tournaments. I did very well. On the app, there is a “slot” option… also “free”. In between hands I started playing the slot machine. I began to lose in minutes the hard earned “chips” that had taken me hours to accumulate. Now that my “chips” were all gone, I decided to “buy” some more…with real money…I am buying fake chips. The moral of my story is that even if something is done innocently, if it is not completely thought out it can become very costly. I am 5 months gamble free. I only play the poker app on very rare occasion, and it doesn’t hold much interest for me any more. The lesson I learned from the “slot” option is very frightening. These machines were not built for entertainment, they were built to take your money. They are called “one arm bandits” for a reason.. This situation has caused me to do some research into the addiction process.  There is a book called “addiction by design”.  It discusses in extreme depth the math, and the emotion that slots cause.  It is truly a non winning option, and If people were educated to the fact, it would be something nobody would ever do.

Human nature is strange.  Very similar to people who play big money on lottery… If the odds of winning the Mega-Millions are 0.000000167 to 1…. we see somebody win, and wonder why can’t it be me.  Even if you bought $1000 worth of tickets, you would only eliminate one of those “0”s.  Frankly, the numbers tell us we should not play at all.  And many on this site agree completely.  I hope since you gamble for a living, very much like the gentleman who does the stocks for a living, you have to do it with a clear mind and complete understanding of what you are doing.  Unfortunately, if you cross this line, you might have to seek another career.  Just my two cents

[Author]

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