

Ask HN: Do you gamble? - bluerail

If so, is it online or offline? How often do you visit a casino, and how much you spend on it?
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corin_
Used to gamble a lot: casino at least once a week, online for sports betting
(mostly UK football, horse racing, sometimes US baseball, and occasionally
other sports like tennis), and sometimes online live dealer casino (you see
video of a dealer giving you cards, and use the online interface to manage
your hand in, for example, blackjack - would only play this late at night on
Skype with one or more friends also playing it, usually while drinking.)

Was always for fun not as a profit-generating scheme, but decided I should cut
back about 3 years ago, the only sports betting I've done in the last year was
during the Cheltenham Festival (four days of horse racing in the UK), and I go
to a casino maybe every 2-3 months. I've also cut down the amount I spend -
now I won't lose more than £100-£300 in a casino, whereas a few years ago I
could easily win or lose £5,000 in a night. Sports betting used to put on
between £20 and £100 on most bets, during Cheltenham this year I was placing
£5-£10 bets.

I love gambling and think as long as you know when to stop, or when to cut
back, it's a great activity.

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AnimalMuppet
I don't know enough. Fortunately, I know that I don't know enough.

I was in Las Vegas on a business trip, and I mentioned to a co-worker that I
didn't see anything wrong with taking entertainment money to the casino. He
replied, "Why don't you just give it to a bum on the street?" I'm going to
lose the money just as much, but it might actually do the bum some good.

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partisan
I gamble when I make a trip to Vegas or Atlantic City and I go in with the
expectation of losing money. I am a somewhat novice blackjack player. It's
typically a social experience so I avoid tables where the players appear to be
making their lunch or dinner money. I usually interact with the dealer a lot,
asking for advice on hands, etc. My wife plays along side me and she has some
incredible luck or skill so I use her to hedge my losses and it seems to work.

I go about once every 3 years or so. The losses I can tolerate are typically
on the order of $500/day for a 3-4 day trip but I do my best to avoid hitting
that limit and so I play at the daytime $10/hand tables. Suffice it to say, I
am not high on the casino's list of valuable players.

Also, I live near a large, popular, all machine casino and have only been
there once out of curiosity. Not really appealing and the liquor is not free
there.

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nicholas73
I used to gamble weekly, as a way to look for other income streams. Lost a lot
at first like most do, starting winning consistently, blew up, win, blew up.
Learned about math and psychology. Finally decided that making money that way
is a job like any other. You put in hours and have some expected rate of
return. Not really worth the time so now I only play for fun.

Edit: Most people lose at first, except the very FIRST time they play.

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stevewepay
I play poker in card rooms often, but I don't consider it gambling. There is
an aspect to luck, but it's mainly skill. Betting and knowing how to bet is a
dominant aspect of the game, and there is a huge skill component to that.

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mod
I gamble at poker and pool. I played poker professionally for a couple of
years, something like 2007-2010.

Now I live in a town with a card room (and casino floor) and I go about once a
week to play.

I don't spend anything on it (I win).

I also am not interested in any other games. I've never played a hand of
blackjack or put even $1 into a slot machine. I detest losing.

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S4M
No. I never understood the attraction of casinos.

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Varkiil
You can always gamble as a game as long as it doesn't become an addiction but
never gamble for anything else. Life's not a game.

Also I have so much bad luck that it spreads around me.

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Errorcod3
Do not gamble.

No good luck here in order to do that and come out ahead.

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dotcoma
no.

