4 ms·

What always astounds me when I was in them is that everyone seemed oblivious to it. Their need for instant gratification, the pleasure centre in their brains t

What always astounds me when I was in them is that everyone seemed oblivious to it. Their need for instant gratification, the pleasure centre in their brains triggered just enough to keep them ignoring the stress of their losses. Distracting them long enough to make them think they can win it all back and get back on top. It's like playing poker in an interrogation room with a good cop and a bad cop. The good cop comes in enough to make you think you're okay. It doesn't matter whether you're innocent and you only lose a day of work or you're guilty and lose your freedom, you still lose. People go in thinking they can beat the system and the rare few do, but most don't. Overall, the house always wins. That's why the doors are still open and they earn yearly profits of millions of dollars while a whole bunch of their patrons gradually lose their homes and the shirts on their backs.

culturestate 9y ago
Let me check in with you for a second: some people just like to gamble and do so responsibly. Those people - I'm one of them - know that it's unlikely that they'll win, but they enjoy the process just the same. I think about gambling the same way I think about, say, playing a recreational sport. I'm going to lose money (participation fees) but I'm going to have fun.
- NTripleOne 9y ago
  Yup, that's me too. I have a £30 hard deposit limit for gambling (which comes out of my 'nice things to keep me sane' budget anyway) per month. Maybe I'm just lucky but it's genuinely very rare that I walk away out of pocket - I play by the rule of "hit >2*deposit, withdraw deposit amount and keep playing what's left" and for the most part it works, and I get a couple hours of fun out of it. I know people who'd happily drop £30 a month on junk food or some other frivolous and non-essential purchase, yet they call me an addict. Maybe I am maybe I'm not, I don't know. I do know that I have a good time for a couple of hours and if I'm lucky, I get to walk away with a couple hundred extra in my bank account.

culturestate 9y ago

Let me check in with you for a second: some people just like to gamble and do so responsibly. Those people - I'm one of them - know that it's unlikely that they'll win, but they enjoy the process just the same. I think about gambling the same way I think about, say, playing a recreational sport. I'm going to lose money (participation fees) but I'm going to have fun.

NTripleOne 9y ago
Yup, that's me too. I have a £30 hard deposit limit for gambling (which comes out of my 'nice things to keep me sane' budget anyway) per month. Maybe I'm just lucky but it's genuinely very rare that I walk away out of pocket - I play by the rule of "hit >2*deposit, withdraw deposit amount and keep playing what's left" and for the most part it works, and I get a couple hours of fun out of it. I know people who'd happily drop £30 a month on junk food or some other frivolous and non-essential purchase, yet they call me an addict. Maybe I am maybe I'm not, I don't know. I do know that I have a good time for a couple of hours and if I'm lucky, I get to walk away with a couple hundred extra in my bank account.