9 years today

[Alph]

6 hours ago, Mafiabob said:

Didn't want to take over the depression thread but just to let you know it's now 9 years today since my last bet....

The hardest thing for me is to give myself a pat on the back and some praise. But I need to more often. Thanks for all your kind words over the years posting on this forum. It means a lot even though I can't show you in person.... It lifts me when I help people understand and also hope to help others through addiction.

Thanks Andy 

Bravo brother. 

Buzzing for you. 

It's horrible when people think you have a choice. Completely clueless to what an addiction is. Just not getting it at all

Just the respect for mental health issues is poor. 

It's wrong. Whether it's alcohol, depression, gambling, drugs even sex... whatever breaks you as a person to have society just shake their head at and offer a simple solution... not enough understanding there

"Just get on with it. Got no sympathy he spends it all in the pub/bookies. Bah, he'll only spend it on drugs. It's his own fault he's losing his house"

So many don't truly understand. A guy who smiles can't be depressed. A gambler has a choice... etc. No!!! They just don't get it. There is NO choice.  

There's a choice for a bloke that likes to bet. There's not for an addict though. It's like oxygen. Except you don't think about oxygen from the minute you wake up. You can't control that ****.

And people just don't get their heads around it if they have never truly obsessed over something. The best thing to compare it to for most folk would be when they first fall in love. How you long for somebody. How you need them. You run situations over and over in your head how you can be with them etc. That's a taste of an addiction. That need for something

 

I'm rambling on. But I just think it's amazing when someone can conquer their mind. Retrain themselves. Deny the unbelievable urges. Because you can't quit being an addict. You can't cheer up a depressed guy. You have to battle yourself. 

And well done to anyone who gets through it. It shouldn't be played down either.  

Big congrats to the Mafia. All the best Andy

 

Mike

[GboroRam]

I put all his success down to the podcast. 

[Mafiabob]

4 minutes ago, Alpha said:

Bravo brother. 

Buzzing for you. 

It's horrible when people think you have a choice. Completely clueless to what an addiction is. Just not getting it at all

Just the respect for mental health issues is poor. 

It's wrong. Whether it's alcohol, depression, gambling, drugs even sex... whatever breaks you as a person to have society just shake their head at and offer a simple solution... not enough understanding there

"Just get on with it. Got no sympathy he spends it all in the pub/bookies. Bah, he'll only spend it on drugs. It's his own fault he's losing his house"

So many don't truly understand. A guy who smiles can't be depressed. A gambler has a choice... etc. No!!! They just don't get it. There is NO choice.  

There's a choice for a bloke that likes to bet. There's not for an addict though. It's like oxygen. Except you don't think about oxygen from the minute you wake up. You can't control that ****.

And people just don't get their heads around it if they have never truly obsessed over something. The best thing to compare it to for most folk would be when they first fall in love. How you long for somebody. How you need them. You run situations over and over in your head how you can be with them etc. That's a taste of an addiction. That need for something

 

I'm rambling on. But I just think it's amazing when someone can conquer their mind. Retrain themselves. Deny the unbelievable urges. Because you can't quit being an addict. You can't cheer up a depressed guy. You have to battle yourself. 

And well done to anyone who gets through it. It shouldn't be played down either.  

Big congrats to the Mafia. All the best Andy

 

Mike

I can't put it any better than this guys and girls..... Absolutely everything there I would agree with.

 

Thankyou for your kind words... Believe me they are very much appreciated 

[Phoenix]

Good on you, mate. I've mentioned before seeing a coleague's life ruined through gambling addiction. I'm the first to admit I don't understand it, but I've seen it first hand, so I know it exists.

Here's to the next year of success.

[ladyram]

Good for you Mafia, keep doing what you're doing, it's brilliant. 

Never forget the 12 steps. 

Xx

[Mafiabob]

48 minutes ago, ladyram said:

Good for you Mafia, keep doing what you're doing, it's brilliant. 

Never forget the 12 steps. 

Xx

Thankyou 

[Zag zig]

On 14 April 2016 at 13:20, Mafiabob said:

There is a big debate about FOBS being the crack cocaine of the gambling world....

If you're addicted the way I am you'll probably bet on two spiders climbing the wall.... 

Just want to add my well done too. Don't know you mafiabob but I do know it's a fine line between having a flutter and being an addict.

Picked this post out purely because those FOBS remind me of the arcade slots except on speed, wasted a lot of my student grants on those darned things, fortunately I knew a kid who worked for Appleby Glade the fruit machine company, he told me a few home truths about the win odds and how long term the machine wins, which is obvious, but not when you get hooked on the buzz and think it's bound to pay any minute now. He saved me on the machines anyway.

As for those FOBS, should be outlawed, they serve no useful purpose other than to the owners and inflict pure misery on far too many to my mind.

[Mafiabob]

22 minutes ago, Zag zig said:

Just want to add my well done too. Don't know you mafiabob but I do know it's a fine line between having a flutter and being an addict.

Picked this post out purely because those FOBS remind me of the arcade slots except on speed, wasted a lot of my student grants on those darned things, fortunately I knew a kid who worked for Appleby Glade the fruit machine company, he told me a few home truths about the win odds and how long term the machine wins, which is obvious, but not when you get hooked on the buzz and think it's bound to pay any minute now. He saved me on the machines anyway.

As for those FOBS, should be outlawed, they serve no useful purpose other than to the owners and inflict pure misery on far too many to my mind.

Thankyou....

As you say regarding FOBS they are very lucrative to the gambling industry.... Most of a bookies income is through them.

You never see a poor bookie

[Zag zig]

15 minutes ago, Mafiabob said:

You never see a poor bookie

The number of times I've heard that said, wouldn't argue, say it to my kids.

Keep it up mafia. 

Bit of a horses gambler in the main, always had a flutter as my grandad was a bookies runner in the old days, till said bookie conned him; he really should have seen it coming.

My bigger bets now come off the back of being a risk taker in trading, I'd always call that educated gambling, but in reality it's a still a fine line between calculated risks and impulsive gambling. requires a heck of a lot of discipline and truthfully I've been a right dope at times when greed has got the better of me and lost serious sums through a lack of discipline but I think I've learned and seem to be winning.

Horses on the other hand.

A few years back I was on a right roll, at one point from a £1k deposit and £200 in free bets with betfred my kitty showed around £15k profit in just over 3 months. Then I started losing, several times I got back to a few grand and laid all before another mini roll. Finally in less than a couple of months chasing my money it dwindled to around £2.5k which I lumped on an odds on favourite that "should've" won. I'd made my mind up I'd close the account if it went bust because it sickened me how much profit I'd given back. Finally I smucked out.

So now I did a few small bets at Cheltenham and Aintree, odd days at the races for fun but never again will I open an online gambling account, that was my lesson and just thought I'd share.

[Mafiabob]

42 minutes ago, Zag zig said:

The number of times I've heard that said, wouldn't argue, say it to my kids.

Keep it up mafia. 

Bit of a horses gambler in the main, always had a flutter as my grandad was a bookies runner in the old days, till said bookie conned him; he really should have seen it coming.

My bigger bets now come off the back of being a risk taker in trading, I'd always call that educated gambling, but in reality it's a still a fine line between calculated risks and impulsive gambling. requires a heck of a lot of discipline and truthfully I've been a right dope at times when greed has got the better of me and lost serious sums through a lack of discipline but I think I've learned and seem to be winning.

Horses on the other hand.

A few years back I was on a right roll, at one point from a £1k deposit and £200 in free bets with betfred my kitty showed around £15k profit in just over 3 months. Then I started losing, several times I got back to a few grand and laid all before another mini roll. Finally in less than a couple of months chasing my money it dwindled to around £2.5k which I lumped on an odds on favourite that "should've" won. I'd made my mind up I'd close the account if it went bust because it sickened me how much profit I'd given back. Finally I smucked out.

So now I did a few small bets at Cheltenham and Aintree, odd days at the races for fun but never again will I open an online gambling account, that was my lesson and just thought I'd share.

Thanks for that.....

theres one thing I will say, and you'll here this from few others of my ilk. I miss it, not all of us do..., but doing something that was in my life for so long and then stopping you do miss the times when it was fun. I still love horse racing purely for spectator sport. 

Stocks are a funny one but I've seen one or two who got hooked on doing them.... A very hefty thing to get in on.

Its good you have fun with it...  Wish I could have stayed like that