Poll: Do you gamble?

[Spade Lead]

Thoughts?

Well, first of all, scratchers are only one type of gambling, as I usually think of Cards or slots when gambling is mentioned, since I used to play Poker with my father at the Casino quite frequently.

I played scratchers on average about once a week for five dollars when I was 18, and then stopped when I got down by $12 after about two months. (In California the legal age is 18, not 21 like here in Iowa.) It is actually still a cheaper hobby than my newest one, which is car restoration. If you look at it like that, who cares how much people spend, as long as they aren't paying for it with government support.

 

[Angie7F]

I dont see the point.
I know that if I dont buy tickets, I will never win.
But I just never was interested.
Also I dont do bets, and dont get excited over sports and games.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I've never, ever bought or will ever buy a lotto ticket or something along those lines. I've gambled some in the past but it was always out of curiosity for the game. I gambled once on slots and lost some change, I gambled once on horses and won (again, the bet was so small it was a pittance)... I've done some friendly poker games and I've usually won... and the most I did gamble was on roulette, which I do maybe 2 times a year, and I do so because I can calculate the odds the best. Lotto and slots seems like a gambling trap, very little chance of actually winning. Roulette you can more or less steer yourself into some winnings. Then again, I've never gambled over fifty PESOS. That's less than ten DOLLARS. So look at me the whaler.

 

[wetfart]

If the lotto jackpot is absurdly high, then I'll drop a few bucks and get some tickets.

I once worked briefly at a place where all the workers would toss a few bucks into a pool. I think the most we won while I worked there was like $50.

When I was in college, the student associations would run a mock casino. You got so many chips for showing up. You could spend your winnings on raffle tickets to try and get prizes like dvds. Never won anything but it was a fun and cheap way to spend the night.

Otherwise, I guess you could say I gamble every time I power attack for full and hope that I roll well enough to still hit the BBEG. =P

 

[JSDodd]

I occasionally buy the odd scratchcard or lottery ticket for my fiance but that's about it.

Part of me agrees with the notion that "the lottery is a tax on people who don't understand statistics" but part of me thinks that the lottery allows people to dream of a "better" life that they could potentially have for the low cost of £1-2.

 

[Uszi]

I have bought tickets before, when the prize money gets really large.

I mean, the single biggest increase in chance per ticket purchase is from 0 tickets to 1 ticket, since you go from having 0 chance of winning to 1/47 million or whatever it is.

After that, buying additional lotto tickets is pointless. You need to buy such huge quantities to really affect your chances.

That's not to say I haven't gotten into fights with people, coworkers in lotto pools, etc. "Oh man, if you buy 20 tickets, your 20 times more likely." Well, okay, but if it's 1/47 million per ticket, now its 1/2.35 million, and you're still guaranteed to win nothing.

 

[Zantos]

I'll maybe spend £20 on lottery tickets in the average year. Usually to entertain the fantasy of winning a shit ton of money during one of the big rollovers. Unlikely, but amusing.

Also I buy a quid raffle ticket in the pub every week. Does that count?

 

[Cuacuani]

It's traditional amongst my friendship group to put a tenner on the Grand National. Usually ends up with all of us ten quid down and screaming obsceneties at the telly. Last year though, one of my friends had a new girlfriend, who chewed his ear off about him wasting a tenner on the horses. As if by divine intervention, he won £50 and she had to eat humble pie.

A mate of mine often puts a small bet on whoever his team is playing against. If they win, he's happy cos his team won. If they lose, he at least gets a few quid out of it.

 

[hooblabla6262]

I try to buy a single lottery ticket every week. It works out to 1$/day for the chance to win around 10-30 million, plus they have those million dollar winners.

I've never won big, but I do tend to win anywhere from a free ticket to 20$.

There's a small time casino in the middle of my reservation (native stereotypes whoo!!), and I have watched many people fall victim to the machines inside. Burning entire paychecks at slot machines.

I'll stick with my dollar a day lotto ticket, thank you.

 

[Tropicaz]

I often bet on football, but then again I know alot about it so I dont really lose all that money. I have about £8 in various small bets across some of the premiership games tonight, and i'll be surprised if I got lost more than about £1 of it

 

[smithy_2045]

Slot machines, lotteries, scratch cards, etc, hell no. It's impossible to win them in the long run.

Poker and blackjack I'd consider but I'd need to study beforehand to maximise my odds of winning, and determine if it's actually possible to win in the long run.

I do enjoy betting on sports. Enhances my enjoyment of watching the sport if I have something riding on it.


There's no harm in gambling, as long as you remember to never bet more than you're willing to lose. Because longterm, it's extremely likely that you will lose.