Gambling

DannyL

Wild Horses
I recall a mate of my Dad's who apparently only ever used to put bets of £200 on the horses - never more, never less. Apparently he made his living at it. He used to spend a lot of time studying form though him and my Dad to a lesser degree were a part of a network that got given tips on the regular. Him and my Dad dropped me at University one year - they drove up to Nottingham to try some scam on at the local bookies, that involved miswriting numbers 4s as 9s or something like that. I think they did alright that day.
 

luka

Well-known member
My dad knew quite a few professional gamblers. Always horses. And he seemed to think it was more the tips, the network, knowing trainers etc than studying form. I'm pretty sure he never made a single bet in his life though.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
The same bloke also told me "always take the free sugar!" in reference to motorway services!

I remember him telling me an elaborate anecdote about how he'd been involved in putting 20k on the horses for the IRA. That tip worked okay apparently.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
I never got clear with this dude which one it was. Both in tandem I think. My main impression was it still a fair bit of work and applied knowledge.
 

luka

Well-known member
Bookies suck though. Horrible places. The smell of John Player Silk Cut and despair.

I've never been in one but when I was a child they had to cover the doorway with a beaded curtain and they had an air of mystery and the taboo.
 

john eden

male pale and stale
My main impression was it still a fair bit of work and applied knowledge.

I think this is key. It's the seduction of easy money that make it all so appealing but it is still long hours and lots of work and knowledge if you really do it for a living - and not everyone can.

People I've known who have made a reasonable living at gambling have been plodders. One guy who travelled the UK playing fruit machines, which meant he was in pubs all the time and regularly got chased out by aggravated locals.

One guy who played online poker - but stuck to the beginners/medium games - he could have 4 or 5 on the go at the same time. So he was stuck in a room by himself all the time basically.

If people want the odd flutter then I get that, bit of a low cost rush. Same as the booze though you can see what some people go in heavy and it takes over.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Exactly, I've known people who make money from internet poker, playing several low stakes games at once, having very specific rules for what to do with each hand. Basically becomes a very boring, time consuming, mechanical, time job.
Also a friend who is a bookie and people ask him how he knows so much about horses "Basically cos I study them all day long every day and I've done it for years on end".
Basically the idea that if you're super smart and wear a white dinner jacket you can walk into a casino with a thousand pounds and then walk out with a hundred grand and two women just cos you're cool is what they try and put across but - obviously - it's bollocks.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
As for how the bookies shops look - I think that before it was one of those weird things were the government had a strange double-standard of tolerating the vice (cos they wanted the tax money) but disapproving (cos it was evil and people got addicted etc) so they basically allowed bookies but they insisted that they had to be unpleasant... places where no-one would want to stay. There were not allowed to sell tea or coffee or even water, there no screens allowed so they couldn't show the race, it was all designed so that you would go in, put your bet on and fuck off. Those rules have gradually been relaxed and now you can go in, put a bet on, have a coffee... something else on the screens catches your eye (or one of the machines) so you lose a few quid on that while you're waiting for the race you originally were betting on. Exactly what they didn't want basically.
In Finland I think they have had a similar relationship with alcohol, there were no bars at one stage but then they relaxed and allowed bars but they seem to be all so unpleasant and uncomfortable that you will never want to stay there.... or maybe there are just loads of shit bars.
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
As for how the bookies shops look - I think that before it was one of those weird things were the government had a strange double-standard of tolerating the vice (cos they wanted the tax money) but disapproving (cos it was evil and people got addicted etc) so they basically allowed bookies but they insisted that they had to be unpleasant... places where no-one would want to stay. There were not allowed to sell tea or coffee or even water, there no screens allowed so they couldn't show the race, it was all designed so that you would go in, put your bet on and fuck off. Those rules have gradually been relaxed and now you can go in, put a bet on, have a coffee... something else on the screens catches your eye (or one of the machines) so you lose a few quid on that while you're waiting for the race you originally were betting on. Exactly what they didn't want basically.
In Finland I think they have had a similar relationship with alcohol, there were no bars at one stage but then they relaxed and allowed bars but they seem to be all so unpleasant and uncomfortable that you will never want to stay there.... or maybe there are just loads of shit bars.

Both things sound like Berlin.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
But there are nice bars in Berlin aren't there? I remember one with a table-tennis table - I'm not saying that that was a good thing but it was there to entice people to stay.
And do they have bookies in Berlin? As far as I know they don't have them in Lisbon. If they do they are hidden and specialised - I think UK is quite unusual in having loads of bookie shops in every town square.
 

sufi

lala
Exactly, I've known people who make money from internet poker, playing several low stakes games at once, having very specific rules for what to do with each hand. Basically becomes a very boring, time consuming, mechanical, time job.
i saw a v interesting interview with a pro poker player who said that first you need to play the flawless mathematical odds game as your starting point (she had a neat term for this approach which i forget) & that creates space for the unpredictable behaviours like bluffing and so on which make you a pro
Also a friend who is a bookie and people ask him how he knows so much about horses "Basically cos I study them all day long every day and I've done it for years on end".
if you can stick at 10,000 hours of anything you'll do ok
 

yyaldrin

in je ogen waait de wind
i buy lottery tickets every now and then, but it's nothing near an addiction. maybe 4 or 5 times a year. the thing that bothers me most about betting and gambling is that it's so perfectly executed: designed to exploit the humans weaknesses by clever people in suits. in richer area's of the city there are close to no betting and gambling places but as soon as you come into working class neighbourhoods or poorer parts of the city you will be bombarded with betting places. they're everywhere.
 

version

Well-known member
I don't think I could stomach horse or dog racing. I'd just be thinking about the animals. I very much doubt they want to do it.
 

luka

Well-known member
The dogs are just bred to chase rabbits it's hard wired into them. Theres not a midget sitting on their back and whipping them. It's a cruel industry but I think a bit different maybe to horses. Greyhounds want to run although I'm sure given the choice it wouldn't be in a sandy ring on the outskirts of Romford
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
The dogs are just bred to chase rabbits it's hard wired into them. Theres not a midget sitting on their back and whipping them. It's a cruel industry but I think a bit different maybe to horses. Greyhounds want to run although I'm sure given the choice it wouldn't be in a sandy ring on the outskirts of Romford
But what happens when they retire?
In Portugal and Spain they do something horrible to hunting dogs that are past it... I forget the details but it's sonething like they throw em in a pit and leave them to die.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
That's mostly what I had in mind when I said it's a cruel industry
Also, isn't there something about how the good feeling from a win is smaller than the bad feeling from a loss... which you woukd think would kinda kill it off. Apparently not.
 
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