shoepatshoe Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 As a newcomer to MF but a regular reader, I appreciate I could be covering a topic that has been poked before, but does anybody have any experiences of these casino's? Two years ago I had a real addiction to one in particular (don't want to advertise for them, but it was run by Damon Hill's brother William) and lost lots of money (which luckily didn't quite extend beyond the fringes of what I could afford). With hindsight I think I was quite lucky that I managed to escape with my shirt on my back, and it was only after some serious sense talking from a good friend that I kicked the habit and walked away having learnt a valuable and costly lesson. There was a real trend to the way in which I danced with the demon of gambling and I wanted to hear of any other similar stories. I heard in the news recently that America was banning them and I, as an ex user, can completely understand why. I know of a bloke who got himself into £20k credit card debts purely from chasing losses in an online casino. He actually tried to hide it from his wife! That seems to be the figure that you always hear about too. £20k to £25k seems to be the ball park figure that credit card companies will let you get into before pulling the credit plug. I reckon I lost about £4k to £5k over the space of 6 months which I managed to pay back by selling my car, my mountain bike and some shares I had been given as a 21st birthday present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studmuffin Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Horrible things, lost a few bob over the years. Its like playing with monopoly money. If in a bookies and you hand over cash it sinks in how much your spending. Other thing with online, no matter how pissed you are you dont get thrown out. You can play all night. If as you say you were reaching an addiction, the casninos have a duty of care. I could be wrong but I thought they had systems in place to monitor if people were say playing five hours a day seven days a week and take appropriate action. Leave them well alone ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 I play quite a lot of online poker on the casino sites, and dont find I slip into heavy losses. I keep the stakes quite low, and play for the enjoyment of the game and the winnings are almost of no consequence. The stake is the cost of the game as far as I'm concerned, and a win is just more stake money rather than cash I'll ever take out. I think that's part of the mindset thats kept me out of bother. I wont play another game to try and win back that last loss. I dont consider a loss a loss at all. I do only play tournies though, so your bet lasts a lot longer.. I also have a real aversion to games of pure chance and games vs the house. I watch tenners dissapear on roulette tables and I just dont see the attraction. If I win at poker I've had some luck but I've also had some skill. Just wanted to say it's not all bad, you can play, have fun and keep your shirt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 That's it really. I don't play a lot of poker these days, nowhere near as much as I used to so when I do play, I play 5/10 tournaments with 1000+ entries which can take 2-3 hours to play, depending on the exact numbers and blind levels (and how well I do!). I'm rusty enough to know that I'm probably not going to cash without a huge number of suckouts so I look at it as paying $10 for a couple of hours entertainment. I have a bit of a bankroll built up from when I was playing a bit more seriously anyway so I'm only eating into the profit I've made from my initial $50 deposit anyway. Really, the problem isn't with online casinos or poker sites, it's the ease with which people without any assets or tangible credit rating are able to acculmulate this kind of debt with so little effort on credit cards they have no hope of repaying. That's where there need to be far more stringent checks in place, with linked debt monitoring between all card issuers and better pattern detection on accounts to put a stop to this sort of behaviour in the first place. If as you say you were reaching an addiction, the casninos have a duty of care. I could be wrong but I thought they had systems in place to monitor if people were say playing five hours a day seven days a week and take appropriate action. No clue about casino sites as I don't play them, but the vast majority of poker sites have safeguards that prevent any player losing more than a set amount over a period of time. If you lose, say, $1000, you simply aren't allowed to deposit any more. However, because there are dozens of different sites to sign up to, it really doesn't stop anyone, they just move to a different operator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sausages Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 I've never gambled in a casino, bookies, fruit machine etc. They wouldn't exist if people won. Being able to slap those debts on a credit card is scary. Especially if it's online and has the feeling of being just a computer game. The only betting I do is on the golf course, but the outcome of that is determined on precisely what I do (or don't do). I'm good enough to come out on top. Usually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoepatshoe Posted October 20, 2006 Author Share Posted October 20, 2006 I've never gambled in a casino, bookies, fruit machine etc. They wouldn't exist if people won. Being able to slap those debts on a credit card is scary. Especially if it's online and has the feeling of being just a computer game. The only betting I do is on the golf course, but the outcome of that is determined on precisely what I do (or don't do). I'm good enough to come out on top. Usually. The way it works is genius though. One starts off with about £25 and you play a few fruit machines, next thing you know you win £50!!! Every fibre in your body sreams "Take your winnings!" but then you have a few more spins and it starts to decrease. Next thing you know you win £100!! Then comes the fatal bit, you hear yourself say, "I've got this sussed! I've got a system!" You put another £25 in on another day, you win some, then you lose it all. You try a bit more and you win a load back. The rhythm is infectious, the buzz is addictive and 3 months later you're placing a deposit of £400 off the magic credit card, as casually as you placed that original £25. Somebody posted earlier on that for every sensible gambler there is an idiot who gets caught in the moment - I was that idiot! To have seen the light and be 'only' a few grand down makes me feel kind of lucky, I could have been a lot worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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