Why do people gamble.

Maybe seeking risk is built-in to male psyche particularly...adrenaline rush...an opportunity to have your judgement tested...sporting thrills...cultural background ; father gambled, etc...can be a cheap or not so cheap entertainment that increases the thrills in watching sport.

The great Cubone once sent me a Victorian book about gambling - a short, pamphlet type book, and it had chapters like "The Moral Quality of the Act." It was the author's contention that gambling contributed nothing to society as it was not a creative act -- it bypassed the work ethic, etc. I'm not sure about this as it is an industry now and provides jobs, boosts sport, etc.

Also, the stock exchange...insurance...forms of gambling?

it's hard wired. the thrill of the chase - risk and reward. These are traits our male ancestors had, and had to have to survive.

Every trait we have is genetic, a predisposition to follow certain paths, and some have more predisposition towards risk than others.

Another thing : if you gamble long enough, you get to see a wide range of strange, unexpected things...it's a source of wonder...

life

Repent esp if ur name has a V

I was wondering with horse racing been the sport of kings,did it evolve that through the generations everyone wanted to be a king or be the kings company.so it was passed down from father to son.

shirley its to win money? or am i missing summat here?

but some  rich people put 5 quid on a horse,so its not for the money that they gamble.

Horse racing used to be the No.1 sport in the country. Really strange now to think how every echelon of society was fixated by the sport.

6/4 it's low self-esteem
5/1 it's poor understanding of simple probability

16/1 bar

well i suppose so, but then some rich people buy 17p bob's b@stard beans and al qaeda water

We never got a Tote monopoly in the UK because the aristos and landed gentry loved to gamble with bookies -- a huge historical mistake. But most aristos with horses in training loved to have one or two major plots per year.

because people think its easy money

Viva Paul haig

I do not know about you guys but if there was a match on tv between to second division teams I would not bother to look at it unless I had a bet on it,so I suppose its the excitement of winning why I gamble.in fact I like to tell people when I win,but never tell them about the losses.

im the opposite. i tell people when i lose, but not when i win.

gives me an excuse to not get a round in.

Shrewdie

its funny ,nobody will ever feel sorry for you if you have a bad day gambling.

Aug 15, 2014 -- 4:44PM, Cobblaz wrote:

6/4 it's low self-esteem5/1 it's poor understanding of simple probability16/1 bar

don't give up hope

Everything in life is a gamble from your pension to getting hit on the head by an asteroid.

Cobblaz, do you normally work to such a bad book?

lol true. and youre always a mug. you can win 7 million bets in a row and be swimming in money and youd still get told what a mug you are for losing a tenner on the womens volleyball.

Irony, irony, they've all got it irony!

How do bookies make their money?

I think everyone has different reasons for gambling.the needy and the greedy.but there is a lot of  other reasons in between these  two reasons.

Dostoevsky...that film wi' Gregory Peck...

Bookies make money by laying three 5/2  horses in a 16 horse field and another at 4/1 ,and get a 20/1 winner

well that and 50p accumulators that pay, or rather dont, 300 grand

oh I thought you where talking about on course bookies,when you are in the bookmaker business after a few years you can look at you records and at a glance you will know if you are going to win.(for example,a bookie will always clean up if its heavy going.)feb,june, and july,are poor months for a bookie he will be lucky to break even,march September,december,are super months for the bookmaker.AND THE BIGGER THE MEETING THE MORE HE WINS.

But with the present situation a bookie is under real pressure nowadays to win on a Saturday as gambling has dropped seriously during the week in turnover.

I'm not a bookie or a decent punter but I know bookies make money by offering unfair odds on all outcomes of events and then hope volume takes over and all markets are taken up to the true odds.

Bookies are under pressure because big punters are becoming more shrewd.

I agree with you there ovalman.But you have to remember the gambling business  is built on a math system that will always beat the punter in the end,and the bookie will always entertain any punter provided he is punting with him everyday.he knows that the punter will hit a bad run.and as you know its only 2% that make it.but don't put yourself down by saying you are not a decent punter,all punters big or small have to play to beat the system.the object of the gambling game is to make a profit,and if you have a love for it and take your time you can win.Its a great game if you play it slow.

I punt because I enjoy it and like winning but I don't bet anywhere near as much as I used to, I don't win huge amounts nor do I lose fortunes. I play to nick a few hundred a week and that's fine with me mainly on placepots. This week I'm up about £350 on placepots but down £150 on greyhound trap challenges, levels on poker but I haven't been playing that much recently as I have to be in the mood to get involved so have only played a few tourneys.

thats not true. lots of people make money from the bookies, then they get banned or limit to 50p stakes.

the book only works in the bookies advantage if its correct, which a lot of the time it simply isnt. every week theres several football matches which bookies have priced way out of line compared to here. you cant arb them online or you get your accounts closed. you cant arb them in the shops cos they dont take the bets. if bookies accepted all bets, theyd all be bankrupt within 12 months. and not because of inside information or anything like that, purely from their odds compilers being rubbish.

The High street shops near me are open from 8am - 10pm. They won't take a bet or give you a price, they are purely there for the fobt's.

placepots are a good bet,because they can pay a super dividend .in my days I remember if you can get the first favorite unplaced ,and the other 5 placed it can pay big stuff.everyone does not want to go down on the first leg so 95% put the first fav in.also cover the 4 horses in a 4 horse race(especially if there is an odds on in it)but im sure you know all this.

i posted last night,i think its the English bookies that have stopped taking bets,if you walk into a bookie Dublin with a few hundred for a horse he will not bat an eyelid and take the bet.but in Ireland they can send any bet to the race course.for example paddy p stands at all race meetings and is the biggest layer

Bob, the modern generation are only interested in roulette and football, horse racing punters need not apply as the firms don't want them if they think they have an edge. Corals for example barred me from all local shops and on line for having £150 @ 15/8 when it returned evens. I wasn't arbing either.

As I said I'm a hopeless punter but I understand that bookies can call it wrong. They price up markets wrong and that's where the value lies.

I once spoke to the odds compiler of Irish League Football. He was asking me how I felt the season would go but what surprised me was he was the only compiler for ILF for the whole site. He said he would keep an eye on competitors sites and adjust the odds that way. It got me thinking, what if he and the others got it wrong even with the 20% mark up?

I don't punt much but I think there's value to be had if you look around. As a poker player, I constantly deal with odds but I always look for things in my favour either by offering unfair odds or taking fair odds that others' have gave me.

In football matches its very hard for a bookmaker to get it wrong with the margin of error they have in % their mark. Its about the only sport I don't even look to try and take on the bookmakers.

% mark up/over round that should have been.

Eliteism

Elitism (really shouldn't have got that wrong, I'm better than that)