Gambling Addiction

Only thing you can do is take out a loan and double down - you'll eventually make it back.

I’m curious what you bet on

First of all, it's going to be alright. Think of it this way, there are plenty of first-year associates who are in more debt than you from MBA.

But you are done gambling now - hard stop. Here are the steps you should take:

• Confide in someone close to you and work with them to get you professional help
• Self-exclude yourself from every gambling platform you can (not just for 6 months - forever)
• Start to learn from and lean on others who are/were in the same or worse situation as you. Some resources for you to start below:
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/problemgambling/
  • https://open.spotify.com/episode/1lzO58Dffh6xLGrL61T5sL
  • https://www.amazon.com/Never-Enough-Zeroes-Joel-Soper/dp/B09YYMWR1X
• Start getting your finances tight and working towards paying off your debt and building a sustainable & peaceful life. Some resources below:
  • https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/
  • https://www.amazon.com/Will-Teach-You-Rich-Second/dp/1523505745/ref=tmm…
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/Fire/

I know the world feels like it's coming to an end, but start working towards your recovery and when you look back in a year you will be amazed at how far you've come.

Gambling is the devil's work. When the phone rings, best to just hang up

Step 1: Read Edward Thorp gambling book. 

Step 2: Take out another loan

Step 3: Gambling 

it's fine, we all have addictions, i have whoring addiction

All you have to remind yourself is that no matter how much money you win, it's not life changing money (unless you hit like a 7-game parlay or something, and even then you'll have put bet like $5,000 or something for it be life changing), but if you lose, it hurts like hell.  So put that into perspective, and ask yourself what are you gambling for if no win will change your life materially?  If you find that you cannot watch sports without having something at stake, then just make a friendly bet for dinner with friends.  If that doesn't work, then don't watch sports for a while.  Every gambler believes tomorrow's games' spreads and MLs are such a no brainer!  But how many times have you lost thinking that?  If you want to gamble, betting on stocks, cyptos, etc. probably better than sports or casino IMO.  But if you are losing that much, it's very advisable to get some professional help.  Good luck!

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If you can't control your gambling addiction, it's better for you to set some limit, say,  $ 1000 over which you won't go out. This way you will be able to satisfy your gamling hunger as well as it won't ruine your financial security. I mean you won't get into much trouble with debts, etc.  

Oh man, I’ve been exactly in your shoes. Won’t troll you on this reply. Don’t do anything stupid or in a panic.

I’ve written before about how I fell into high stakes poker through one night on a black jack heater, how I became addicted to the high stake swings and life changing swings in each pot and how I basically lost everything in my brokerage and checking account. Hopefully it’s easy to search for, because I remember reading stories of people like me helped ease the pain.

Everyone is different and there is no boiler plate recovery plan unfortunately. I’ll tell you what helped me recover, and maybe you can take some ideas away from that.

The first thing I had to do was figure out why I was addicted to the poker. Back then I used to tell my friends the only thing as fun as gambling and winning is gambling and losing. In my case I was depressed after a break up and just bored with life. I think I was bored the same way kids of celebrities are bored, they have no real stakes to their life. Drinking and drugs and whores never really interested me, but gambling gave me that endorphin rush I wanted. So once I went broke, I think I lost like 450k cash plus the 125k I won at black jack, I contemplated liquidating my 401k and Roth IRA. That night I decided to quit cold turkey, and tried to dissect why I was so addicted and concluded it was the rush I got, but it was because that rush helped me forget what was truly bothering me. I was heart broken and I found no fulfillment from working.

So step 1 was addressing my heartbreak via going on a ton of online dates and trying to sleep with as many as I could. Chasing girls can be alotta fun and a fun distraction. I then decided banking would never fulfill me, so I enrolled in some writing and cooking classes. I completed an entire screenplay and almost landed an agent. I also wrote an entire fan fiction series that led to some people contacting me about writing my own series, but I eventually discovered I didn’t have the creativity to create my own world, I was better at adapting someone else’s work. I learned to find fulfillment outside of work. The money I make allows me to do fun things, and that’s where I would focus my mental awareness on.

Step 2 was somehow accepting the financial ruin I caused myself. I briefly contemplated suicide after seeing the zero in my bank account, but I could never do that to my parents. So I quickly put that out of my mind. If you are having those thoughts and can’t quickly close that door, it’s best to speak to a professional. It’s hard keeping such a big loss a secret, but I never told anyone for years. Even now, when I tell friends, no one really believes me or thinks I’m joking. What mid twenties kid can just blow ~600k? What helped me move on from the financial loss? I can’t really remember now. Because if I lost 600k again today I would freaking flip out. I guess I was young, didn’t quite understand how much cash I blew because I didn’t have kids or a wife and in the back of my mind I always knew my dad would support me if I needed help. I’ve never told him, because he would be so disgusted (his dad was a penniless orphan and wasting money is a huge sin to him), but I know he would have my back if I lost my job. So remember you are young and have time to earn it back. Who knows? Maybe you will marry rich or win the lottery or make it in PE?

The final step to recovery is just accepting you cannot make a single bet ever again. That’s so hard to accept. Not even on bet. Not even fantasy or betting drinks with a buddy. Zero betting of any kind. Not even keeping fake bets on a spreadsheet to see how you “would” have done. That was very hard for me. I lived in AC for basically a year on the weekends, and then all of a sudden I wouldn’t let myself even make a friendly wager.

It’s not easy. After that night where I lost my last 30k, I didn’t make another wager for 7 years. Since then I’ve been to Macau, Vegas and AC a handful of times for events, and bet a little. But I’ve found I don’t enjoy it anymore, thank god. The think once you have kids, if you have any sense of responsibility, the urge to self destruct goes down.

Smoke Frog’s advice summary? Figure out why you were making such high stakes wagers and discover what you were running from. Accept you’ve lost a few years of savings but keep in mind you still have 50 years left to live. And make yourself a promise to not make any type of bet for any reason for at least 5 years, no excuses.

Double down and win it all back.

hope you don't lose your kneecaps

I don’t think anyone has asked…. What was the game/bet?

If you are addicted to gambling, remember that it is impossible to win money from a casino. Think about this, if everyone wins 10,000$ in terms of lifetime wins, and a casino receives around 10,000 visitors per financial quarter (actual number is around 20k for certain Macau companies) , that would approx. amount to 100,000,000$ in losses for the casino. Casinos exist to suck you dry with their unfair house edge, they will always take back what you've won in the previous months unless you are a card-counter or a cheater.

A good way to cure your gambling addiction is to put your capital in casino/gaming stocks (Las Vegas Sands for Vegas, Sands China/Galaxy Entertainment for Macau). Gaming companies are expected to beat earnings as GGR and VIP volume returns to pre-pandemic levels. Stock price has not even priced in the China re-opening theme due to the overall underinvestment in gaming industry (investors tend to shun casino stocks due to ethical reasons)

And also, gambling industry is basically 100% recession proof since desperate times create desperate gamblers. Back in 2008 when a ton of people got laid off, casinos performed extremely well until the economy recovered around 2014 - 2016. Gaming revenue exploded every year until it eventually peaked in 2015. 

Swap your gambling addiction to stocks/options for starters, at least that way you get a tax write off.

Sorry to hear about your situation. It sounds like you may be struggling with a gambling addiction, and that's definitely a tough road to be on. Have you considered seeking professional help for this issue?

I'm sorry to hear about your situation.

I am also addicted.

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wow! That's amazing! How did you do it, senpai?

If you lost -155.7k, that means you won 155.7k, right? Howww

Thanks for the advice's!

Don’t move to Australia man - the pokies (slot machines) down here are the biggest sap of cash imaginable and I hate it

Don’t move to Australia man - the pokies (slot machines) down here are the biggest sap of cash imaginable and I hate it

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Seeking help is a courageous first step. There are support groups and professionals who specialize in gambling addiction that can offer guidance and support. It's also important to take steps to protect yourself financially.