Redwurzel
Well-known member
Merson is a hardcore addict - gambling is their air, food etc, they struggle to live without a bet. Did he say he lost £7m gambling. It would take alot to spend £7m on alcohol or cigarettes. I had an uncle that would at one stage not give my aunty any money from his wages (back in 1960s/70s when people were paid in cash), most of it was gambled away. She had to work to pay the household bills, including work through the night and getting very little sleep. She had 4 kids. This was before phone betting, internet betting, just high street bookies and bets placed in pubs/racecourses. If he won he gave her a lot of the winnings, but more often there was nothing to give.
I used to do the pools and fixed odds by post when I was 14 (illegally), so I knew I had the bug. It was liking playing a game (which I used to love as well), but with ten times the thrill. I couldn't wait till I looked 18 and be able to go in a bookies and fill in my one football fixed odds coupon. I would get home and work out on a calculator how much I would win, usually 5 team accies on those days. say £456 for a £2 stake or even better do 5 from 7 perms. My Saturday routine if not on a long trip to a Boro game. I was disciplined with stake never more than £5 in total and usuall only on a Saturday and never bet on horses/greyhounds unless it was the Grand National. I was buying the Racing Post @ age 21 on a Saturday just for the Football section or would read every word in a Bookie's copy. It probablhy all helped me break even and for a few years when the Internet started I was well in profit every year (I suspect some of the new bookies lost money and less informed were betting). My betting went up after I was making a profit as I logically thought it would magnified my wins so instead of staking £5 on a game I went say £30. Betting tax was abolished and it was easier with the Internet. I did start to realise I was spending too much time on it. I was doing quite a lot of research to improve my performance and it was becoming an obession not just an interest. I was finding I was just breaking even and it took 5 hours of reserach to do that. Now I limit it to 1 to 2 hours research a week and staked down to enough to get a buzz (intellectually challenge to me) without risking much financially. I religiously record all wins and losses (and have done for 12 years) and never ever chase losses and never did. Unlike Merson I can balance emotion and logic a bit, he seems to be almost 100% emotion.
It used to amaze me how much people bet - seeing guys in bookies that looked like builders labourers putting on the equivalent of days wages, certainly £20 bets in the 1980s/90s etc and I would look puny with my £2 accie, but for me that would be in Hills, then £1.50 in Ladbrokes and £1.50 in Corals to get the best odds on particular games. That was all part of the challenge to beat the bookie. I can even tell you now exactly where the shops were in the 80s, Middlesbrough was good because there was a lot of choice in a small walkable area. I very rarely now bet with a bookie online or offline. They know too much and their margins have increased. The exception is Skybet who do a Saturday bet as a loss leader and free Super 6. They limit to me to £1 bets on theor special ofers, because I am in profit with them. William Hill stopped me using their Saturday offers, because I was also in profit with them. Eaven so my conclusion is for everyone almost its a mugs game, it either takes your money or your time. Keep it to pocket money if need the buzz. like the Pools in the 1970s or like buying one or two lottery tickets. Of course the betting industry would severly shrink and probably lose 95% of its revenue if that happened but the owners are very rich people it does not damage their lives.
Some ordinary people need protection and in general they are not getting it from what I get see. The level of advertising has ramped up alot in the last 20 years. I can't remember gambling shirt sponsors before around 2002 if though shirt sponsors had been around since the late 1970s. The same with TV and its all been in the in the last 20 years. Its as dangerous as alcohol in my opinion, but the general public has increased betting by significant amount in the last 20 years, while alochol is about the same and smoking is down.
I used to do the pools and fixed odds by post when I was 14 (illegally), so I knew I had the bug. It was liking playing a game (which I used to love as well), but with ten times the thrill. I couldn't wait till I looked 18 and be able to go in a bookies and fill in my one football fixed odds coupon. I would get home and work out on a calculator how much I would win, usually 5 team accies on those days. say £456 for a £2 stake or even better do 5 from 7 perms. My Saturday routine if not on a long trip to a Boro game. I was disciplined with stake never more than £5 in total and usuall only on a Saturday and never bet on horses/greyhounds unless it was the Grand National. I was buying the Racing Post @ age 21 on a Saturday just for the Football section or would read every word in a Bookie's copy. It probablhy all helped me break even and for a few years when the Internet started I was well in profit every year (I suspect some of the new bookies lost money and less informed were betting). My betting went up after I was making a profit as I logically thought it would magnified my wins so instead of staking £5 on a game I went say £30. Betting tax was abolished and it was easier with the Internet. I did start to realise I was spending too much time on it. I was doing quite a lot of research to improve my performance and it was becoming an obession not just an interest. I was finding I was just breaking even and it took 5 hours of reserach to do that. Now I limit it to 1 to 2 hours research a week and staked down to enough to get a buzz (intellectually challenge to me) without risking much financially. I religiously record all wins and losses (and have done for 12 years) and never ever chase losses and never did. Unlike Merson I can balance emotion and logic a bit, he seems to be almost 100% emotion.
It used to amaze me how much people bet - seeing guys in bookies that looked like builders labourers putting on the equivalent of days wages, certainly £20 bets in the 1980s/90s etc and I would look puny with my £2 accie, but for me that would be in Hills, then £1.50 in Ladbrokes and £1.50 in Corals to get the best odds on particular games. That was all part of the challenge to beat the bookie. I can even tell you now exactly where the shops were in the 80s, Middlesbrough was good because there was a lot of choice in a small walkable area. I very rarely now bet with a bookie online or offline. They know too much and their margins have increased. The exception is Skybet who do a Saturday bet as a loss leader and free Super 6. They limit to me to £1 bets on theor special ofers, because I am in profit with them. William Hill stopped me using their Saturday offers, because I was also in profit with them. Eaven so my conclusion is for everyone almost its a mugs game, it either takes your money or your time. Keep it to pocket money if need the buzz. like the Pools in the 1970s or like buying one or two lottery tickets. Of course the betting industry would severly shrink and probably lose 95% of its revenue if that happened but the owners are very rich people it does not damage their lives.
Some ordinary people need protection and in general they are not getting it from what I get see. The level of advertising has ramped up alot in the last 20 years. I can't remember gambling shirt sponsors before around 2002 if though shirt sponsors had been around since the late 1970s. The same with TV and its all been in the in the last 20 years. Its as dangerous as alcohol in my opinion, but the general public has increased betting by significant amount in the last 20 years, while alochol is about the same and smoking is down.
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