How is everyone finding watching it without having a bet? I watched Spain Vs Portugal with a large gin and actually enjoyed it (tbf tho it was a great game) as a neutral. Was a relief not sweating on a certain scoreline or following a player who’ve I’ve got to score the next goal. Haven’t watched a game properly like that for ages. I would have certainly backed Spain anyway, I would have felt sick at that late equaliser and it would have ruined my night and depending on the stake my weekend too. Although I do have to get out that mindset completely and try to not even think about who i’d have backed.
Is everyone else watching the games who would have bet before or are you avoiding it completely?
Hi Leedsfan,
Top kudos to you for not placing a bet! As you say, the 3-all draw would've wiped out many yesterday. What a cracking match!
The point is, for recovering compulsive gamblers like us, the routine is always the same.
In a given gambling session ( whether it lasts an hour, day or longer) ...
1. We bet and win. If so, go to step 3.
2. We bet and lose. Probably start to chase our losses - misery
3. We keep betting till we lose our winnings, then lose some more - ended up chasing -misery.
The bottom line is, for problem gamblers like us, the destination is always the same - misery.
Let's forget leading ourselves into misery and simply enjoy the World Cup spectacle and guarantee a 100% return - by not gambling in the first place!
Keep going Leedsfan - and congratulations to a hard-fought, hard-won 50 days gambling free!
All the very best to you, as always,
Mixer
Mixer wrote:
Hi Leedsfan,
Top kudos to you for not placing a bet! As you say, the 3-all draw would've wiped out many yesterday. What a cracking match!
The point is, for recovering compulsive gamblers like us, the routine is always the same.
In a given gambling session ( whether it lasts an hour, day or longer) ...
1. We bet and win. If so, go to step 3.
2. We bet and lose. Probably start to chase our losses - misery
3. We keep betting till we lose our winnings, then lose some more - ended up chasing -misery.
The bottom line is, for problem gamblers like us, the destination is always the same - misery.
Let's forget leading ourselves into misery and simply enjoy the World Cup spectacle and guarantee a 100% return - by not gambling in the first place!
Keep going Leedsfan - and congratulations to a hard-fought, hard-won 50 days gambling free!
All the very best to you, as always,
Mixer
Morning Mixer!
Great post and totally agree on your points.
It’s 20 days but it’ll be 50 in 30 days time (;
Well done on staying Gf today and everyday!
The world cup is a big test for me as football was the the main sport on which i done my heavy gambling on .... have thought what it would be like to have a bet to make it more interesting but would be devastated to see my day count return to 0 .... glad to have strong blocks in place this time as without them i would not be be still gamble free .... am enjoying watching the matches for what they are without the pressure of £100s or sometimes £1000s of my hard earned money resting on the outcome.
i have actually loved it, starting to fall in love with the game i used to love so much growing up :] makes me smile that many bookmakers will have lost lots of money by most of the big teams not winning so far, [france being the only exception].
also a bit sad i guess that many despartate gambling adddicts may have put big bets on to try and recoup losses on those games that they thought were dead certs :[
come on england for tonight tho looking forward to this so much and im only watching it at home on the sofa :]
tunnie123 wrote:
i have actually loved it, starting to fall in love with the game i used to love so much growing up :] makes me smile that many bookmakers will have lost lots of money by most of the big teams not winning so far, [france being the only exception].
also a bit sad i guess that many despartate gambling adddicts may have put big bets on to try and recoup losses on those games that they thought were dead certs :[
come on england for tonight tho looking forward to this so much and im only watching it at home on the sofa :]
I’m thinking it was a good time for me to give it up as I reckon I’d have had a double or treble on Germany, Argentina and/or Brazil and none won! I was also thinking about hardened gamblers who will have no doubt stuck big money on those team too /:
I really enjoyed the game tonight, It’s a totally different experience watching a game now. Even supporting England or Leeds id be more bothered about who scored first rather than just wanting a goal for my team, regardless. Having a 3-1 correct result for example, if my team were winning 3-0 I’d be willing the opposition on to win that bet.
Looking forward to the rest of the tournament now. No access to online bookies and if my GF found a betting slip dated post 27th May her bags would be packed - not worth it!
exactly :] tense game last night but enjoyed it all the same :] im in a big predicement now, bristol city have just annouced a big online casino as the new shirt sponsor then annouced we are changing our crest to one the fans have been wanting for ages haha, think i might buy my daughter the shirt instead as it wont have the shirt sponsor on the front :]
This is the way to go - enjoying the football, enjoying the match without worrying about who's going to score the first goal, number of corners, accumulators, fixed score lines ...
Gambling on a game takes away the fun of the game. Plus we lose, and chase, more often than not.
We can cheer on our team, enjoy the football for the right reasons - the skill, tactics, excitement, atmosphere and so much more, when we don't gamble on it.
Plus, at the end of the tournament, we have a 100% return. Cash in our pockets!
That is what I call a result 🙂
And in case anyone is in any doubt. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you might've won the England match. England to win, Kane to score. But what about all the losing bets and accas...?
The point is, if you did win, you'd keep going till you lose, and then chase and lose much, much more.
That's because we are problem gamblers and that's what we do.
So let's spare ourselves the grief and like me, Leedsfan and others, enjoy the game!
And let's see England get to the quarters and bring on Germany or Brazil! (Maybe not Germany ... 😉 )
Let's all enjoy the games - like we USED TO!
Mixer
Watched England last night and had a far better experience being GF for it. I certainly wouldn't have won any bets (although in the predictor competition I'm in I predicted all 3 correct scores yesterday which did get me thinking......... I thought theres absolutely no chance of me betting on any correct scores as I was pure lucky).
Im seeing the WC as an opportunity to showcase that I can go gamble free through it and enjoy every moment of it - the games I want to watch.
That being said - I do have a few pre existing bets on the WC from before I stopped. I am not exactly sure what happens as the account is now self excluded. I think if they win i just get the money through to my account? I have told to OH and discussed with her, if any of them win (I honestly would prefer they lose at this point to keep any gambling triggers at bay) - then the money is going to charity and I am not going to gain from it. Gambling is having no interference with my life, whatsoever.
I'm picking and choosing the games Im interested in and enjoying them in a way I never though possible, for what they are, not for how much money the might potentially win me. As Mixer said, with gambling the only way is misery if you bet.
Keep pounding
E
We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also contact us for free on 0808 80 20 133. If you would like to find out more about the service before you start, including information on confidentiality, please click below. Call recordings and chat transcripts are saved for 28 days for quality assurance.
