Life With Sports Bets Only

Steve makes a very good point Captain,

Exceptions can be made, (i know i have done it myself) agreed to let someone wager on horses n dogs but NOT machines........

no second chances.......

However it is not normal practice BUT i think with the agreement of all parties in that particular shop it can work........

My advice would be to speak to them again....

Progress NOT perfection eh?

TC

Kim xx

Captain--you say you do not want to be excluded--Why?

You say you only like to do controlled gambling but persist in going into the bookmakers and random gamble.

Why not exclude yourself from the bookies and open an internet account if you have to have your 'controlled' bets.

Or is it yet again a case of when anybody remotely suggests something to help you find an excuse to ignore it?

I am beginning to feel that you do not want to change at all mate and that you only come on here to get some pity from others or to somehow try to justify to yourself that you want to stop when actually you do not and also have no intention of doing so. Or is it that you post such things because you know it winds us up and you get a laugh from doing so??

What is it mate? What are you looking for anybody to say? Tell us and I am sure we can provide the answer that you are looking for but first we need you to give us a big clue as none of us seems to be able to press the right buttons with you.

All the best

Stumper

Hi Captain,

Sorry to read that you had a mad session of gambling yesterday.....,i agree with the points that Kim,Steve,and Stumper have made.....,why don't you go to the counter when you enter the shop and place a deposit of £xxx and gain the ageement with the staff that you want to wager that amount and no more?....,the law dictates that they must help you in this regard.......believe me Captain the staff (who earn £6.23 per hour) would respect you a lot more if you did this than they probably do right now mate.

you know that i find this "random" and "controlled" thing a bit hard to accept,here is why......when you decide to go into the bookies,that is planned gambling,there is nothing "random" about your decision to go into the bookies (i assume your not frogmarched in by the staff? ),what you then do is currently gamble in a compulsive way whilst you are in the shop.You can beat this addiction Captain......,it takes a huge effort,but you can do it if you really want to?.

Seano.

C'mon Captain

you know that old saying

"When your in a hole STOP digging"

Gamblers are competitive people right?

You have the majority of this forum spurring you on to succeed captain, i know if i were in your shoes i would be well chuffed......

Stopping gambling is the easy bit right??

Dealing with the fall out no so great???

There are loads of people here (myself included) willing to try and help support you

ARE YOU IN??????

TC

Kim x

I have not posted on your diary before although I have been reading your posts. I feel compelled to let you know that I will not be supporting you in your quest to gamble. I don't believe this forum has been set up for that purpose.

I do hope you get to where you need to be to have a happy and fulfilled life.That is there for the taking if you want it

Lili

Thanks for all the posts folks, appreciated. I will reply to you all individually. Kim, cant do that with you but appreciate your ongoing advice. - I do want to get better, but in my own way, that hasnt changed and I dont think it will.

Today I did not gamble, still sick following yesterday's losses.

I am already fed up with the World Cup and it has just started - it is in your face wherever you go. I look forward to watching the England games and the country I have an advance bet on but will watch little else. I can remember days growing up as a kid when I watched every game that was on in a World Cup. TV saturation and gambling combined mean that there are now very few sporting events I can watch without my mind being on the odds and result and I feel there is too much sport available to watch in general nowadays anyway.

Hi. Posted a wee reply on my own diary but will post here as you might not read my diary

You made a fair point about responsible gambling. I know some people can gamble responsibly and if that is what you are aiming for I hope you succeed. I see you get a lot of advice from other forum members. I am not qualified to give you advice but I will follow your progress and will be rooting for you to become responsible in gambling. Looking forward to reading your success story!

Take care,

Lili x

Hi Cap,

Just got myself up to speed with your current activities by reading a lot of your diary.

Let me give you my take on the whole thing because i can see that the many well intentioned people on here are hitting brick walls.

I,ve never bought into this "random gambling" versus "controlled gambling" but i absolutely understand WHY you pursue it,for me its as if your clinging onto a life that doesnt exist anymore,a place in history that,well lets face it you cannot go back to,none of us can.

Well actually thinking about it,not entirely true my last paragraph,we can REPEAT history with a 99.99% chance of the same bad outcome as you did the other day BUT we cannot repeat the times we WERE in control of our gambling,when gambling was as it should be,a form of entertainment.

Once we crossed the line into "compulsive" gambling or "bigger risk" gambling we find that placing the small "entertainment" bets doesnt have the same appeal to us or "buzz".

Its took me a long time to feel the way i feel about gambling,round about 3 years BUT gambling for me has completely lost its appeal and i only view it nowadays as a futile activity,not bitter or twisted with what it did to me or thinking about trying to gamble normally,just not interested at all.

It takes time as i,ve said and maybe you need to keep "dabbling",as i would term it but hopefully you will eventually see that gambling is not for you and accept it in a very natural way,no need for resentment or depression just a quiet calm "i used to gamble ,now i dont".

Then of course add a little "pure logic" in there too and that helps you to see clearer that actually gambling has not done you any favours (same as me) and if you was in a position to add up all your wagers and take your "winnings" out,you would most definately be left with a big minus.

Now we can all say that any form of entertainment will cost us,thats a fact BUT i,m convinced that i personally could have flown to the moon and back with what i lost,thats a hell of a price to pay for "entertainment" wouldnt you agree?

Anyway finishing off i still believe that basic recovery (here,GA,counselling,etc) has a time limit on it and you have to discover at some stage whilst keeping off the gambling that mind altering equation that will definately set you free,its there i promise you,lots have done it,i have done it,keep talking,keep thinking and remember life has so much more to offer than the buzz from gambling.

Regards,

"" A NEW LIFE ""

Thanks for the post Captain,i do understand where you are,and i also understand what you would like to be able to do.....whenever i post on your diary i am trying to help and be constructive :),in the past i have been in exactly the situation you are now in (i guess most of us have),and it's a vicious cycle,i hope you can get out of it.

Seano.

Captain seems we are all wasting our time on you as the only diaries you seem to respect are jeff,jasmine and a new life..we are all trying our best mate but theres only so much we can do....you mentioned on another diary that gamcare encourages responsible gambling i.e being in control...i pointed this out to you in your early days as you may recall but tell me is losing 4k in a few weeks responsible...come on mate ffs have a think !!! :-

Many thanks for the post on my diary. I am not frustrated with you at all Captain as I along with many others have been in the same place as you in years gone by. Rather than wish the same misery on you as we have experienced ourselves, we want to try in some small way to help you see a better alternative.

We are used to failing Captain as we failed to stop our gambling ways early enough. We thought we could control ourselves, we thought we were strong---we were but gambling was stronger and it kept pulling us in.

If the phrase I CANNOT WIN BECAUSE I CANNOT STOP does not hit home mate why not try thinking along the following line

GAMBLING = BABE

Now for the next week or so try to think of the song

GET OUT OF MY LIFE WHY DO'NT YOU BABE

SET ME FREE WHY DO'NT YOU BABE

COS YOU DO'NT REALLY LOVE ME

YOU JUST KEEP ME HANGING ON

Hopefully I have the words in the right order.

That is how I see your relationship with gambling mate-you think you love it and you think it loves you but it keeps letting you down and it is time to let it go and move on.

You told KIm that you could not give up women but I bet you would gladly give up one who betrayed you!!!

Gambling has betrayed you mate---let it go as it does not deserve you.

All the best

Stumper

Hi Captain

Just read Stumpers post kid.I know he is the joker of the site and does cheer us all up.But now and then he will throw a serious post in and when he does it really makes sense.Ive been reading a few of the diaries m8 and i can see that there are lots of people offering advice.I really dont think anyone wants you to fail m8.In my experience ive been given some great advice and help from all the forum members (including yourself).I try not to push my ways on anyone because i believe we all deal with things differently.one thing that is definatley for me though is stumpers phrase i cannot win because i cannot stop.Any way kid keep soldiering onAll the best Jeff.

Tut tut tut, Captain - behave!! I'm certain not one person on here wants you to fail and what's more you're not going to! But please be a big enough man to take on board the good advice you are getting. You can't do it alone and it takes courage to admit that

Lil xx

Hi Captain,

I hope you are doing ok.

I just want to try and clarify something that might help you.

I think a lot of the people on here get frustrated with you because they really want you to avoid the pitfalls that they themselves have fallen into. I'm 29, and with no offense ment to anyone, I really don't want to turn round in 30 years time and realise that I should have listened to people on here who knew better. A lot of the members of this site have a wealth of knowledge and experience and have some great advice on how to avoid certain disasters. They all have different personalities, but all deserve respect for being here. I maybe think that by ignoring the advice or by being slightly confrontational you are trying to cling onto a life that is hurting and upsetting you. I let that life go over 3 months ago and have never felt better. I hope you find it in yourself to come to terms with your problems in your own way, but don't discount some of the methods that others use, after all if it works for them, it might just work for you.

All the best.

Stay Strong

Steve

captain....you seem to have major issues that some people are willing you to fail on these diaries....from my time on here i find this utter nonsense mate....everybody has and still are helping each other...ive yet to read a negative diary that confirms this yet you STILL maintain people want you to fail...you CAN do this captain in your own time but at this moment in time the only person seemingly willing you to fail is yourself because you just wont release them demons from inside you mate...best wishes you ll get there one day mate...