Life With Sports Bets Only

Hi Captain , just catching up on your diary. Not sure what to say really. Hope it all works the way you feel you want it to. For myself I can not ever do controlled gambling. Its not for me or anyone else to preech of the way we need to go in our recovery. It was slightly worrying to read about the choice you are making but only from a selfish point of view from a person who cant even spend a £1.00 on heads or tails without upping the best to a grand a spin within 5 minutes 😉 But good luck with it all ... best thoughts to you Blocked.

Hi Captain,thanks for the best wishe's re my job interview.......,hope today has been good for you and you haven't been feeling any "random" gambling urges.

Seano.

Day19 - today's thoughts turn back to an old favourite - Reward.

My work performance has not always been as good as it could be but right now it is outstanding. This stupidly leads me to think I deserve a reward at lunchtime or after work. A reward has normally been gambling. Not just 'buy yourself a chocolate bar'.

I would withdraw £1000, place 10 X £100 bets on the next 10 races and see what I had after that, that would continue that evening, the next lunchtime and the next evening until either I lost it all or I had more than £2000. If I had more than £2000 I would pay £1000 towards a debt, and start again with the £1000.

So performing well was the trigger. Today I performed well, went for a walk at lunchtime and drove straight home. My reward is typing this and communicating on here with positivity.

Good post Captain,

I'm seriously impressed with your progress and the positive comments you are posting on other people's diaries to aid them in their recovery. Give yourself a pat on the back young man!

I was going to call you a daft sod for that reward idea. Why would you not just pay the £1,000 off your debt in the first place i thought? But then i remembered when i once had £3,640 left on an £8,000 credit card and therefore staking £3,640 on Tiger Woods to win the 2008 US Masters with a view to clearing the credit card when he won. He didn't and i then had another maxed out credit card. Genius!

You might just be my cousin after all mate!

Captain,....,Curly,not sure about cousins,but you could both be my sons? :).

Seano.

"Outstanding Performance"....show off you. No, seriously, you are getting the hang of this. Gambling is a punishment not a reward.

I appreciate your input on my recovery Captain and I'm willing you on too.

Your friend...Jas xx

"I'll Do Anything For Love"

3 weeks without any random gambling - I've never done this before when I've had money.

I realise I am counting in weeks now rather than days - that must be a good thing.

Friday is the hardest night to drive straight home - a weekend of emptiness again lies ahead. My football studying and tracking will again be the highlight.

Other than that I will read, walk and do my chores. I will again wish the hours away until Monday morning but I will soldier on. Something will change soon to fill the gaps created by no gambling on a Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night and all day Sunday. Horses and dogs will run, cartoon races will play over the screens but I will not see any of them and I will not miss them.

I think of early betting days without any live racing being shown in the bookies. Why did everyone find it necessary to stand and stare at the list of runners and prices on the screen while listening to the commentary of the race? And why did so many races result in a photo finish according to he commentator only to check the paper the next day and find the winner won by 3 lengths?

Days turning into weeks, weeks turning into months.....you are well on the road to recovery, just stay away from the random gambling. Just say NO. In a short space of time you are already seeing the rewards...you have cash...better in your pocket than on the back of some horse.

Have you got any friends or family you could go out with C? I know that when I was gambling I lost a lot of my friends because I was selfish, so perhaps it may be time to look up some old buddies.

Try to enjoy your weekend....I'm sure you will find a way of rewarding your "excellent performance" with something that isn't gambling related 🙂

I think you are great fun C....and yes...

I am definitely your friend....Jas xx

"Can You Feel The Love Tonight?"

Hi Captain,

Thanks for the post on my diary,yes like you i was a "pro" for the last 15 months,it was/is my compulsive nature that destroyed me,i haven't mentioned it before on here,but i was also full time for 2 years in the mid 1990's and at that time i was successful,to the extent that i paid all my bills,had holidays etc,my children were young at that time anyway cut to the chase at the end of 2 years i had £4k less in my "pot" than i started with,i thought that was brilliant as at that time i supported the family totally my (now ex) wife who didn't work at that time, didn't agree,so i returned to work as an engineer.This time obviously it has been a totally different story!!!!.Moving on,i can relate to the boredom and void that you are experiencing at the weekends,that will pass in time,i have read some interesting stuff about the inability that people like us have to relax,we are so used to being in action.

Stay strong Captain.

Seano.

Cheers for the post on my diary Captain you cheeky scamp.

I would say i'd throttle you but then i would never catch you as you are like billy whizz. I tell you what mate i will run 5km in 23mins if it kills me. Which it will!

Enjoy your weekend mate. Hope you manage to stick to your footy only bet. My heart says an Everton win in the derby tomorrow but my head tells me otherwise.

Keep up the good work mate.

Aw thanks captain, aren't you a doll?

Hope to catch you again in chat soon,

f x

captain. Good luck for today ( yes it is today ave had few drinks). . Remember if you win walk away. . Thats where i went wrong. As stumper says i cannot win cause i cannot stop. . Good luck.

Hi Captain

It sounds like last week went to plan m8 and you just stuck with your football. I hope all goes well today. Keep up the good work Jeff.

I go in to put the Saturday football bet on. It was a bit more difficult this week - there is a queue. I am forced to endure a full commentary from Sprint Valley. I am forced to have some idle chat with 'faces' in the queue. Everyone's luck is up and down. This means they are all losing but to different extents.

There are so many CG faces I know, but barely any names. I am conscious that when I walk along a street the vast majority of people I acknowledge are also gamblers. Mental note - I will in time make new friends who are not gamblers. The 'faces' are not friends, never have been, just people who have the same hobby or compulsion. I have never had a non-gambling conversation with any of them.

I'm going to rename you to Will Power..sounds good. Bloomin' eck going in a bookies and sticking to your plan...proud of you.

When I was hooked on the slot machines I was a lonely so and so...the only convos I had was about who had loaded machines, who had won recently......how much we had lost. It was horrible. We are worth more than this Captain.

I like our community on here, noone else really understands what it's like.

I hope your weekend isn't too boring for you C...and thank you for posting on my diary.

Jas xx

"The Power of Love"