Time to give up after almost 20 years of gambling?

[richdeniro]

Bit of a long post and not meant as in a woe is me kind of way, just started typing and wanted to put it down on paper. Am sure there are a million posts like this all over the internet but maybe it will be cathartic.

I have been gambling/trading on Betfair since 2005 and recently requested a deposit v withdrawal statement which showed that I have lost a little over £40,000 since then. It has put into perspective just how hard it is to make any extra money on the side and am, not for the first time, thinking it really is time to call it a day.

I guess a £2-3k loss every year isn't a huge amount in the grand scheme of things and was probably just about the amount I could afford to lose but added up it equates to well over a years salary which makes it all the more depressing especially as I fell hook line and sinker in hoping that gambling might be the golden ticket to making a little bit extra cash that might give me a slightly better quality of life.

I guess that's the reason most of us get into gambling really, the hope of being the 0.1% that actually do make money. For me I have always been fairly unremarkable I guess, live and work in London in a fairly average job always in the 25-35k mark and with no real creative talent or the extroversion or confidence to make much of a career - personality type is INFJ so I am very aware of my flaws and also fairly cynical of the working world having spent almost a year unemployed due to the financial crash and worked for pretty bad employers. I guess gambling/trading gave me the same hope that the lottery has but that it felt more realistic a dream to stumble across some sort of system that might get me out of my one bedroom flat and into being able to own my own home and not have that permanent worry about money. My brother also has severe mental health issues and was effectively made homeless by the coalition government when the austerity cuts hit for a few weeks in 2016 which made me double down on my efforts as I never wanted my family to go through that again so sought to try and make money to deal with that.

But after 20 years and now in my mid-40s, I've read almost everything there is to read about systems, I've paid tipsters, invested in automated betting software, trying spread betting on IG and countless other things I haven't even come close to making the money I lost back in order to break even.

Is it completely hopeless? Has anyone ever made it work or successfully made back a massive chunk they have lost over the years? Or even just stumbled across a system that works for them after many years? At the moment I've resorted to putting anywhere between £2 and £10 on ridiculous 20 leg accumulators in an attempt to win my money back which seems ridiculous and is just increasing that losses figure.

Can anyone recommend any other way to make a decent amount of cash every month? I'm not a shirker and always happy to put the graft in but everything just seems impossible - I've tried dropshipping, buying and selling at auctions, share trading, doing things on fivver, etc but after almost two decades of trying am now thinking I should just accept that this is my lot.

[LEE-GRAYS]

Don’t give up follow the daily lucky 15 thread on the at the races  you can’t go wrong ⚒👍

[Zilzalian]

3 hours ago, richdeniro said:

Bit of a long post and not meant as in a woe is me kind of way, just started typing and wanted to put it down on paper. Am sure there are a million posts like this all over the internet but maybe it will be cathartic.

I have been gambling/trading on Betfair since 2005 and recently requested a deposit v withdrawal statement which showed that I have lost a little over £40,000 since then. It has put into perspective just how hard it is to make any extra money on the side and am, not for the first time, thinking it really is time to call it a day.

I guess a £2-3k loss every year isn't a huge amount in the grand scheme of things and was probably just about the amount I could afford to lose but added up it equates to well over a years salary which makes it all the more depressing especially as I fell hook line and sinker in hoping that gambling might be the golden ticket to making a little bit extra cash that might give me a slightly better quality of life.

I guess that's the reason most of us get into gambling really, the hope of being the 0.1% that actually do make money. For me I have always been fairly unremarkable I guess, live and work in London in a fairly average job always in the 25-35k mark and with no real creative talent or the extroversion or confidence to make much of a career - personality type is INFJ so I am very aware of my flaws and also fairly cynical of the working world having spent almost a year unemployed due to the financial crash and worked for pretty bad employers. I guess gambling/trading gave me the same hope that the lottery has but that it felt more realistic a dream to stumble across some sort of system that might get me out of my one bedroom flat and into being able to own my own home and not have that permanent worry about money. My brother also has severe mental health issues and was effectively made homeless by the coalition government when the austerity cuts hit for a few weeks in 2016 which made me double down on my efforts as I never wanted my family to go through that again so sought to try and make money to deal with that.

But after 20 years and now in my mid-40s, I've read almost everything there is to read about systems, I've paid tipsters, invested in automated betting software, trying spread betting on IG and countless other things I haven't even come close to making the money I lost back in order to break even.

Is it completely hopeless? Has anyone ever made it work or successfully made back a massive chunk they have lost over the years? Or even just stumbled across a system that works for them after many years? At the moment I've resorted to putting anywhere between £2 and £10 on ridiculous 20 leg accumulators in an attempt to win my money back which seems ridiculous and is just increasing that losses figure.

Can anyone recommend any other way to make a decent amount of cash every month? I'm not a shirker and always happy to put the graft in but everything just seems impossible - I've tried dropshipping, buying and selling at auctions, share trading, doing things on fivver, etc but after almost two decades of trying am now thinking I should just accept that this is my lot.

First thing is to Stop trying to win your money back, second thing is stop paying others for ideas, 3rd thing is drop your stakes right down, Like @LEE-GRAYS said read the whole of the lucky 15 thread take note of the ideas that suit you your monetary situation, with all due respect that is probably your level. 4th keep your betting separate from your social situation it will never solve it. Lastly stop gambling and start to have a bet well within your means you will find it far more enjoyable and occasionally profitable. Get rid of the " i'm a loser" attitude, expect to lose what money you bet then you can only ever be pleasantly surprised. Start afresh.

[Maxi Stavros]

Really good post Rich, I can relate to what you say so much. I’m in my mid 40s and I too have spent years trying to crack the code with the aim of making a living from sports betting/trading. For me I just find work a waste of our lifetime, all these precious days written off as we are at work from early morning to evening. I hate having a lack of job security and hate being an employee. If I could make a living from gambling it would be a dream. 
I too have paid for products such as Caan Berry’s pre race trading although I thought his material was pretty poor, didn’t really explain what he was looking for. Ive followed tipsters to see how they do but to be honest all the tipsters I have followed at best just break even. I’ve recorded thousands of bets on spreadsheets to try find out what type of bet works best and trying to find an edge. That’s been my most interesting finds. 
I’ve not lost the sort of money you mention, I believe I’m down about £5k over the last 10 years. I’m not bothered by that, I do love gambling and it does give me hope. But yeah I understand how you feel, you are at a crossroads not knowing which way to go with betting, seems like you have resigned yourself to the fact there is no answer to cracking the code. 
It is a question I often ask myself - is sports betting beatable? We all know that casino games like roulette is not beatable, no system can beat the fact that the odds with that zero on the board is always in the casinos favour. The same can be said for football, if the bookies price markets correctly and have a margin then how can it be beatable? Do I think it’s beatable? I think there must be a way otherwise why would betting companies restrict some people’s accounts and why do Betfair issue a premium charge for people up over £250k. But what is it that these people are doing I do not know. But I keep trying to crack the code hoping I will join those people. 

[MCLARKE]

The stark reality is that the vast majority of punters lose money. Probably only the top 1% make a reasonable profit.

Personally I lost money for 30 years and only in the last 10 years have I made a profit. I might breakeven by the time I die !

Do not be so downbeat about work, we should all have to put something into life if we want to get something out of it. 

View betting as entertainment, if you make some profit take that as a bonus.

Ignore tipsters, there are some good ones but they are victims of their own success, it is difficult to get on at the advertised prices

Take advantage of as many offers the bookmakers offer but be careful when using them and read the small print. For free bets back at odds between 13/2 and 10/1.

Good current offers include BET365 superboosts and 25% winnings boost, SKY money back as cash offers (back the favourite), extra place races and football price boosts. Always use BOG. There are lots more with other bookmakers but I am restricted with most of them so I'm not sure of the exact details. I've made about £10k over the last few years from these offers. 

Apart from offers, use Betfair Starting Prices to place horse racing bets. Make sure you are on the 2% commission rate. In simple terms the top 49% make profits, the bottom 51% make losses, no guarantee of making a profit but a much better starting point than with standard bookmakers.

Keep your expectations low. Keep meticulous records and expect your bank to grow slowly over time.

 

 

 

 

[Skittle]

The 20 leg accumulators are a goldmine.................for the bookmakers.