Telling people about gambling

[floridagolfer]

Don't even bother trying to defend yourself against people outside the gambling world, just keep it to yourself and grind out a profit yearly.

Seconded. People who aren't into this rarely understand. Keep it to yourself.

[PAULYPOKER]

Stock Market Goal: To obtain a Number that is better than the markets offering price to maintain a guaranteed profit. Sports Exchange Goal: To Obtain a Number that is better than the closing markets number long term to maintain a statistical edge over the market to guarantee a long-term profit. if your betting 1% of your Bankroll its in essence the same thing. Most nay-sayers argue that you cant lose everything in 2 hours in the stock market. Well when your only investing 1% a pop its the same thing. If you tell your relatives you lost your ass in the stock market, they'll pat you on the back and say better luck next time. While in contrast in sports betting they'll look at you like some form of criminal.

DEAD ON MY MAN COULD'NT SAY IT BETTER MYSELF

"breakaway from THEIR so called standards who says that I ain't right I'm a nonconformist I will fight until the very end " bottom line farkyou world

Have a nice day my fellow partners in crime
PAULYPOKER

[katstale]

More difficult to handle when you are young, much easier when you are older. Less said the better. Date/marry foreign chicks, travel alot and the "i help people move money around--sort of like investment banker except I am self employed. consultant, problem solver, etc"

After a while most people will think you are a spook. this will make them nervous and they will stop asking. OR maybe they think you are in the witness protection program. I got that once. Low profile is the key.

You don't need to explain yourself and if you feel the need you have some issues you have to work thru to be in this profession.

[stevek173]

The Poker Story of how I won the money for my fiancee's engagement ring is extremely cool, but no one cares when I tell it - except poker players.

[keyboarding]

Do I lie and tell them I'm cutting back? I'm at the point where I'd rather just not tell anyone anymore and keep it to myself.

I've always been a vocal person and about standing up for what I believe in, but the arguments and negative ideas I get are just atrocious and ignorant. I'm really frustrated with what people even pretend to think they know about it.

There you go.

[Boner_18]

Everyone knows I gamble. Some approve, others if they disapprove don't openly chastise me for it. Some people find it helpful, they ask me for the line, place a small homer bet through my offshore book etc.

Chi you are totally correct. While sports markets and securities markets bear many similarities they are fundamentally different in so many ways.

[THEGREAT30]

I don't talk about my gambling to anyone outside of this forum, personally I will most likely never meet any of the posters and that's just fine. This forum is like therapy for me. My dad makes comments frequently on how any type of gambling is just stupid to him. He has this thought that even sports events are fixed almost always. I don't disagree with him and to my knowledge he does not know what I do. I feel like a lot of people feel that you are taking the lazy or irresponsible way out. Most people like and respect the sure thing, they would rather work 8 hours a day at $10 an hour and be happy knowing that they will definitely bring home $1200 to $1300 a month. Furthermore, if you work 8-12 hours a day and then go gamble away a significant portion of your hard earned money you are looked at even worse than those that make there sole living gambling.

Finally, not that I care that much what others think but why even bother?

[keyboarding]

Most people like and respect the sure thing, they would rather work 8 hours a day at $10 an hour and be happy knowing that they will definitely bring home $1200 to $1300 a month.

Exactly. Not to mention they probably lose money every time they go to the casino or bet on sports, so they will likely dislike anyone who is successful at it. But why bring it up with people if not to boast about the fact you can win? There's really no other reason.

[ehp6737]

I feel the same way. There are only a few friends that I talk about it with, without being called a degenerate...to most of the peeps I know the word "gambling" is taboo

[THEGREAT30]

Seams like why bother is the near consensus around here.

[GELATINOUS CUBE]

Well, when you are at the book 10 am -10 pm, it's kind of obvious.

As far as hiding it. Great thread. Haven't caught any flak for it, but it may be held against me later or is currently (just not that I'm aware of). Most of my friends don't have extra cash to gamble or are all babied out and stuff. So they are like, oh well it means you have cash to lose!
But, yeah the cops think I'm smuggling or laundering. Greasy Italian-American guys follow me around in the strangest places. I stare at them, watching them try to act incognito, but there's no way they are not following me. Nobody acts like they do, unless you are following someone. They are always doing the same wierd stuff that only I do, and there's no other reason to follow regular guy.
But it hasn't been used against me yet. Of course we know stock brokerages are more of theives than books, and they don't invest your money, its just a Ponzi. Like I want to wait a month for a 125% return (that's a -400 bet, laughing my ass off).

[Fiasco]

I started gambling when I was 18 (20 now) and I used to tell any friends who would listen about it... my close friends still know and keep up with how I'm doing and what teams I'm on when watching games together etc... but I've stopped telling people... I learned quickly about a year ago that it's really not the best telling people you gamble, considering the bad stereotypes associated with it and the fact that when I was talking about it, I would get heckled and asked a bunch of questions that I hated answering as well as extreme interest in what I'm doing/or arguing over + or - EV aspects of it... (I'm pretty good at winning those arguments) My family knows I love gambling, but no one (in my family) knows that I gamble off shore really, nor to the extent that I do... I'm in college so I am pretty successful at being able to hide those kinds of things... It's actually funny, my friends families know about my sports betting and poker playing and my own family does not... I'm sure one day it'll come out, and I doubt the views upon it are positive, but it is what it is...

[lyon804]

I've said this a hundred times. Society does not respect gambling. A large part of it is because it has the label of gambling. They equate it with the negative connotations that the media puts on it (ie. loan sharks and bookies breaking your legs for money, depressed slot machine players taking their lives etc...) In reality, offshore betting is nothing like this at all. People just hear gambling and close their ears and scream 'no no that's bad. stop talking about it'. If you tell your family your a stock trader, which is gambling as well, then they think you're a big shot and have nothing but respect for you. Vegas is Wall Street but more honest, as fukked up as that sounds.

And if you tell friends about it, they will ALL begin to hate you. They don't realize the work it takes, and believe all you have to do is press a few buttons a day and make thousands, while they have to toil away 8hrs/day wasting their lives to make half of that. And it makes them jealous, but they will never admit it and just say 'gambling's wrong' to make you feel worse, and hopefully to make you stop. They don't really believe it's wrong, they are just pissed that you are winning at it.

Fukk, I have so much more to say on this, but Im just too angry right now.

Stock Market Goal: To obtain a Number that is better than the markets offering price to maintain a guaranteed profit.
Sports Exchange Goal: To Obtain a Number that is better than the closing markets number long term to maintain a statistical edge over the market to guarantee a long-term profit.

if your betting 1% of your Bankroll its in essence the same thing. Most nay-sayers argue that you cant lose everything in 2 hours in the stock market. Well when your only investing 1% a pop its the same thing. If you tell your relatives you lost your ass in the stock market, they'll pat you on the back and say better luck next time. While in contrast in sports betting they'll look at you like some form of criminal.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Funny thing is my Father and I are gamblers and have always been since I was knee high to a grasshoper. Gambling was just a way of life in my family, yet I know the outside world does not see it as so. I gamble on many things in life and sports just happens to be one of them, but I also play the stock market, trade options and futures and dabble in the currency market as well.

My father and I on many occasions have said.... "You could go to your local church and tell the deacon or pastor you just lost your ass in the stock market and they will give you a pat on the back and tell you... "get em next time". However, you tell them that about sports wagering and they will think you are a low life and try to expell you from the church.

I have been doing all the above for many years and I personally after all this time don't know were the differences start or begin. It is all one in the same.

Life is a zero sum game... Somebody makes money and somebody loses money.



But to furthur give credit to the thread starter and others that contributed. You all are right on Gambling is not accepted by the masses working in the drudges of society.

[urge2kill]

I'd rather tell people I do gay porn.