How did you get into sports betting/gambling?

[will2survive]

I have a great story. My Grandfather (when he was alive) used to take me to a luncheonette when I was 5. In the back of the store, they played cards and they called it "the joint". Every Sunday my grandfather would give me football tickets to pick out the winners. Once that happened and I was hooked. (little did I know that it's probably the worst thing that's ever happened to me). My father was a drug addict (died at 40 but good guy). His money went to drugs. My dad would keep a notebook (a very brilliant man) where we would make predictions each week on the football games. It was a bonding thing but these are things that formed who I am. BTW.. my father was signed to a baseball minor league contract but the drugs were more important. I was a superstar pitcher but when my dad would pitch to me, it was magical. He had a spin on the ball that was unhittable. I've never seen such rotation on a pitch. It kills me to this day. He could have been an easy major leaguer but the 60's hippie life had him hooked with his heroin. Still kills me to this day. I hate it when people have that would've could've complex. It rips me apart

[GoodSun]

i was watching that show pawn stars there was this dude that went in to pawn in his 45k cartier watch, came next day to get it back after winning 200k in a sportsbook. i've always liked sports and this just sparked my interest.

[InTheDrink]

anyone who remembers their first bet isnt in this thing for life

[Ron29301]

My cousin mention something about him doing a few sports bets in Vegas. He gave me the sportsbook.com website to tryout. Which in turn gave me the idea that it would be great to win a few dollars. I can honestly say I got addicted like most of us in here. You win some and you lose some. I enjoy it. But my wife manages my money now until I hit big every now and then.

[bracerman]

Maybe 12 or 13, dad taking me into his work to help him with the office fantasy pool because he was clueless about hockey but wanted to be one of the guys. Did pretty good and graduated to Mise o Jeu shortly thereafter.

[Ron29301]

I lost a couple hundred when I was 18 and had to suck **ck to make it right with the bookie.

Alright alright alright.......

[GunShard]

When Neteller made it illegal for U.S. gamblers to transfer money to poker sites. That's when I started looking into sports gambling.

[Br0nxer]

500 dollar a day heroin habit

needed to supplement my income to be able to keep that up

[RDUBS]

My father was a degenerate gambler and alcoholic. Made me and my little brother change seats, stand up and even leave the room to try and shift luck his way. If he won Sunday night would be chinese food but if he would loss someone would get whacked around. I started at 15 with football cards and now at age 41 have finally started to enjoy it. Take it slow and I put a little to the side to play with. Play some horses, drink some Guiness and take care of the family. By the way my father is now sober and doesn't gamble and is the best grandfather in the world. Crazy how life works. With that said - let's kick some fukkin a$$ this weekend!!!

[jetsjets1028]

im a gambler i love dog racing and sports is my life

[thetrinity]

parents hate gambling, i was always the kid at the local fairs begging for money so i could play the dice wheel, lol, honestly no idea where i got the gene from, none of 4 grandparents gambled either, although i do have many aunts uncles cousins who do.

[ferndog]

Started out playing penny slots eventually graduated to nickle slots. I don't regret it for a second jenny, it lead me to you. I believe you'll be the love of my life once you realize we were meant for each other.

[jjgold]

Jerry call me Today

Tired of Fukkin waiting

[Filmoz]

Always been around gambling, first started gambling on my own as a teenager. First few bets I was basically flipping coins and making gut calls to make bets, one night I finally decided to really sit down and examine a couple college hoops matchups thoroughly. I don't even remember the game, but I found a 8-11 pt underdog I really liked based on rebounding, free throws, and how certain players matched up against each other. I was feeling frisky and put an unusually big bet on it. Watched the game in a friend's dorm room with some beers and buds. The underdog did exactly what I predicted them to do and even ended up winning straight up. I didn't have to sweat the game at all, just got to sit and enjoy it, cheering like crazy as the underdog dominated. The thrill of being proven right after having taken the time to sit down and think about the game was indescribable, and that's why I am still at it.

[mnpickle]

When I was a kid, my dad always bought me an entry into march madness every year. When I was 10 years old I picked duke to win it all and they almost did. Won the pool and I remember seeing my dad's coworkers look at me different. Put my own money in march madness pools in school, found out I could do it on every sport. Watching a sports game with action on it is so much more exciting than without

[fsutomahawk]

Going to the Royals games when I was a kid and trying to pick the winner of that nights games, and who would have the most hits. That was followed by picking games for my dad at his work for an NFL pot each week. Always loved sports, and then became fascinated that there were guys out there that made their money by picking the winners of the games.

[xKMACKx]

When I was a teenager (17-18) mom would bring me home parlay cards (proline in canada) from the grocery store she worked at, got hooked instantly. Made good coin over the years so I don't regret it one bit.

[spurginobili]

A friend at work told me about BetOnSports back in 2004 and I've been betting ever since.

[v1y]

All I ever talked about was MMA, and how stupid all the "pundits" and "fans" in the sport were. My brother said, "If you think you know so much, why don't you bet on it?".

I've now made 250x my initial investment over less than a 2 year period. Thanks bro!

[YouMama]

played a live poker tournament, 55$ rebuy, didnt rebuy once... had only played a few online freerolls before that, finished 1st and won 1k ... hooked since ... 1st month betting, missed a 10 game parlay for 27k by a BS goal in the last 5 mins of a hockey playoff game, later that month, missed one for 10k by 1 nfl game ... lost 2-3k after that, been up and down ever since

[milwaukee mike]

I have a great story. My Grandfather (when he was alive) used to take me to a luncheonette when I was 5. In the back of the store, they played cards and they called it "the joint". Every Sunday my grandfather would give me football tickets to pick out the winners. Once that happened and I was hooked. (little did I know that it's probably the worst thing that's ever happened to me). My father was a drug addict (died at 40 but good guy). His money went to drugs. My dad would keep a notebook (a very brilliant man) where we would make predictions each week on the football games. It was a bonding thing but these are things that formed who I am. BTW.. my father was signed to a baseball minor league contract but the drugs were more important. I was a superstar pitcher but when my dad would pitch to me, it was magical. He had a spin on the ball that was unhittable. I've never seen such rotation on a pitch. It kills me to this day. He could have been an easy major leaguer but the 60's hippie life had him hooked with his heroin. Still kills me to this day. I hate it when people have that would've could've complex. It rips me apart

sorry to hear that but you should have no regrets

your dad made his choices, they were what made him happy or what made life tolerable

it's better to have 40 fun years than 75 boring years on this planet

[crustyme]

my gambling career began with slots at 16.

first bet was after seeing an ad for a sportsbook in the newspaper. funded online and won my first ever bet which was on the super bowl.