The odds of winning the jackpot in the UK lottery are around 14,000,000 to 1. In other words, if you purchased one ticket in each of the twice weekly draws, you would have to wait around 130,000 years or so before it was PROBABLE that you would win.
The average book in any one horse race is normally 10% – 30% in favour of the bookmaker. In other words, when all the bets and payouts are added up, the bookmaker will make around 20% of ALL bets placed.
The BEST odds on a roulette table are 36 to 37, not in your favour, so, at the VERY best, for every $37 staked, you will get $36 back.
Of course, there are winners on any one night. But there are also losers. It has taken many gamblers a long time and many thousands to work that one out. You see, if you gamble on a regular basis, then anything you win is really JUST A LOAN. You will give it back, with interest. You must do. The house is stacked against you. Why do you think the big casinos give hotel rooms (and much more) to the so called ‘high rollers’? Because they know they are on a winner.
Of course, you may get that 1 in 130,000 year chance and win enough so that you walk away. Fat chance. How many people do you know who have done that? The odd lottery winner maybe. But anybody you know?
On that subject, do you know anyone who gambles? If you do, I bet that they are quick to tell you when they have a win. I also bet (it’s an old habit) that they are a lot more reluctant to tell you when they lose. If they do at all. My guess is they keep pretty quiet about the negative aspect of their gambling.
So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, a fairly simple piece of advice I could give you is not to gamble, but realistically, gambling has become government sponsored and is now endemic in large parts of the world. Online poker, lotteries, horse racing, sports betting, raffles, I could go on, it’s a long list of temptation.
But please don’t think of gambling as temptation. It is entertainment. Approached correctly, it can be fun and I want you to have fun.
So, here’s a tip. Actually, it’s the secret: You cannot win. Not a chance.
Against the house or the book, you cannot win. Once you have that firmly in your brain, then the need for larger and larger bets becomes a thing of ridicule. Why bother? You cannot win. Even if you do win, it will just be a loan. (I hope the “you cannot win” message is now clear, I wont say it again).
If you are currently a gambler then you may have become addicted to the ‘buzz’. Basically it’s the adrenalin that gets released when you get excited about the prospect of ‘winning’. But once you know AND ACCEPT that you cannot win (I lied) then you are immediately released from the debilitating shackles of your gambling addiction.
It sounds too simple but it worked for me.
Of course, you may also be gambling to cover up some deeper emotional issues (such as loneliness, frustration, relationship problems etc.). Gambling to paper over the cracks in your life. If that is the case, then you really have two problems to deal with. Tackle them each on their own. Begin with your gambling, then everything else should follow. What you need to do to tackle the underlying issues will certainly become clearer, if nothing else.
The good news is that once you accept the ‘I cannot win’ philosophy then you can still gamble. But just gamble for fun. For minimum stakes. With what you can afford to lose. No more than that. If you can’t handle that then, I’m sorry, it will have to be:
No more bets.
Because you cannot win. Got it?
