Re: Former track announcer Jason Beem talks about his gambling addiction
I'm willing to bet that there are a plethora of people who visit this site that also have a gambling problem, yet as it is with any compulsive gambler, people will only tell you publicly what they want you to know, and few if any, ever want to exhibit any sort of perceived weakness within them. I agree with Railbird, 99% of people who go to GA, go because they lost money gambling, not the other way around.
Anyone like a Jason Beem, has to realize that it's not gambling itself that is his real problem. Compulsive gambling is just a secondary issue. He might have some sort of a mental health issue with depression, anxiety, self esteem, and the gambling just compounds the problem.
I get back to the whole idea of shame and guilt. I'm going to assume most people who gamble, have some sort of a job, and we all work so hard for our money. I dont care who anyone is, the majority of us have at one time or another, pissed away paycheques due to gambling. And that in itself leads to a tremendous amount of shame and guilt, which leads to other issues like chronic drinking, or drug use, or adultery. Many compulsive gamblers are some of the worst people to be around, because they are also compulsive liars, deceitful to people around them as can be.
I took a beating in baseball earlier this summer. The worst summer I've had ever. Couldnt pick a winner if my life depended upon it, and my opinions were on full exhibit in these forums. The more you go cold, the more the EGO kicks in, that inner voice that says "I'm not a quitter". I eventually was forced to took an extended break, and now I have the patience and discipline that I've rarely had in a long time...........now the wins are coming, yet the bet volume and size of bet has lowered dramatically. If people only listened to their gut feeling,and rarely relied on what others thought, they'd have more success. There is absolutely no worse feeling for a gambler than to go to work and put in a full day of hard work and perseverance, feeling proud of one's efforts, only to return home at home, and lose a good portion of that income on someone else's opinion. Gamblers dont ever believe they will lose any bet they place.
The vast majority of people who gamble on a regular basis, end up losing. Mathematically, with the vigorish, the odds are not in a gambler's favor. People can make a profit gambling on sports over a long term, but they are a select few. Anyone who thinks otherwise, is just fooling themselves. I sit back these days, and I am not as invested aggressively at pouring over tons of statistical information and data like I used to be; rather, I sit back, watch, analyze, and pounce at the right time. Everyone has a different formula for perceived success; I choose to believe that I've found mine.
I'm looking forward to the NFL season. I've found I've had the most success when I became a student for the first 2 weeks of the season, and simply watched, and took notes. Most people will have zero clue what the 2016 of the Denver Broncos really looks like as compared to the 2015 edition when the first game kicks off, as the pre-season tends to tell us little, forcing us to bet on what we last remembered the Broncos to be, and that's an incorrect assumption.
