I have a question for all...i would like everyone to read and answer. Thank you

[TheAngle]

I posted the story about paying cappers yesterday, and i wanted to ask all of you a question, please do not take this the wrong way, im just trying to do a study on sports gambling.

How would you feel if the computer was taken away from you and you could no longer play these games, or your bookie shut down, or even worse, what if you were given an ultimatum and it was you could either have your wife and family or gamble; now i know most would say that is a stupid question because the family would be chosen, but really, think about it, what if we didn't bet on these games anymore, how would you feel,emotionally; how would this change your day, month,or year? Would you change friends, your daily habits, would you become less stressed and less up tight? I understand how our moods are effected directly by gambling. For ex., Your watching a baseball game and it's the 6th inning, your down 2 runs and not looking good. (At this point you are mad and may not be nice to your wife or family)However your team hits a 3 run shot to put you ahead the next inning (Now you seem like a different person, much more alive, might even call a friend to catch up or ask your wife how her day was), while the very next inning your opponent hits 3 straight doubles and a single to score 3 runs.(Now you feel like an emotional wreck and nothing like you did the inning before, if you were still on the phone with your buddy you would now find a reason to let him go, and feel like you really don't care how your wife's day really was).

The point is that i understand this business is an emotional roller coster, what if all of this was taken away from us, could never do it again because of an ultimatum or because of a personal decision, How would we change?... This is not my situation at all, im just doing a study that i can relate to, please answer to this and really think about it. I thank you and hope you have a great day
__________________
The way the line moves is not always correct

[jcindaville]

Is this your school project??

[xstac2169]

Honestly I have taken breaks before. First when I was 18 I lost $25,000 in 3 months and needless to say did not have it all. I was up nights thinking of how to pay each week. I stopped and cared a little less about sports and teams that I was not a fan of. As long as you are in control, which is a major part of growing up, there is no problem with this. If you get that emotional over losing a couple bucks, then you should not be gambling to begin with.

Every gambler risks what he can not afford to lose for what he can't have.(Two for the Money)

Every irresponsible gambler does the above. Every responsible one risks what he has set aside as extra for fun and entertainment to possibly get something he/she does not have.

What Im basically saying is that taking this away would only affect the truly addicted gambler's. There are many who do not have to do this every day and who can live with themselves if it was taken away. I believe those are the ones with smart money management plans who do not let a loss affect them.

[Kaptain]

Good questions, and I perceive you're trying to ascertain how many of us are addicted to Gambling, or close to it.......here's my response........

I'm 65 years old, don't have the health/stamina I used to, therefore Bowling/Golf/Fishing, all Sports I enjoy, are not nearly as prolific in my life as they used to be.....Therefore, I turn to things, I can physicaly handle....That translates to a lots of computer time.........

I thoroughly enjoy Gambling, and most of all the challenge of Capping......I spend no less than avg of 4 hours a day on Capping, and on weekends like this one, I'll have put in 30-40 hours to capping......I enjoy it, and like the inter twinement with the fellow members......Most good, some bad, even those are enjoyable.....I make good money doing this, and have learned how to budget and discipline myself.....

One of the first things I do every am, usually around 4:30-5:00 AM, (old people get up early, I guess it's cause we can), and I check to see how I did for the previous day....On a good day, it's a gratifying feeling to know you accomplished something (the
challenge of beating the odds), and maybe you made some other members happy when you do well.....Conversely, it's a terrible feeling to throw out a big play for others, and it bombs.

Now to answer your question.....How would I feel, and what would I do, if these options were taken away from me....I wouldn't like it, but I'd do some thing else to occupy my time, as I did taking up capping heavily, when I lost the options of playing the above listed sports.....Life has it's funny quirks, and one learns to cope with em.......

I probably spend way too much time on Sports, but it's what I like......No more options for gambling/capping, I would devote more time to my Kids/GrandKids, which I spend a lots of time with already.........My Family is my real life, and If I ever felt like my gambling/capping was hurting them, then I would voluntarily quit anyway....

In essence, I wouldn't favor losing these options, but I would carry on with some other endeavors, as I have all my life, cause I feel like I've encountered similar ocassions like this in my past (dropping one thing for another----happens when you have kids/responsibilities).........

Some it would hurt pretty badly, and some may even be devastated over this loss......How they handle it, is a sign of their maturity values.......One has to learn to cope without....For those that it would devastate, it shows me, they are addicted to gambling......whether it's rewarding or not (win or lose).........It's something they have to do, much like the Cigarette with the coffee in the AM, or the Beer on the way home from work.........These are also addictions...

I enjoy it a lot, but my life wouldn't be over, just changed.......If this would occur, one can still visit with the fellows, example, "Urgent thread", and chew the fat with each other.....The Forum in itself is addicting.........

Tha's my take, hope it helps you out in your endeavors of curiousity......kapt

[xstac2169]

very well put El Kapitan

All in all it would effect some in one way and others in another way. Best way to put it I think is:

It would have a different effect on everyone and there is no one clear cut reaction that everyone would share.

[vols fan]

Honestly I have taken breaks before. First when I was 18 I lost $25,000 in 3 months and needless to say did not have it all. I was up nights thinking of how to pay each week. I stopped and cared a little less about sports and teams that I was not a fan of. As long as you are in control, which is a major part of growing up, there is no problem with this. If you get that emotional over losing a couple bucks, then you should not be gambling to begin with.

Every gambler risks what he can not afford to lose for what he can't have.(Two for the Money)

Every irresponsible gambler does the above. Every responsible one risks what he has set aside as extra for fun and entertainment to possibly get something he/she does not have.

What Im basically saying is that taking this away would only affect the truly addicted gambler's. There are many who do not have to do this every day and who can live with themselves if it was taken away. I believe those are the ones with smart money management plans who do not let a loss affect them.

I agree.I responded in the other thread he opened with the same question and i see my gambling as a hobby.What extra time I have I study sports and bet them.Some people invest there extra time in old cars,motorcycles or airplanes but i enjoy gambling on sports.And if you take your losses out on your family,your betting more money than you can afford.

[TwoTonTony]

would not effect me one bit.....

it would have 5 years ago but not anymore

[MNCapper]

It wouldn't change my life too much if sports betting was taken away. I do this as a hobby and am not a big bettor and only gamble with money I can afford to lose. Usually like to wake up early before work and cap my games and relook at thing over my lunch break to see if anything has changed. Same with the weekends so I would probably get more sleep if this option was taken away. I like crunching the numbers and the highs and lows watching the games when I have action. I am definately not getting rich doing this, but enjoy it.

[savage1]

Great question.
As someone who is almost as old the Kaptain(Iam 63), I can relate a lot to his excellent and obviously well thought out response.
As someone who has gambled all of my adult life and run all of the emotional gamut involved with winning and losing-the highs, lows, huge emotional swings, anxiety, and in general the state of overall happiness or sadness which depended solely on how I had done gambling on a particular day or week, I think I can give an honest appraisal as to what I would do.
Now in all honesty, I bet VERY small in comparison to others even though if I wanted to, I could bet up there with the high rollers if I really wanted to.
My present philosophy is to not bet more in a given day so that if every game lost, I would still not be overly upset, not lose sleep and most importantly not take out any of my frustrations on my wife.
The present problem I have is not the amount of money won or lost but the amount of time I spend all day reading the posts, deciding based on above, who I will bet on that day(I am not a good capper and rely on others-this has helped me a lot to do much better) and of course my passion-pointing out/giving commentary on cappers who twist the truth about their record and in general whose purpose is to do anything in their power to get people to buy their picks.
Back to question-obviously any one who has studied psychology or has been to a psychiatrist will tell you that when one is no longer able to do an activity for whatever reason, he/she must displace it with something else which will fulfill the same need.
Actually, in 2005 anyone who took the time to read my thread "I am going on a Romace tour," will realize that for a good part of year beginning in the summer, my obsession was not gambling but spending about 10 hours each day on the internet on various dating sites looking for ladies whom I might want to marry as well of course planning my trip to Colombia to meet the lovely lady whom I would eventualy marry.
I might add that there was a ton of paperwork involved in getting her over here, but rather than pay an attorney to do it, I did all of the time consuming work myself.
I mention this only as an example to show how one obsession (gambling) can lose its importance if there is something more important to do.
I might add that while in Colombia during each of my three trips, I didn't go to the internet cafes to place bets, as I was too preoccupied with spending quality time with my wife to be.
I did of course watch some of the games(the Red Sox ones especially) amd as the scores came in from the other games, I wondered how I would have done had I been gambling.
In all honesty, I do remember on one of trips during football season and going to an internet cafe on Monday to see how all of the big name cappers and others did over the weekend to be sure I didn't "miss" anything. lol
The point of my story is that I had a conscious choice of what I would deem to be important at least for a time, and I chose finding a wife over gambling.
If the situation posed in the original question was thrown at me rather than created by me such as the example cited, I would like to at least think that I could adjust and find something else to do but gamble.
One last comment-my above response is from my point of view.
My wife tells me that relative to its worth both in a monetary manner and more importantly the time involved relative to my age and existence(she is a devout Evangelica Christian), she thinks I spend way too much time on the internet related to gambling.
For this reason, I am going to make efforts to gradually cut back, as she has a good point;sometimes one needs to realize that manner he/she sees things relative to oneself may not be the same in which others(in this case and very importantly my wife) sees them.
Anyways, sorry for longwinded response, but that is how I see gambling in relation to my life now at "ripe old age" of 63.
ps I disagree with Kaptain about all "old folks" getting up early-I am and have always been a night owl-I go to bed between 2 and 3 in the morning and get up around 9:15.

[drugstuntman]

some great commentary here....I think most of us do this because we like it, so take this away and you will go thru withdrawls before finding another obsession - it would be hard at first - just like any addiction withdrawl, but you will always find something to replace it

[BillMill71]

I think it is said, every Action has an equal and opposite reaction

So if they was taken away, like anything else, the "void" would be replaced with something else.

For some it would be family time (like Kaptain), for others it would be fantasy sports (like say Wayne), for others it would be eating (like say Rook), for others it would be porn (like say GG), etc... The list goes on and on.

The emotional aspect of it, highs, lows, excitement, etc.. Would be replaced by that person by something that replaced (reaction) those emotional needs in most cases.

The person I do not think would ultimately change, as they would fulfill the emotions elsewhere.

[knowlez]

Well fellows I know one thing. Gambling cost me more then just money. It cost me time with my Dad I lost him a little over two years ago now. I gambled chased women spent precious little time with my Dad as I should I lost him now I cant go back and I blame myself everyday for the time I lost because Gambling can consume you.. Some of the younger fellows enjoy life dont take gambling cause its no way to get rich.. It consumes a lot of time and energy and takes time from what really matters your loved ones..

[TheAngle]

This has been fabulous guys, i really appreciate the insight, i agree it would affect people different ways as well. Very helpful info from everyone