What Drives Us to Gamble?

[fatdaddycool]

The fact that gambling is a male dominated endeavour, what is it that drives us to take the risk of sports gambling? Is it the thrill of the "fast cash", because probably 8 out of 10 fail? Is it simple "Machismo"? I am not really sure what draws me to it. There has been a number of times I have sweated out wins and losses, yet I am still not sure what draws me back after a particularly bitter loss. I don't let my heart get involved more than others, and I stick to what I know. Still........?

 

[hello there]

I'll answer with a question.......Why do we drink, why do we smoke, why do we enjoy food so much??

 

[yyz]

Stupidity.........

 

[He Hate Me]

Lots of girls gamble too, lots of them addicted to video poker and slots. People gamble because there is a battle between spirit and flesh, the more the flesh gets fed the more hungry the flesh becomes. It is like a bear in the woods, it should not be fed in the first place. same goes with other areas of bondage and acts that feed the flesh, weather it is a sugar addiction, smoking, caffine, gambling, alchohol,marijuans, spilling your seed, the spirit and the flesh are contrary to one another. People think because they win instead of lose that they are ok, but maybe to lose is a blessing because it gets you out of bondage possibly, where as you win you can be stuck in a lifestyle that is contrary to the spirit for your whole life.

 

[Senor Capper]

Makes the game more exciting.
However I can still watch & enjoy a game without wagering on it.

Making $$ is just an added bonus.

 

[TBONEZ0295]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[TBONEZ0295]

LOOK AT THAT FDC (100) I'm well on my way to your avatar.......

 

[Eddie Haskell]

FDC:

For me its not the cash but the action. Thats why I lose.

Eddie, the broke

 

[JediCapper]

I'd have to say fast cash....I mean if I have $110 dollars...I figure I can pick a game and get a cool 100 dollars...but easier said then done of course lol

 

[Nolan Dalla]

This is an excellent question and I wish I could slam this softball out of the park with a quick-wittted and appropriate explanation. However, the best reply to the oft asked question, "WHY DO PEOPLE GAMBLE?" came from the gifted poker writer (now decesased) David Spanier from the UK. About ten years ago, Spanier wrote something to the effect:

(I'm paraphrasing -- I'm too lazy to go get his text and look up the exact quote)

The question we should ask is not -- Why do people gamble? The real question we should ask is -- Why do some people NOT gamble? Think about it. Gambling satisfies all of the basic hopes and desires in every human being -- for stimulation, excitement, human interaction, competitivelness, and the fulfillment of dreams.

Spanier goes on to slam this question out of the park with the best explanation of gambling I have ever read. He essentially says those who gamble tend to be people who embibe in living life to the fullest. Those who reject gambling (or more specifically those who are not risktakers) are the REAL losers. It's like the TV commercial says -- the biggest risk in life is NOT taking one.

In my life I have met both gamblers and non-gamblers. With some exceptions, of course, I have found gamblers to be MUCH more fun loving, more open minded, more prone to enjoying life, and more fun to be around than non-gamblers. Show me a person who doesn't gamble, and I'll show you (most of the time) a hypocrite, a person with repressed psychological issues, and a prude. Non-gamblers bore me. Gambling is living.

Yes, I am proud to write the above. Be proud you are a gambler. It's the non-gamblers who have "issues."

Nolan Dalla

 

[Spock]

Hi Everyone,

Nolan, agree with what you say. I do not agree 100% with your views .. do agree 100% with ya that Gamblers are fun to be around.

From your post I got the view that one does not gamble because they are not risk takers. I actually do not agree to this. One of my friends who is Muslim helps me out with some plays as he follows sports a lot. He would love to bet money but he is very religious and their religion does not allow its followers to gamble (as far as I know). Hence he does not bet or go to casino. So it would be prudent to classify non Gamblers as people who have issues IMHO.

Regarding why I started gambling I think it is the challenge that lured me. I followed sports a lot so had info about most of the teams in the different sports. Also when I was a student I did not have much money so I was betting on paper which I think really helped me because after going back and looking at my plays I could track my mistakes. Also the excitement, up's and down's (I have been experiencing much more up's and down's in the stock market than in sports betting) and also getting extra cash is enuf to keep me interested in gambling.

Cheers !!!
Spock

 

[WHY ASK WHY?]

I AM DRIVEN TO GAMBLE BY:

A. PLANES

B. TRAINS

C. AUTOMOBILES

Actually all the above and one hell of a computer....

AND I WOULDN'T WANT IT ANY OTHER WAY!!


WHY?

 

[fletcher]

i prefer to use the term sports investing and handicapping,because thats how i look at it. the same a someone who makes there money in the market i do mine in the sports world. and it is of my choice pay is better then coaching or ot for me,and like what i do even though its a lot of work and tend to be short fused and cranky at times but that is because my mind is always trying to stay one step ahead of the game and have something set to go if a and b wins or a does and b doesnot,like to have all options ready to go even if i don't use them.

 

[S-Love]

Main reason- to make money
Secondary reason- the competition...every outcome has a winner and a loser

 

[fatdaddycool]

Excellent answers, "Why not gamble" was what I thought when I started. I know that it increases competetive spirit in myself and keeps me much more informed as far as sports goes.

 

[AR182]

The excitement of not knowing whether you make money or lose money on the outcome of a particular game, that gets the juices flowing, is the main reason why I started gambling.I recently modified my thoughts on gambling as simply as an investment vehicle. Since football is the only sport that I tend to win money in,that is the only sport that I bet.If I start losing in football I will then try to find something else to give me that rush I got in betting football.

 

[Valuist]

The competition and the handicapping. I just can't get excited if Citigroup is up or down by $0.05.

 

[PerpetualCzech]

Lots of great answers here, including Nolan, Spock and fletcher. I wouldn't go so far as to classify non-gamblers as hypocrites or having issues but that is only because they don't have the experience to really understand what they are talking about. If a non-gambler starts putting me down thinking I'm a loser for gambling then yes, I will open up on them. But just someone who is wary of gambling and won't try it just because they don't know anything about it is perfectly understandable, especially all due to all the crap that gets fed to them about it from various media.

The thing is, everyday everyone makes similar decisions in their life that involves judgements involving risk and reward which are very similar to those gamblers make; they just aren't aware of it. "Should I cross the road at the intersection or here in the middle of the block? Well, the risk is possible serious injury but the reward is a minute saved and the chances of the injury is so small than the risk is worth it." Or, "I'm not taking the risk, I'll invest the extra minute to avoid injury" Other decisions in the business world are more easily comparable, for example playing the financial markets. A book comparing negotiation of any business deal and no-limit poker is just begging to be written!

I approach my gambling much like fletcher does, as an investment which I want to grow as quickly as possible. I personally hate the "excitement" and given a choice of getting a final score of a game to watching it over 2-3 hours, I'll take the instant result every time. For me, variance in stress levels is a handicap that doesn't contribute to growing the investment any faster, so I'd rather do without it. I respect those that like to gamble for entertainment and include this feature but don't have much sympathy for them afterwards when they complain how they lost.

 

[cooz3]

not anyone special in regards to being well read on the subject...but i think psycholgically there are a profound number of variables which influence our DECISION to gamble...all of us come from completely different backgrounds yet we all have CHOSEN this activity(quite interesting) ...i cannot speak upon why other people choose to gamble..but for myself..i enjoy the intellectual challenge ...the competition ...and the award of hard work..and i also have played sports competively for most of my life through semi-pro hockey..and an avid sports fan...for all of those reasons i CHOOSE to gamble..i find it interesting, however, that i dont play cards, slots, craps or go to casinos...so sports is the exclusive area of "Gambling" for me...as i said earlier i cant know to a certainty why anyone else gambles ...i do know however that each and every one of us do have a common need ..a need which has been engrained in our psyche since our inception.."MONEY" and the value thereof...cooz

 

[hello there]

Lets all face it.....

We all are degenerates, whether now or have been before, and many of us our lives either suck or just gets too boring at times so we gamble. If my life was so fulfilling to the point I wouldn't need gambling for a rush, I wouldn't do it. We want the quick rush and even if we lose, the consequence is money, and not life and death, and we will be alive tomorrow so we can easily do it again the next day.

About gamblers being risk takers. Hell, that don't mean much, there are a lot of people who jump out of planes, bungee jump, go surfing in 30 foot waves, hand glide that don't gamble on sports. They are risking something much bigger than all of us do, which is their life. Much bigger than us putting $110 on a game. I think we find other gamblers more fun is because we can relate to them, not necessarily they are risk takers in life, but mainly risk takers with money.