57 replies to this topic

[Dougsta]

I play poker reguary and I must say pokers nothing like fruit machines .. pokers 80% skill and 20% luck, unlike a fruit machine which is set at a % and only pays when it has to

Absolutely right. In the short term 80/20 and in the long term 100% skill. The best players win handsomely in the long run, though may lose in any one given session or even a series of sessions. What is important is that over e.g. 1000 or more comparable sessions, you are winning many more sessions than losing.

Luck evens out in the long run though may punish or reward you in the short run.

[aaamusements]

Is this going to turn into an 'on line poker is rigged thread'? Oh I hope so, I love conspiracy threads.

You will love this one then:
Fruit Machine Chat :: View topic - Barry Jennings 9/11 WTC7 witness is DEAD

This was one of a series of threads about the WTC being destroyed, by the US government, in a controlled explosion/missile attack etc. etc.

[spa]

Really 80/20% what is that based upon surely if you have shite cards then its 0% chance of winning and cards being totally random there is no way that can be the true odds.

Ahh, but if you have say K 5 and someone raises $50, would you call it? They could indeed have naff all, they could have a high pair. You can have a rubbish hand and win no problems.

[Deano]

Thought this thread was about one man and his crusade to quit gambling.WTF has poker got to do with this?
I myself only gamble on fruit machines, its the only thing I know,or thought I know.Never advanced to going into casinos,bookies,online gambling,etc , but sometimes feel the urge.Its just so damn difficult to quit.
Joined this site to try and cut down on the gambling but it aint working.Living near a big town with so many arcades ,its always inviting to go and have a blast.

MESSAGE TO CRAZYBAR- go into your places, tell them your problems and exclude yourself for 3,6,9 months and they are obliged to carry out your requests by law,I am going to do it myself.

[spa]

I'm with you on the gambling part. Just the poker part i'm not

All in all, it's a good job CB is coming out of it now while he's young. Stakes were low.

[nails]

ok maybe I didnt mean to say it as that, but the thing that wound me up about it most is that if there are any sarky comments etc on this post the last people I ever want to see making them are arcade owners themselves.

aw right, this is something I want to do now, finish myself from gambling.

EVERYBODY knows you cant win from fruit machines, there is a huge f*** off sticker on the front that tells you in black and white as to exactly where you stand. The only people who win from them are the ones who are either lucky, cheat, have the edge or own the machine.

Problem gaming is a serious business, to which i have been part of, i was able to `ween` myself away purely because i gambled everything away and had nothing. it was only at this point that i was able to learn the value of money. Today, as some members of this forum will tell you, i own an arcade to which i put 101% of the money back in the business. ive not taken a wage from the business since it opened. to give you an example, every 10th jackpot you achieve, i will award you one for free, and yes we gave a lucky punter £500 because he got 10 jackpots on elvis in 6 weeks.

When im not at the arcade, i have my other full time job, a betting shop manager. here i have had more workshop gamcare courses than i care to mention. Its a serious business and i now able to offer councellling to anybody who seeks it. These courses have of couse helped me with my own compliance manager from the gaming commission - who left my shop being satisfied i was able to sufficiently help anybody who need councelling.

As for ribbing you about your videos, well thats a different matter. But i have been there like many others, lost the lot, moved home and had to start again. i no have a beautifull wife who stood by me whilst i paid off all those credit cards, and stood by me while i started from scratch, my own arcade.

Those of you who want to ask me about the arcade/setting up are most welcome to do so, and those who perhaps would like to send a private mail asking for help/advice on potential problem gaming a most welcom to do so.

[JayD]

So then my Buddy Mr.Bar has decided it's time to pack it in and quit losing on these painful machines. And my first post on the forum will be on this subject.

My reason for gambling , is because as a young person.. there is nothing to do for fun, i find fruit machines fun , i have never played them for financial gain, i just purely enjoy playing the machines and the feeling of winning (not because it is money). As somebody else in this thread said, my friends live far away and I'm limited to what i can do around the area. I have had some amazing wins gambling , but the worst feeling ever is the sickening loses .. I could try to say i'll give up but i know i won't...

this week i am most likely in the region of £50 odd down, only now you start to think what else you could have done with that money. I am still young and have money to play these machines but when you think about it , it is very wasteful. I have the same problem as Mr.Bar stated, you can win out of a machine (vortex. ccp etc.) put another quid in, its gone.. and you play for that board again, and with Reds and in fact alot of other machines , you end up losing everything.

Gambling can be fun , and i have fun gambling but it really is just a case of when to stop.. if i don't give up now there are definitely going to be some very very strict rules as to how i play. I can be very careless when it comes to playing machines and i don't think at all and end up losing a fair bit.

I am 16 years old and i have had times where i have lost over £100 in a day, how messed up is that, I know i only have myself to blame but seriously, some of these machines are completely ridiculous. I am not too sure at the moment as to whether i should give up or not, i have come to terms that it infact is an addiction, no matter how much i win or loose its still an addiction, you can either try and stop it or just cut down. For the amount of which i do gamble, it would not be possible to just stop. I gamble with the fruties to kill time, i have been £150 in my local arcade after 10 minutes.. but as i still had time to kill, i lost more than half of it .. i was still up , but sickened at how i lost alot of it. I hope i can post a fair bit on this site, have been on here for a while now. I am not giving up like John , but i shall certainly be CONTROLLING how much i gamble. I now have an excel spreadsheet of my monthly cash intake and a percentage of which to gamble. Also another think which i shall no longer do is take my bank card with me when gambling. I don't mind losing the odd £20 every month or so , but £60+ a month is bad, and i know that is what it will come too eventually. I'm getting older now, and theres better things to spend my money on. All Respect to you CrazyBar , good luck :]

[nails]

Hi Dann, and thanks for plucking up the courage to post in the forum of your potential problem. Gamcare is very specific, Help can only be offered to those who ask for it, i.e. it is not for me to tell you £100 in a day is too much. for all i know, your on £1k per week wages.

I`ve read your reply and then read it again, and it seem perhaps all to common, its not the winning, but perhaps the taking part? i recon this to be true buy you reply about red gaming machines, you`ve had your win, but you stayed on the machine for another board ?? I was the same, if i walked into an arcade for a bit of fun (or passing time as some of us call it) i was almost devistated if i won a large amount from a machine almost straight away. Why? because i knew i could no longer have fun on that machine - it had paid out and if i stayed on it, it would end it tears. hence the thrill of the chase.

My forte was magic games II. i knew if it rolled in the 777 it would pay £160 and then flat dead. sure enough i played, got the jp within a tenner and thought - just a few more, just a few more. it was all gone trying to chase a win. The only time i stopped was when either my card was maxed out or i was broke.

as for me, i was strong enough to not play anymore, but you need to make a decision on what you would like to happen, maybe one of the following -

1. Give up for good.
2. Reduce or limit how much you spend.
3. Become better at what you play.


Giving up must be just as hard i guess as quitting to smoke, its a habbit, you enjoy it and finally you know its bad. Only you can quit.

How about giving yourself a spendable limit, say £20? that could be split between 10p £5 jackpot machines or if your in a pub, play after somebody else has played?

Finally, read the various forums or ask other players on how to play machines. for me personally, Red gaming machines are by far the easiest to read what state its in. Im not going into detail here, but if you reduce your limit like option 2, you could still have great fun and be shrewd whilst limiting your playing to fun.

Money doesnt go very far in a pub, a round of 3 drinks can cost in the £10 direction, putting spare change in a machine and theres a 20 gone before you had your 2nd sip. I limit my pub money to a mere £20 note. play a red gaming, look at how many reds and work out if im going to win or not. if i dont, it was only a £20 on my night out, if i win, looks like im up for a curry.

Personally, i found it was easier to reduce the spending first, and then stop playing, perhaps get yourself something to sve for, holiday, car or pc - even get yourself a cheap fruit machine at home ??? now theres a thought.

hope i helped.

[Chris_010292]

Hi Dann, and thanks for plucking up the courage to post in the forum of your potential problem. Gamcare is very specific, Help can only be offered to those who ask for it, i.e. it is not for me to tell you £100 in a day is too much. for all i know, your on £1k per week wages.

I`ve read your reply and then read it again, and it seem perhaps all to common, its not the winning, but perhaps the taking part? i recon this to be true buy you reply about red gaming machines, you`ve had your win, but you stayed on the machine for another board ?? I was the same, if i walked into an arcade for a bit of fun (or passing time as some of us call it) i was almost devistated if i won a large amount from a machine almost straight away. Why? because i knew i could no longer have fun on that machine - it had paid out and if i stayed on it, it would end it tears. hence the thrill of the chase.

My forte was magic games II. i knew if it rolled in the 777 it would pay £160 and then flat dead. sure enough i played, got the jp within a tenner and thought - just a few more, just a few more. it was all gone trying to chase a win. The only time i stopped was when either my card was maxed out or i was broke.

as for me, i was strong enough to not play anymore, but you need to make a decision on what you would like to happen, maybe one of the following -

1. Give up for good.
2. Reduce or limit how much you spend.
3. Become better at what you play.


Giving up must be just as hard i guess as quitting to smoke, its a habbit, you enjoy it and finally you know its bad. Only you can quit.

How about giving yourself a spendable limit, say £20? that could be split between 10p £5 jackpot machines or if your in a pub, play after somebody else has played?

Finally, read the various forums or ask other players on how to play machines. for me personally, Red gaming machines are by far the easiest to read what state its in. Im not going into detail here, but if you reduce your limit like option 2, you could still have great fun and be shrewd whilst limiting your playing to fun.

Money doesnt go very far in a pub, a round of 3 drinks can cost in the £10 direction, putting spare change in a machine and theres a 20 gone before you had your 2nd sip. I limit my pub money to a mere £20 note. play a red gaming, look at how many reds and work out if im going to win or not. if i dont, it was only a £20 on my night out, if i win, looks like im up for a curry.

Personally, i found it was easier to reduce the spending first, and then stop playing, perhaps get yourself something to sve for, holiday, car or pc - even get yourself a cheap fruit machine at home ??? now theres a thought.

hope i helped.

Never think that a Red is going to pay out just because it is giving red features lol, it don't mean feck all mate. I think it's just something that they do to reel players in even more (just like fake backing). I had a Jackpot Genie going all red but one, killed me on first gamble, next board all green, followed by a green board moments later, ages later a red board.

[GaryChandler]

Yeah just because a red gaming is showing lots of red features doesn't mean your going to win.

[Deano]

Been up to snooker club tonight and seen shit loads of money go through 3 club bandits whilst playing snooker.
Thats half the problem , if I am not playing the wreched things , I am watching them.This is a problem in itself.
Its like sharking, even though I am not going to play, i am always aware what is going on.
To sum it up ,I am an addict,full stop.
Dont think any amount of therapy can cure a fruity gambler of 25 yrs practice.

Next time in town going to self exclude from my favourite haunts, hope this is a start on a long path to become cured.

[andymccabe13]

I thought i was the only one spendind every last penny on fruitys but it seems all you guys are aswell I've said for years that i would quit but when your in the pub an ya m8 goes the toilet or sumfin ya just have to thro a quid in then 2 until ya go 4 a board, definitly agree dond machines are the worst the only machines i feel safe on are the vamp it up types red/blue boards gaurunteed a board around £7 tops

[JayD]

Cheers for the replies, have changed my forum user name btw it is Dan. Again thanks for the good advice, at the moment i am thinking that buying a machine for home would be a great option and am strongly considering it. Today i lost another small amount and i think i shall now be setting up that monthly limit. The only problem is i have allot of time where i have nothing to do, i don't go out of my way to go to the arcade , it's there , it's something to do and i enjoy it. The three options of which you gave are definitely good ones, it's not realistic to give up completely so i will definitely now be cutting down and setting a budget. I Shall let you know what my plan of action is from tomorrow when i get paid £100, i think i shall be setting a weekly limit of say £5-10 from now , we'll see i help.. Thanks again for the advice.

Edit : Hmm, i think it's actually allot easier if i just do not gamble at all , or never go into arcades alone.. when i'm with mates i'm alot more sensible as to how i gamble. I'm dead set on creating my own arcade, that would truly cure the problem.. maybe one day. Would like to get a job working with them or something maybe, god knows.

Edited by JayD, 29 September 2008 - 04:20 PM.

[lita3]

Well done x keep it up x x


To be honest, gamblers will only give up if they REALLY want to

(In my opinion)-> The problem with some people gambling,it can be like smoking, if you enjoy it , chances are you wont to stop, even though you know its bad for you

Divertion , full time work, some hobby fishing, golf,swimming, taking your kids/nephews neices to the park ,- things you can do during the day, and NEW FRIENDS , people who do not like the arcade gambling scene

i know its easier said than done, divertion and getting in a new routine can help