I spunked £250k in a year
on gambling.

I haven't got an addictive personality. Well, I don't think I have - when I realised it was taking over my life, I just stopped. Didn't wind it down slowly or anything along those lines. I realised that it was making me a person I didn't want to be.
I have a young son, and would spend Saturday afternoons looking at all sorts of mental football leagues. Not putting hugely risky bets on, but £2k a time on a team that was 5-0 up with 5 minutes to go, just to get a 20 quid profit. Stuff like that.
It didn't seem like there was highs, or lows, but equally I'd still feel my heart beating faster. But, equally, I felt like I was missing out unless I was in front of a laptop and internet connection. Spending time together as a family over the weekend was difficult. Evenings were spent betting on Bulgarian's Women's Netball Divison 3 playoffs and other lesser heard of sports.

Best profit of all was winning 900 quid on some crap bingo website. Paid for a new Smeg fridge freezer. Worst loss? Chasing losses on a Liverpool/Chelsea game. 1200 quid down in two hours.
Highlights? Walking out of Ladbrokes every two days with 5 figure piles of money. Just to spend it all again.
Lowlights? Getting turned down for a mortgage because the bank regarded me as a significant risk. They looked back over 6 months of statements, and pointed out me spending 12k in one weekend.

Those that want to call this is Honda Accord territory - I've got accounts, screenshots, bank statements, etc.
(A Nony Mouse, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 11:15, 13 replies)

I'm not calling Accord.
But unless you actually lost £250k then you didn't 'spunk' it.

And if you did lose £250k you are in denial about being an addict.
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 11:25, closed)

Fair
point - it was, as I understand most of the economies of the world to be, the same money going round and round and round and round. In terms of spunkage, I certainly laid out that much. Did I lose it all? No - as I say, I kept accounts - that's how I am. In the grand scheme of things, I came out with a profit of around 9k over the year. Yeah, brilliant return. Hourly rate was awful.

Even though I came out with a profit, it still does to some degree scare me but in equal measures give me a sense of pride with what I did - that I maintained the level of control that I was able to look in from the outside and say to myself "I think that it's probably time to stop now".
(A Nony Mouse, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 11:32, closed)

I think you did well to recognise it and get out on top and in time, yeah.

( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 11:35, closed)

Betfair?
9k over a year is great if you were enjoying yourself. Sounds like you weren't though. I've got a friend who can make money on online poker and spends ages playing it, but in the end it works out less than the minum wage on average.
(Rimmer, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 11:59, closed)

Betfair was one of many
During the year I had accounts with just shy of 60 bookies.

Betfair, Betdaq and Laddies were the biggest. Betfair and Betdaq are, technically, bloody brilliant sites just because of the model that they offer (that is, you can put in a bet at a price *you* want, not necessarily what you're being offered).
Betdaq instead of Betfair because they offered me lower commission (ISTR 1.5% or something mental)
(A Nony Mouse, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 12:03, closed)

I bet you regret that

(TheManWithThePlan cussed your mum on, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 11:32, closed)

Yes but
Perhaps not for the reasons you're thinking. Whilst there were other issues at play, I do wonder to how much a degree it played with not really bonding with my son when he was born. That, I'll never know, and will to some degree always wonder about, and perhaps regret.
(A Nony Mouse, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 11:34, closed)

Fark - 250k down WOULD hurt like a steel wool shit but I now understand you didnt lose 250k so that wont hurt like a steel wool shit.
( enoughblueskyforsailorstrousers, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 11:33, closed)

I don't believe you
Please post screenshots of all your accounts. No need to black out any of the numbers - you can trust me.

Seriously though well done to get out when you did.
( Scrumper, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 15:06, closed)

...
I walked past my local bookies the other day and it had a sign on the door saying 'Open Mondays - Ten to One'

I thought I'll have £20 on that it was open last Monday...
(wrigglesworth, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 17:06, closed)

Now THAT is my kind of joke.

( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 17:08, closed)

I just don't understand gambling.
It all seems like far, far too much hard work and stress for very little return. If I wanted to be stressed to fuck 24 hours a day I'd take up law or something -- not piss around with things I had no control over.
Not a judgement, by the way, I just don't understand the attraction.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 17:53, closed)

Betfair
I have been similarly addicted to Betfair although the stakes are much smaller. On a slack day in the office I've been known to bet on Phillipine football, where a team is 2-0 up with 20 minutes to go at stupid odds like 1/10. It's risky but where can you get 10% interest on your investment elsewhere? When the Tour de France was keeping tabs on the race and the betting market was sdo time consuming for a profit that is less than the minimum wage for an hourly rate. Can be exciting though.
(Barnetboy, Thu 4 Aug 2011, 11:11, closed)