• chunes@lemmy.world
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    9 hours ago

    Never once in my life have I felt the appeal of gambling.

    All I needed to learn is that statistically, the house comes out ahead, and that was that.

    A friend once insisted on dragging me out to a casino, and I came up with a hare-brained plan for blackjack (since it has the best odds of victory). I decided to double my bet every time until I won. But only up to as much money as I was willing to lose, because there’s a low chance for this strategy to go poorly very quickly.

    I made enough money to pay for the entire trip, and then I never gambled again for the rest of my life. So that’s my story of how I came out ahead.

    • Stalinwolf@lemmy.ca
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      7 hours ago

      Same. Went to a casino once, pulled a slot machine and won $30. Then lost $30. Never returned to one.

      I do enjoy being gifted scratch-off tickets, though, but I won’t spend my own money on them (unless as gifts to others). I manage at a grocery store and I’m often surrounded by people who aren’t particularly wise with money. Every time there’s a big lottery drawing coming up I get to hear from everyone how “THE JACKPOT IS UP TO 30-MILLION NOW! YOU BETTER GET A TICKET! YA CAN’T WIN IF YA DON’T PLAY!”

      Yeah, and I don’t burn money if I don’t play, either…

      • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        “THE JACKPOT IS UP TO 30-MILLION NOW! YOU BETTER GET A TICKET! YA CAN’T WIN IF YA DON’T PLAY!”

        I join in the lottery pools at work, not because I think we’ll win, but because I can’t bear to imagine the horror of having everybody at work win the fucking lottery but me.

    • Jax@sh.itjust.works
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      9 hours ago

      Gambling is like alcohol, some is fun but you need to learn your limits.

      If you go into gambling thinking ‘I’m gonna make 100 dollars!’ you’re gambling wrong. If you go into gambling thinking ‘I’m gonna spend 100 dollars.’ you’re gambling correctly.

      • chunes@lemmy.world
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        9 hours ago

        That’s exactly how I treated my trip. “This trip is going to cost 400 dollars and not a penny more.” The fact that it didn’t was just a happy coincidence.

    • sploder@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      Same here. Went with friends mainly so I could get free AC and free food for the day and put a $10 bill into a slot. Won $999.99 and never cared to gamble again lol