Controlling Compulsive Gambling Habits

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By A. Awwad

When was the last time you visited a casino in a excited frame of mind, only to leave the casino in a bad mood because the majority of the bets did not go your way? I think this is an all too common issue which faces many players from occasional gamblers to the high rollers. Depending on the nature of the loss, there are different methods of approaching this issue and dealing with it.

First and foremost, it is important to remember that gambling should be regarded as a recreatonal fun activity and should never be used as a means of making money. When visiting a casino, say to yourself; “I am here to have fun. I am not here to generate an income. Whether I win or lose, I will enjoy myself and have fun. This is my only goal”. If you visit a casino with the mindset that you need to make money and the bets don’t go your way, then you will fail to achieve your objective and as a result, you will experience feelings of anger and disappointment.

Second, set a monetary limit for yourself. In other words, decide on how much money you can afford to spend and are willing to lose everytime you visit a casino. Once you set a limit for yourself, never ever go over that limit, so that even if you lose it, then it will not significantly affect your lifestyle because it was money that you can afford to lose.

Third, try to take a minimum amount of money with you to the casino. If you have decided that you will only gamble $20 per visit, then perhaps you could take $20 and enough money to cover all of the other expenses that may come up. In other words, don’t take $500 to the casino when you only plan to gamble $20, and leave all ATM cards and credit cards at home.

Fourth, set a time limit for yourself. Decide on how often you will visit a casino and how much time you will spend gambling. This also serves as means by which to control one’s gambling habits. It is a well known fact that the more time a player spends gambling, the more likely he/she will lose. This is one of the reasons why most casinos don’t have clocks. If the player loses track of what time it is, then perhaps he/she will stay in the casino and play for a little while longer.

Fifth, avoid drinking alcohol while gambling. This is due to the fact that alcohol can grossly affect one’s sense of judgement and cause a person to gamble more heavily than he/she would have gambled otherwise. A couple of drinks to relax may be OK, but drinking to the point of not being able to think very clearly is not.

Sixth, think of other recreational activities that you can be involved in. This is not to say that you should give up gambling, but perhaps gambling could become just one of the many recreational activities that you could enjoy. So instead of going to the casino on Friday and Saturday, go to the casino on Friday and to the cinema on Saturday.

Finally, if you find that you are still unable to your gambling habits and they are starting to take control of your life, then you should definitely contact Gambler’s Anonymous and let them help you.

Interesting Facts About Gambling Online and Offline

Posted by: Admin  :  Category: Uncategorized

by Adel Awwad

As with any recreational gaming, there is always a good deal of trivia associated with such games. So it is with gambling. Gambling has a rich and intriguing history, so much so that trivia lovers will surely adore the wealth of trivia facts pertaining to gambling. Let’s take a look as some gambling trivia facts below.

Did you know all of the Kings in a standard deck of player cards actually represent real people? That’s right; the Kings are more than Kings in a deck of cards. Due to the fact that a standard deck of cards was created in France during the 15th century, the designer of the cards used historical figures to represent the Kings the deck that they designed. For example, Charlemagne is depicted as the King of Hearts, while Julius Caesar is represented by the King of Diamonds. Likewise, Alexander the Great is represented by the King of Clubs, while King David of the Bible is represented by the King of Spades.

On a similar note, the designer of the first deck of playing cards also decided to represent specific cultures with a deck of cards. Thus, the various suits of the cards represent different cultures that had major influences on the world before and during the 15th century. Therefore, the suits of spades, clubs, diamonds, and hearts represent the Middle East, Greece, the Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire respectively.

Alternatively, let’s take a look at the game of slots for a moment. Did you know that in certain states of America it is still illegal to use slot machines? That’s right; various states throughout the United States do not permit any form of gambling in the state. Therefore, the only way an individual can even possess a slot machine without getting in trouble for possessing it is that the machine meets certain criteria established by the law of the state. What are the criteria? The machine must be considered an antique: it must be at least 25 years old and used for display purposes only. Finally, anyone found in states that do not permit ownership of gaming devices runs the risk of getting fined and the equipment is immediately confiscated.

Finally, did you know that the act of gambling may actually predate documented history? In fact, examples of gambling appear in all civilizations as long as people have been able to write things down. Whether it existed prior to the act of writing however, is anyone’s guess.