Can you take the pressure ?

[kidgloves]

Playing machines on a day to day is not really intense pressure, but have you thought about the repercussions on your body if you've been subjecting yourself to this for years on end ?
If you count the highs and the lows, the feelings all add up to a lot of stress on the body. The feelings of euphoria at catching a streak, the feelings of despair when you've done your bollocks, the anger management feelings you experience when you miss a big payout when someone else plays a machine just before/after you. These feelings could be much more intense if you are into FOBT and you are doing thousands an hour, the S16's cannot be taken lightly when you hit that slippy slope and are chasing a big win to just get even again.
I regard myself as fairly fit, I'm down the gym 3 times a week and eat sensibily, yet if I play poker, I can quite easily drip ..yes literally drip sweat from my armpit when sitting at rest in a chair due to the pressure.
I never used to do this, and it made me wonder if my body has reacted to the constant pressure/stress you endure by gambling regularly by creating more sweat glands to help out. Might be a load of old bollocks but I think there is something in it.
Another example, I'm the only one who wears glasses in my family, I put it down to a mixture of thousands of hours of intense eye straining at bright lights and skill hand/eye co-ordination tasks and perhaps partly because I'm a musician sho has to read a lot of music on a regular basis.
Anybody feel worse the wear for their gambling sins ?

[JACK-POT]

I often find that after a good few 12hr days at the slots the tips of my fingers turn green/grey due to the dirt and fag ash all over the buttons and the constant touching of pound coins. Does anyone else find this. Also my eyes go funny after playing a magic 10 for ages.

[DannyC]

Mike, im extremely unfit, i rarely exercise, i eat alot of fast food and have 5 curries a week for tea!

I can honestly say ive never had any sign of 'sweat patches' playing poker or other gambling games, and tbh ive never had a sign of 'sweat patches' when even running or anything even as unfit as I supposedly am.

However, each to their own, majority and physics says that nervousness can cause sweating, your body cant 'create' more sweat glands, it may product more 'sweat' but no more glands after a ripe 20 years of age.

When I was 13 doctor told me there was no point wearing glasses anymore, as my eye was TOO 'lazy' and the glasses wouldnt make a difference. From the age of about 6 I have been partially blind in one eye, if I cover my right eye up, out of the left eye all I can see is a blur of colours... my right eye works perfect.

Thus in turn, this enables me to do the same as you, hand/eye skill co-ordination, use a computer/laptop for 14 hours of the day, and play pretty successful at snooker.

The only problem i see with playing machines on a day-to-day basis, is 'realizing' how each manu operates soo much differently to another, yet Barcrest own over 70% of the market... thus thinking... wtf?

Now, after 11 pints of £1.24 Carling Lager, and getting beat at 9 frames of snooker, i shall sleep and probably recorrect my newbie pissed up spelling in the morning. Night

[jeffvickers]

At least there are a lot of highs.

After a high, a contentment, a lower heartrate.


Playing machines is not that bad.

Think of the miners. the construction industry.

Or office work, repetitive monotony for 40 hours a week for N.M.W.

[badders]

sleep becomes a problem

[jjh]

sleep becomes a problem

I never know when to take you seriously but that is a good point

When I was playing poker too much a while a go I did start having trouble sleeping. Dreaming about poker and thinking about bad beats or stupid losses going over my mind and not being able to get to sleep.

Fortunetely those poker days are over and I only play when I can be asred now.

[stew]

Mmmmm, well it certainly made me think mike and yeah i can remember a time when i was on a low tech day and had been standing (yep, pre sit down arena's etc) still for about 4 hours playing all 3 party times when i nearly collapsed as hadn't moved for so long (all three didn't require actually moving your feet to play) and the circulation in my legs obviously didn't like it.

God it was good when the seated one's arrived


Have seen many a person have a wobble after a S16 just dropped its nuts

Dont sweat though "stinky" gloves

[Slotterman]

A few years ago, when I was still playing several hours a day, I emptied a machine in a Kebab shop. I thought I'd been discreet, but just as i was about to walk away from the machine,greasy packet of chips in hand,the equally greasy sweaty kebab shop owner came out of the back of the shop waving a huge meat cleaver in my direction.

He suddenly screamed out at the top of his voice,still waving the cleaver,
'You! give me all da fugging money you stole from a my fuggin' machine!'

I smartly did a back step towards the door,only to walk straight into two of his sons who also worked there, and they were deliberately blocking my path.

I'm no lightweight,but these guys were like giants,and all waving knives and coming on like gangsters - my heart started pounding and I actually thought I might have a heartache.

Fortunately another customer came in and I made my escape, but that day was the last in a long line of sticky situations that made me realise that playing machines wasn't doing my physical and mental health any favours.

[kidgloves]

I'm no lightweight,but these guys were like giants,and all waving knives and coming on like gangsters - my heart started pounding and I actually thought I might have a heartache.

Which one did you fancy ?

[kidgloves]

Dont sweat though "stinky" gloves

Yeah, I'm not playing any live poker with you when I'm wearing a light shirt, the tells would be visual and nasal.