Im an idiot!

[tom_stoke]

Hi, i'm Tom and im a newbie to this forum. I'd just like to disucss something and see if anyone else has this gambling problem.

Ive gambled for about a year now but only £5 here and there on football bets.
A week last sunday me and a work mate went round a few pubs, showing me the ropes of how to play them, and that he seemed to keep winning. We spent over £80 that day and i didnt mind as it was payday, so had the money to lose.
In our work we have 2 fruit machines, deal or no deal, and take it or leave it.

About a month ago i went over and watched a work mate put in £60 and win nothing, i put in £2 and took the jackpot, he was not happy but thats how it goes. I love winning and seem to get a buzz and excitement when i play them.

Since a week last sunday and me and my mate going on them, every day for the past week i have put in £60 a day, i just cant stop myself, thinking im going to win again and again, i know i'm not going to, and i know there is only one winner, the fruit machine. a month ago i had managed to save up to £500, but just over a week later i'm down to £150. I'm 18 and if my dad found out he would go mental. I hate it when i get home and think ive just basically given £60 away to someone, but then i wake up and do it the next day. I drew some money out today (£60) and becuase im on a under 19's account thats my daily limit. I went to draw some more out to put in the gambler but i couldnt, and thats the only reason i stopped.

I just wondered if anyone else has or had has this problem, and how they come to stopped. I want to stop but i just cant help myself.
Any advice would be grateful.
Thanks.

[Johnny's Amusements]

The best advice I can give you is to enjoy your gambling. In order to do this sucessfully it is MOST important to set yourself a limit and STICK TO IT. NEVER gamble with money you can't afford to lose. Look at gambling as entertainment which must be paid for. Look on any winnings as a bonus. Most gamblers lose overall. It is also important to NEVER chase your losses.Remember there is always another day, so just stick to your daily limit.

[extreme eddie]

I feel for you mate, gambling can be a terrible addiction, take it from me, you are lining the pockets of people who know how to play them, and, of cause the companies who own them, use that thought to help keep yourself away from them, the truth is only you can stop yourself, good luck.

[JPJPJP]

Gambling should be fun. You should set yourself a daily limit that you can afford to lose and play within that. Contact gambleaware.co.uk or similar if you feel you want professional help.

You have at least recognised that it is a potential issue for you and, from that, there is nothing to stop you playing machines within your limits and still enjoying them.

[megastreaklover01]

Hey Tom nice to meet ya Sorry about ur experiences on the machines...I have the same feeling sometimes...keep playing when ur losing
Sometimes u play on when u r losing as u just feel like u have to win something back or ur wasting money
But remember that most games are compensated and influenced by previous play and that u r playing against everyone else who plays them, so just because u lost the day before doesn't mean u will win the next day, especially if someone drops the jackpot while ur not playing it... and as u have, u could have days and days where u just give ur money away!
DOND's are the worst IMO as they are predictable and all the same, and most of the time they are protective of the DOND feature and often take a lot to get it too.
TIOLI can be good when it's paying, but remember it's a DOND clone so may work the same way and suck money if it's on the take :-/
I often think of someone who's just turned 18 and may be starting to play them NOW....I think it's the worst time to start. A few years ago with £15, £25 and possibly £35 jackpots they were not quite so bad, but now with all the £70's around they are just money grabbers - u can put £20 through them sometimes and not get anything and especially on £1 a play.
As the jackpots were lower, in some ways they gave compared to the jackpot, prizes worth winning but not really now. Machines are around now clearly only for people who have the money to play them and don't mind losing it, with the £1 a play games and the return of £2 stakes on £500 JP machines. The casual player with not much cash can't afford to play them these days. I think I can see a lot of arcades closing cos everyone will just feel like they are wasting their hard-earned cash on nothing.
Yep u gotta listen to the boys and set a limit - u can easily lose £100 quickly if u don't. I have a fruit machine game DVD for the laptop that I bought on E-Bay - for just a few quid u can have 100's of games that play the same way as they would in an arcade as the game coding thinks it's on a real machine. That way u can still have fun and save £100's at the same time!
I understand ur problem, I have had it many times but I learned to control it. As u have a £60 bank limit, u don't want to think u have wasted all ur money on nothing and u can't have anymore either. And how long did it take to save up that £500 to waste it in a week?? Sometimes u have to watch people playing them to see which ones have paid out and therefore which ones to avoid...good luck with quitting - I know it's hard but I'm sure u can if u try hard!