Quote from: The Pharmacist on March 27, 2018, 04:37:28 PM

These stuck out to me, because I see these ugly traits daily in my job with substance abusers--and gambling can go hand in hand with that, though not a lot of the people I see are problem gamblers. But I think the basic disorder is much the same and produces a lot of the same effects. When you've got an addiction, your brain adapts and does everything it can to protect the addiction, and part of that is isolating emotionally from people who are going to try to *force* you to get help. That's usually your loved ones. So problem gamblers have to do a lot of lying, manipulating, cheating, stealing, and everything else that substance abusers do. Plus for whatever reason they feel like they're gods in their own heads.

Decent thread, OP. There are probably at least 200 people who are already members here who should read this. But just like with the alcoholic, it likely won't help anyway. When you've had enough, you (and only you) have had enough. There aren't enough words or love in the world that'll be enough to get you to stop until you're ready.

Interesting perspective + merited.

I hate substance abuse and agree with you on your points. I like gambling though. Maybe its because a high percentage of my gambling is taking $20 and attempting to turn it into $200, rather than the rampant consumerist, get-rich-quick, balls to the wall variety of gamblers.

I'm not certain substance abuse or gambling should be singled out. It appears as if society is increasingly being encouraged to be uneducated, uninformed, make impulsive and irresponsible decisions. Many of those negative traits are becoming cultural in origin whereby many view being uninformed as being a form of liberation, rather than oppression. Things like lying and being deceitful are actually viewed as being forms of freedom by many and their application isn't limited to substance abuse or gambling afaik.

Quote from: Don Pedro Dinero on March 27, 2018, 05:18:10 PM

Yes, there is. A huge one. In gambling, the mathematical return of every bet is negative, whereas in investing you have not that mathematical certainty.
I think you example could only be applied to poker. People starting poker from zero and becoming successful develop abilities necessary in investing. But those people dont call themselves gamblers, they call bad players gamblers.

As for OP, I think problematic gambling behavior is a consequence of previous problems. Nobody sane, with a happy life and without problems, ends up gambling pathologically.

There are people like Vegas Dave (Dave Oancea) who have become rich at least partially off of sports gambling. You can check out Vegas Dave on social media if you're curious. He is known for making big predictions in sports and winning most of the time. I know people who consistently announce all their bets ahead of sports events and consistently turn profits over a period of months. It is possible to make money off sports gambling, similar to how people make money off investing in stocks. Is it easy? Probably not. But it is possible. In terms of all time numbers, I've won more money than I've lost gambling on mixed martial arts.

The difference between gambling and investing may not be as great as some think. Investing generally carries lower risk and lower potential profits. And so these fundamental factors contribute towards fewer meltdowns. But there are still many uncertainties and the results can be disastrous. The economic crisis of 2008 could be characterized as being caused by banks gambling on subprime mortgages and losing. Then having to be bailed out by taxpayers. Whether its trillions of dollars being gambled by investment bankers or $5 being gambled on the superbowl. The difference between the two may not be that big.