I have no real money management discipline when it comes to gambling; I can't stand losing; when I lose a bet, I play Martingale b/c I don't want to win the next bet and be EVEN; when I lose all I have, I go to the ATM and get more money and if I lose enough to feel that I can't win it back, I quit....

It takes varying amounts of time before the pain subsides, then I go back and do it again........it is sick and maybe degen and pathological, but it's what my history is with gambling.......small wins and big losses....

However, I think I am slowly weaning myself away from this behavior; I haven't done it for a couple months now; but as they say, it's always gonna be with you if you are an addict......it can start up again at any time.........I just hope not.....

I have a similar experience that just happened to me (same thing, lose a bet and use the Martingale system playing dice to get back my losing wager)... I built up my poker/sportsbetting bankroll all year to the approx. $1000. I lose a $5 bet, and immediately try to win it back with Martingale, and hit negative variance and lose it all within an hour, on my birthday nonetheless (all in trying to win back flipping $5?!)... so now I'm just trying to get back in the right frame of mind to start building it back. I'm pretty confident I'm done with the degen. table games (hopefully), and going to stick with poker (where I am a winning player). Good luck with getting your mindframe back

If you're playing dice/table games, you're not gambling. You're giving your money to the casino. Play long enough and you will lose. It's just simple math and probability. If you win money in the short run, realize that it's just a temporary situation. You will give it back.

Poker is beatable. Some video poker games are beatable. Blackjack is beatable. Slots, craps, roulette, baccarat, etc are simply not beatable. No matter what system you use, you will lose.

Don't think of it as gambling. Think of it as you giving your money to the casino over a period of time. If you go the casino a few times a year, then it's gambling. If you play bad games regularly, it's no longer gambling. It's donating.

Just like the War Games computer figured out, "The only winning move is not to play". Just remember, you will lose. Winning is temporary.

[QUOTE=jesse123;45713827
Poker is beatable. Some video poker games are beatable. Blackjack is beatable. Slots, craps, roulette, baccarat, etc are simply not beatable. No matter what system you use, you will lose.
[/QUOTE]

^ This

I keep telling my friends the same thing but they keep rolling them dice and feeding them slots.

I saw an interview once with Jen Harmon about how everyone has a different pain threashold when in comes to loosing. For some, this number can be very high and for others it can be very low. There are advantages if you have a high threshold, but if it begins to conflict with your life then its a problem you should address. For me, I have to set stop losses for any kind of gambling. This way, my wins will always be bigger than my losses. By the way, this is one way to make up for others who may have more skill than you in poker buy way worse money management skills. Money management is a skill too. Loosing to me just isn't fun so any kind of win makes leaves me in a better mood and loosing beyond my pain threshold leaves me depressed. It sounds like you have an addictive personality, and so do it - but eventually the pain of loosing outweighed the joy of winning so I put aside my ego and changed how I approached gambling.

Thanks to those of you offering helpful information and advice; especially Jesse.....your input is definitely on the mark.....I have spent a lifetime gambling at table games without ever hitting that jackpot or legendary life-changing winning streak....I have probably lost the equivalent of a house, and that is being conservative.....a lot of little small wins along the way, but definitely just as many or more big losses.......I guess it falls into the category of that old saying, "we get too soon old, and too late smart.." ....... I guess I am addicted to gambling, but not to the extreme, because I have still managed to have bought a house for myself, and I am living quite comfortably in retirement with a nice pension, with some money in the bank....

Another thought that has always haunted me after losing a lot of money at the table games (including blackjack and pai gow poker) is the other saying, "A fool and his money are soon parted..." because I always felt foolish and stupid (along with feeling angry and often depressed) after a big loss........

Martingale is a terrible system for a few reasons. I think firstly, the fact that you don't have infinite money to begin with is enough. Secondly, Martingale assumes you are betting with 50/50 odds and poker is not a coinflip it's a skill game and should be treated as such. Finally Martingale forces you into situations with strong emotional reactions. The intensity of the highs and lows compromise decision making encourages degenerate behaviours.

Chris Ferguson's method did wonders for me. It sucks having to move down sometimes but overall I found that when I won money it came in quickly and when I lost money it went out slowly. Building a roll is very emotionally satisfying and is most of what makes poker professionals profitable.

I also learned a lot from Ferguson because ur emotions get in the way and mess up your whole roll when u lose a big hand

Are you sure about blackjack? I mean online, not table. Over Christmas I deposited $100 in Bovada and built it up to roughly $750 in a couple weeks. I lost about 6 poker sngs in a row, and was down to $730, and decided to play their blackjack. I bet $1 continuously until I lost 10 hands in a row playing basic strategy, then started doubling up. I didn't win a single hand, deposited $250 more (for the bonus), started at $5 and double up, and still didn't win a single hand.

I know I should have cashed out, or the very least just stick to poker and walk away after getting a series of bad beats in poker, but I was severely pissed off when I lost/pushed 31 blackjack hands in a row following basic strategy.

You having a string of bad luck is irrelevant to the question of whether or not blackjack is beatable.

Since the days of continuous shufflers blackjack isn't beatable.
Compared to all other casino games though, the house has the smallest edge at BJ, If you play correctly that is.
In the european version of BJ the house edge is less then 1% so it's closest you can get to a coinflip in a casino game (besides poker of course) but it's still -EV.