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Playing the pokies
What are the chances of winning on the Pokies?
The pokies are simply a form of entertainment. However, sometimes people play the pokies for the wrong reasons, often spending more money or time than they can afford. If you think that you can beat the pokies, think again. You cannot change the fact that the odds are stacked against you.
The longer you play a poker machine, the more likely you are to lose all the money you have put in the machine.
The poker machine is the winner.
Think about these facts:
- Each poker machine has a computer program. Pokies are programmed so that in the end the machine will win. Nothing you do changes that
- Pokies are not designed to provide you with extra income. They are designed to make profit for others
- Like other forms of entertainment, you pay to play the pokies. The more you play, the more you pay
- You can't influence the machines. Nothing you do can influence the machines
- The outcome is independent of previous plays. If there is a win, you get paid credits. If not, the poker machine waits for the button to be pressed again
-
The machine is never ‘due' to payout. You can never predict how each play will end. None of these factors makes a difference:
- The last time the machine paid out
- Anything you or anyone else does to the machine
- How much you bet or how many lines you play
- How long you have been playing
- Past and future plays
- The time of day
Poker machines are programmed to pay out less than you put into them, so the odds are you will lose.
Losing money this time doesn't increase your chances of winning next time. You may have smaller wins but over time you can expect that these will not cover what you put in.
When playing a game like Black Rhinos, to have a 50 per cent chance of getting five rhinos, playing one line at a time, it would take 6.7 million button presses and cost nearly $330,000.
| Prize value in credits | Chance of a prize in a single play line (including scatters) |
|---|---|
| One chance in | |
|
More than 500 credits 200 to 499 credits 100 to 199 credits 50 to 99 credits 20 to 49 credits 10 to 19 credits 5 to 9 credits 1 to 4 credits |
10,198 2,669 1,458 450 246 106 53 10 |
| Prize type in Symbol Combination | Chance of combination occurring in a single play line |
| One chance in | |
|
5 of a kind 4 of a kind 3 of a kind 2 of a kind |
4,784 490 45 9 |
At these odds you have to play seven games in a row to have a 50:50 chance of winning four credits. But you have to play more than 7,000 games in a row to have the same chance of winning 500 credits. In the end the machines will win.
The poker machine always has the advantage.
WHEN YOU'RE PLAYING the pokies, THE ONLY THING YOU CAN CONTROL IS YOU.
Inside the pokies - player guide
This guide explains how pokies actually work and why, in the long run, you will lose money.
- Inside the pokies - player guide (PDF, 670KB)
Keep track of your time and money - Press the 'i' button on the pokie and it will help you keep track.
This brochure, available in venues, explains how to use the Player Information Display function on pokie machines to show you:
- The rules of play for this machine
- Your chance of a win or loss
- How to track the money you spend on this machine
- How long you play on this machine
- Keep track of your time and money (PDF 853KB)
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Hi all. Wow so many stories on here and I pray for all of you. I too play from time to time and I've been addicted from early 20's. It's the most stupidest thing ever. There is a building with a bank inside to take your money where you've worked 38 hours a week or more and it could all go in just a few hours. Machines are getting tighter. There is nothing worst than while playing that relief when you finally get the feature you been waiting for. Then it does what's it's designed to do. How many times your about to Jump out of that chair and it doesn't connect the pattern then you explain to the person next to you "agh man if that was there that's a $1,300 win. I absolutely hate them. I very much hate Sydney and how every 5-10 minutes apart you can find anywhere and just about anytime to play. Why places like Perth is so beautiful compared to Sydney. They have no pokies in pubs there like here. Here we have a massive problem. Bigger then drugs and alcohol. [....]
I've been addicted to pokies since I was 20, I'm 30 now and a solo mum of three. Because I can't take my kids into a Games room I play via the internet. I HATE IT. It's sad because I make a fair income, I pay my bills, put petrol in the car for the week, get our groceries then I play the rest. And it's like everyone else, I justify my actions by telling myself that I'm going to make the money back, when really it's for the rush of a win I had 10 years ago. My kids want nice things and I always think to myself, How can I justify a $100 pair of shoes, a $20 pair of jeans or a $250 trampoline??? and then a couple hours later I've lost $500-800 playing pokies when I could of bought those things for them. I need to put my kids first. So I'm quitting for good, reading this article and the posts has made me realize that the odds really are against me. Financially and emotionally. None of my friends have gambling problems and I've been hiding this for years from my friends and family, so reading real stories from real people who I can relate to and get advice from is so helpful. Great article and thanks everyone =).
Pokies had become an annoying problem for me. It first started as an escape from difficult personal circumstances and quickly became an option when boredom set in. The addiction and interest started after a win or two, then i got hooked on recreating the moment, or hoping for a better moment (win). When that didn't eventuate, the battle became making up for what was lost last time, and keeping that score. It never becomes even. You always lose more. But as this is happening, you convince yourself into believing you are having fun and being entertained by the pokies.., but seriously do you really enjoy sitting there for hours on end feeding your money away??... its amazing the same stories/mental justifications different people keep telling themselves... each time the same people are there, the same faces.. but you can always tell the newbies from the oldies from the look on the face, the newbies when they experience a win are absolutely delighted.. the oldies are non expressive, because they have the score in their mind and working out how much more they need to win to break even...
while playing (or should i say losing), you think , i work so hard, well what havent i spent a few hundred on.. or when it is a form of escape, the justification in the mind becomes, spending a few hundred here is a lot less painful from the problems outside.. (its just money after all). then when i won i wouldnt be able to leave, instead id try machines i havent used before just incase i got even luckier and improved the loss position even more.. and end up losing..
the answer to how to stop gambling on pokies is an answer known by the very parties that created and designed the machines. Every jingle, symbol, flash, free spin, the random big wins... was created to establish an addiction. I find that when i seriously stop chasing my losses or holding myself accountable for them.. (and dont self torture with thoughts like i could have bought a car with that money etc).. I can actually walk away and stay away.. in the end it comes down to forgiving yourself for your losses and walking away, because you wont ever win back all the money you lost and even if you do you end up spending it again. The loss number will always be higher tomorrow and the next day if you keep going.... So just cut your loss and walk away and stay away, and face the real problem that drove you in there the first place, or kept you going back for more heartache.
This has worked for me. Good luck.
To the last person's post. Yes, it doesn't matter how smart you are, and addiction is an addiction. I said the same thing to my doctor, that I am smarter than this. He replied that it has nothing to do with how smart you are, everyone can form an addiction to something. It is quite puzzling to me as well. Why do I continue to do something that is going to hurt me? To me, it's no different then a crack addict. They know it's wrong, but continue to do it, the addiction wins. I have it down to going every 10 or so days. But that isn't good enough for me, I want it to end for good. I don't like the fact I have dumped so much money into silly machines. I'd rather have "real" comforts in my life. Not having to eat hot dogs because I'd rather feed a machine. UNREAL. Another key thing the last person posted was boredom. Yes, I get so bored and return back to the machines. I'm sure if I could get tougher, I could turn to something else to do, not harmful to myself. Everyday is a stuggle, except for the few days after I go, those days I am struggling to even put one foot in front of the other, having realized that I've done it once AGAIN. Spent hundreds of dollars that I couldn't afford to. I want off this roller coaster once and for all, it's making me SICK!
Here we go again....every pokies addict knows what i mean. Broke, afraid, self-loathing, trying to figure out how to get through to the next pay day, even though the money I'll get paid is already committed to paying back the debts I've run up...and all because of playing the pokies.
Here's my story. I'm a highly intelligent person. No trying to sound arrogant, but I have an I.Q. of 184, which is significantly higher than Albert Einstein...and yet for the last 12 years I've pretty much blown every cent I've had (and plenty I don't have) on the pokies. Playing the pokies is not just something dumb people do. Playing them IS dumb, but doing it again and again is not a matter of how smart you are. It's an addiction, like drugs or alcohol, but probably more expensive.
I want us all to think about something. What sort of limit do you set when going to the pokies? Personally, I usually go there thinking $200...it's not that much....but it is when you go about 3-4 nights a week. Average out your gambling....like me, does it come out to around $100 a day on average?...more? Well consider this - $100 a day equals a yearly total of $36, 500!!!!!! Now think of all the things you've wanted to buy over the years you've been gambling and couldn't afford. In my case, after 12 years, I've blown over $400,000. Right now in my pocket I have $3.90 and I need to pay $300 to one bank tomorrow and $900 to another...For all my I.Q.I have no idea what to do and I suspect you've all been in this position before..
I've finally come to see that i will never ever win. I am an addict and always will be. I have to stay away from the pokies and if you're being honest...you know it's the only answer.
One more question: do you feel better walking out of the pokies, knowing you've just blown your rent money? money you borrowed to pay back the last person you borrowed from? etc etc....OR, do you feel better when you get home? If, like me, you feel better when you're home...that's where you need to go after work. It can be boring at home, but think of the alternative...accept it as inevitable...WE WILL ALWAYS LOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey all I'm 25 and have a problem with the pokies gambling in general but mostly pokies. Started at 19 out of bordem won the first few times and then ur hooked. Something they should teach at schools as they focused a lot on drugs and alcohol addiction little did I know that the pokies are just as bad when ur hooked. I've done self exclusion from venues where I got kicked out from after returning back which was great. I have broke down 2 my mother and have given her total control of my bank cards and finances . It does solve a big problem in finances as I only get a daily allowance. Over the last 2 weeks I saved more thence I have over the last 5 years. My advice tell ur family u can't save and give them ur cards. I told friends however when it comes to gambling they are all too happy to lend me money. At the end of the day no one will help u if you can't help urself. Try this it does help. Not saying that I'm cured, as I am a gambling addict that can't seem to stop, but giving someone control of money is the best way to go, if u don't u most likely will blow it all. Countless times have I driven home crying, lost my bill money making excuses, taking my mums money saying it was an emergency and feeling like a piece of &$@$ on the way home. Could of bought clothe, dinners, holidays all gone due to stupid machines. When people mention gambling I'm a kid at a candy store when I finish I drive home devastated. Nothing changes u can't win, if u do ull be a regular like me. [....] There's more to life than gambling.
I've never played pokies but my old man did & does, THANKS VERY MUCH to all of you for telling your stories and for the beautiful support and encouragement you're offering each other. May we all escape this evil.
One Month Challenge
I'm hoping someone out there will read this post, then commit to taking one month off the pokies - then posting the results. You don't have to commit to quitting, just taking a month off then re-assess whether you want to let them back into your life at the end. I guarantee you will view your addiction in a completely different light if you can just make it through that month.
My story:
Today marks 50 days off the pokies for me which is an unbelievable achievement given my 20 year history. I've tried just about everything to quit (counselling, hypnotherapy etc) but none of it worked. I just put it down to those methods being absolute rubbish. However, when i was honest with myself I found that my attempts had failed because deep down.....i didn't want to quit playing the pokies.
50 days ago I had the all too familiar feelings associated with losing $500 through the pokies the day before. I wondered, if i didn't really want to quit could I take a month off? It would give me a much needed break and I would have a months worth of savings to fund a decent pokie bender if my feeling towards pokies hadn't changed.
The month:
I've read posts here saying the first month is the hardest and i totally agree. The urges to play were frequent and incredibly strong but the more I resisted them, the less frequent they became. By the end of the month the urges were nowhere near as strong either. The big difference to me was this: at the start of the month the addiction controlled me, at the end of the month I controlled the addiction. At the start of the month, i really thought that I would go straight back to the pokies IF i actually made it through the month. By the end, I had changed my viewpoint completely. The dramatic improvements in all areas of my life over the month (and now 50 days) were not worth losing to go back to those wretched machines.
For me it's on to the next 50 days pokie free. For you?? Give it a try!
i hate these things so much! every week is the same thing ill give up its over. i tried self exclusion for 3 years and true to a gambler mind set i managed to talk my way into these venues easily. i know its not their fault and i should have stayed away but they make it hard when all you have to do is smile and say no im ok now i dont bet like i use too. i wont be long , its only $50 etc etc.. and they let me in! i spent nealy a quarter of my yearly wage while i was self excluded... so imagine what i would have spent if i had free reign! I HATE THESE B%^$*Y THINGS. i wish they could be removed from pubs and clubs. keep them in casinos. that would suit me as the nearest casino is about 4 hours away. please let me stay away from them please.
It's very exiting to find this www.problemgambling.vic.gov.au web site. Thanks for sharing this info. I find it very informatory as I have been researching a lot lately on practical matters such as you talk about...
Cassie i have been in this position alot of times over the years, bill money, holiday money, rent etc.
If you really want to give up you must self exclude your self from this venue before next pay day, fill out the form, attatch a passport size photo and see the manager.
Cassie find yourself a bank that still does passbook withdrawls, walking back to the bank waiting in line gives you time to reflect on the position you are in, no money after hours but you will have some in the morning.
Cassie good luck, don't walk in our shoes (the lifers) you are young break the cycle, enjoy life.
God bless you young lady.
I first started playing pokies when I turn 18 at this time I was working in the mines. I would think about them everyday and blow my weekends pay on them I started getting depress and the depression really kicked in when I worked out I lost 80,000 in a year. Pokies don't only hurt u they hurt ur friends and family. I wish I never touched them
I have posted about my personal situation and would appreciate your thoughts or opinions...
I have not played the machines for 4days but that's because my bank account is empty and I have no money for them... I feel like I never want to play them again!!! I am already thinking about the other things i can do with the extra money and organising my debts and bills to be paid.
I feel as though I am strong enough to be able to hold my card and not play but after reading your stories a relapse is not that uncommon and i am scared that i will fall into that cycle.. from reading all your blogs it seems as though it takes at least a month to get rid of urges... I know i have only just started but i am feeling great now that i want to stop...
Can someone tell me honestly, when I get paid could or will my mind set change even after feeling so strongly about trying to stop???
Should I leave my card with my family??? Just until I am confident with myself to be able to hold my own money and not put it through them damn machines....
Hey Guys,
I am a 24yo female I have a great job and a great family who love me.. Like everyone here I have a problem with the pokies..
I have lied to my family time after about where my money goes... thing is I don't even have money to be spending in the machines due to all the credit I have run up and all the loans I have taken out but it seems as though I am always finding money to put through. I have lied, stolen, borrowed, borrowed to pay people I have already borrowed from and still spend that money.
I tell myself week after week that next pay I wont be walking into the pub and what happens next pay its all gone before I finish work... Lunch time I am down the pub throwing in 50 after 50 until $1500 is gone in less than an hour...
by the end of the day i have no money to support myself until next pay and no bills have been paid.. I borrow off family to get me through the week.. My family know i get a good pay and always wonder why i never have money and why the credit collectors are always trying to get a hold of me... I always make up some excuse to get me through it.
It wasn't until last week that my family truly found out what my problem was... I lost all my pay the week before but needed some money for petrol, smokes and weekly living.. After already asking my father for money and spending it (in the machines) I wasn't ready to ask him again for money as i was too ashamed to confront him.. I thought i could take money from his card and pay him back when i was paid again.
After seeing that he had so much money in his account and seeming as the ATM was outside the pub I thought that he would never miss a couple hundred that I could win money from... so I went to the pub lost it went to the ATM drew out another 200 and lost that... I continued to do this thinking that my machine was about to pay out any minute and I could put all his money back tomorrow before he even knew it was missing... The machine never paid out and the ATM wouldn't let me withdraw any more money as it reached its daily limit of $1800. That was when my stomach sunk to the ground and I felt I couldn't breathe. How was I going to explain this to my loving father who would do anything to help me out. I have now lost his trust and i feel so terrible for what i have done to him..
It is now time to do something about it before it gets worse but I ask myself (and you)how much worse can it get????
I have now taken the first step and found this site, your testimonies are a great encouragement and great reminders of why I don't want to lead secret life anymore...
Thanks to all of you and just remember you are not in this alone we all have stories to share!!
May god help all of you to give these machines up for good i was addicted too and i have been clear of the poker machines for 4 years i pray for all of you to help you stay away from the machines
my problem started when i was 19.....
i was never much of a gambler and my friends always played the pokies and had the occasional "big win". One day i was in the pub playing poker with my mates and during a break i bought a beer with a $5 note and got $1 change. I thought what the hell, put this $1 in the pokies, did a $1 hit and ended up winning $300. Just before we left my mate convinced me to go halves with him in a machine called "big red". I was up a lot of money and had a few to many drinks so i thought eh, why not? We both put in $50 and started betting $5 a hit. We were down to our last $10 and we decided to do a $10 bet which hit the feature. This feature was amazing and we won $10,000 which we split $5000 each.
I really wish i had lost that night.....
After this i thought i could do this everytime on the pokies and soon found out i was wrong. I was feeding in $50's after $50's trying to "win big" again. Before i knew it i was feeding my entire paycheck through the pokies every week. I did have the occasional win which i didnt get a thrill out of beacause i was just chasing my losses. However, the pokies would just take it back in the next couple of weeks. You'll find most gamblers can recall when they lost big but find it hard to remember when they won a lot of money. I was feeding in about $600 a week to these machines which made me feel sick, yet id continue to do it, week after week, this continued over the course of 2 years. Ive probably lost about $30,000 on the pokies.
My advice to players is to stop before its too late.....IN THE LONG RUN YOU CANT WIN!! These machines really do destroy your lives. You really must stop yourself. Playing the pokies is essentially like throwing money in the rubbish bin.
Pokies are not an escape. Pokies are not a way for me to alleviate, or treat, the stresses of every-day life. I've been content to buy into the rubbish I've fed myself for so long, but I can see the truth, now...
My addiction to playing pokies has been a major source of destruction in my life. It is insidious, greedy, & selfish. It's not my friend - it's nothing more than a parasite - & I can never move forward until I change, & I can no longer pretend that it's not a bona-fide problem.
Money is, by no means, the most valuable of the things I've lost through a slot no wider than a hundred dollar note - I've also managed to lose love, friends, cars, jobs, homes, trust, opportunities, chance after chance & second chance after second chance.
Daily, I'm painfully aware that I'm only a few idle minutes or a few misdirected thoughts from the seemingly inescapable grasp of my own stupidity. The self-loathing, the hurt, the emotional & financial wreckage: almost always it feels like it could be just around the next corner.
And the deceit. Oh, yes, the deceit! I lie to myself, I lie to the people I love, I lie to the bank, to my landlord, to my employers, & anybody else I have to lie to in order to cover up the gambling, or to cover up my shame, or to cover the shortfalls. And the shortfalls are never ending. Actually, no, there are no 'shortfalls' - just a perpetual cycle of dodging calls from private numbers or (worse still) from friends, envelopes with windows, phones being disconnected, finding ways 'around' things, & dealing with the pain & hardship that I cause the people who care for me.
I've come to realise that if I live a 'pokie' life, my life will bear the fruits of a pokie... I'll wind-up alone, sad, angry at myself, having wasted everything I had, & wondering where the hell the last fifty went.
Today is my day five Pokie free day after a 10 year addiction. I know its only early days but I am already proud to say that.Today I have had money in my purse today to pay for the everyday things i used to struggle to buy because I would have had spent it at the pokies. I am going to really struggle because I think about those machines every hour but I will take it day by day and be gentle on myself. I hate hate hate those pokies so much.... They have taken years of my precious time away. The machines have made me lie and hate, they have made me sad and so lonely, they have made me a fool. I will not let them win anymore. I feel powerful for my 5 free days away from them and I plan to stay away. Goodluck to you all out there and be strong. The machines will always win in the end but you can take back the power then you will finally be free.
Hi Monique,
It sounds like you are already doing plenty to support your boyfriend and i commend you for that. Remember to look after yourself through this too. You would rightfully be dealing with plenty of emotions yourself over this and it may benefit if you have a friend or some to talk to about it too. It looks like your man is doing all the right things to help himself to beat it though. Be prepared for him to have the odd relapse when you do let him take control of his weekly pay, it's part of the process unfortunately.
As someone who has been battling these machines for 20 years, it is scary how much money can be blown through them. Maybe it's best that you don't know how much he has lost if he wont tell you. There is obviously plenty of good about him if you have decided to support him through this so it might be best to wipe the slate clean.
For my part, I've managed to stop for some long patches (3 years at one stage) over the past 20 years but keep going back. I've tried counselling, hypnotherapy etc which has kept me away for a few months or so but ultimately I've gone back to the machines. I've come to the realisation that you can only stop if you truly want to, so my mission at the moment is to try to figure out why i don't want to stop given the untold pain they have caused me throughout my life.
Anyway, thanks for posting and I wish you guys the best of luck with this for the future.
Monique - Thank you for your confidence, i hope your boyfriend turns his life around before it is to late, last time i wrote i was approaching 50 and worried, i am here now, i have done a lot to self exclude myself from many local places but find myself driving to find a fix, that is what we are doing finding a fix, the trouble with a gambling addiction is you can hide it from your loved ones, your work mates, anyone, you walk down the street and no one knows.
The silent addiction, yes i am a addict but no one knows or cares, the only time a club cares is when you are not there feeding there machines.
Reiterate to all the young addicts, change, you can not win, do it now before you have dependents and ruin their lives.
I don't understand it, after reading all the posts above i think that it must be like addiction to food if you are really overweight, the food is the comfort ?? so you keep eating [....]
My boyfriend and i live together and 1 month ago i found out about him playing the pokies and losing lots of money. he won;t tell me how much but i think it would be tens of thousands. He pays his share of rent and bills etc but never seems to have money for holidays, buying things for the flat, nights out etc. i just figured he was saving ??
i feel stupid that he has hid this from me and lied, but i am giving him a chance to make things right.
what can i do to support my partner and get us through this ?? He is going to see a counsellor at RNSH in sydney it is an 8 week program 1 on 1 with a counsellor, hes been to some GA meetings although he says they dont do much but sit and tell sad stories.
anyways i have his ATM card for now and after a few months and he have saved up some $, i will put it in aterm deposit for him and then let him have control of his weekly pay and see how it goes. We ar eoff on a holiday to Bali next week, he's paid his airfare and accom on his own no credit cards and also has $500 for sepnding money not a bad a achievement for 1 month. i think its about setting some short term goals and rewarding yourself with positive things like holidays or buys some shares or furniture or knocking $5k extra off the mortgage.
I am here to support him and i know it's a long term task but i love him and am here to help him, there are success stries out there so why not be one of them.
good luck everyone, make it happen
xxx
PS Kev you can turn your life around you know it !!
Unbelievable!!!!!
So many hundred's of people dying and withering within their own soul's because of a machine....
We had the movie Terminator... and now we have made them into reality just with pretty tunes and a few free games.
I am a smart, loving woman who has lost 14 years of her life and well over a million dollars to this horrendous past time. [....]I know that I have to take personal responsiblity but I didn't ask for this. One friday afternoon after a really bad week at week a colleague asked me to go for a quick coffee and put $20 dollars through a machine...Surprise, surprise we won. [....] Because most of us struggle with the day to day thing's that we don't really ever feel a part of, we turn to these monstrosities to give us a feeling of .......blank.......All you smart and gifted people out there, this is the problem. It is probably the only time that your brain shut's down. You don't feel overloaded.
[....]I cannot believe that from the age of 27 to age 45 I have lost myself in this world. [....]
Blessed be all. Fingers crossed we can all find a life which doesn't consume and destroy us all. [....]
I have recently been playing the pokies again. Its a quick reminder of the sad and depressing life I once had and will have again if I don't stop.
I started playing pokies when I was 18. Its the biggest regret and forever will be in my life. With ambitions to travel and study I didn't realise the next five years of a sickening habbit would dictate my life leaving all else out the door.
I remember the days walking out the gaming rooms empty handed, head held high yet a deep sinking feeling in my stomach. Ill thoughts and feelings, even suicide became a considerable option. Money was borrowed from 'Simon' to pay back 'Peter' then a lie told to 'Mark' and so on.
I never did drugs so my escape would be excessive sleep which would carry me through till the next day and the next day till the next pay. On many occasions I would lie to get out of work and being in bed for 20 or so hours became the norm. A relationship was not an option. Why would I bring someone down to hell with me? Who would like someone as pathetic and weak such as I? A vicious cycle with nobody to help as the shame of this was all kept a secret.
I finally got hypnotherapy which worked. I think the main reason it worked is because even if it didn't work i knew it was going to work. Make sense? All in the mind. This helped me go 'clean' for over a year. My first relationship, my first part of travel and knowing any social event was within reach as money was no longer an issue.
Im sure reading these blogs is all I need to overcome these demons which have haunted me for so long. I hope others reading can relate realising they are not alone and this is a serious problem yet it can be beat. I look forward to posting again and reading reminders of a dark path that can be avoided.
I personally hate the Poker Machines, after moving from WA last year I was suprised just how many of these machines there are.
My wife likes the machines and we have argued in the past about her wasting money in them and she won't listen when I explain to her that in the end the house ALWAYS wins.
Yesterday my wife went out with some friends for lunch and ended up playing the Pokies somewhere, her friends left but she stayed on and kept playing. When I got up this morning I found her crying in the kitchen, when I asked what was wrong she explained she had almost emptied our joint bank account into the Poker Machines - over $5000. Money we had saved to go on holiday, buy some furniture and some of it to pay the rent.
She said she is sorry and won't do it again but this is not the first time she has lost serious money on those things. I am still deciding what to do but honestly I think our relationship is over.
I cut up my bank card and applied for a virgin credit card, you can only get cash out at a National ATM, they wont work in tavern atms or casino atms, usually by the time I get in my car to go get more cash, I snap out of the pokies zone and go home, definitely has cut down my losses.
I am another statistic.... I have a major problem with Pokies. I lie to the 1's I love, I beg, borrow and steal to keep this life ruining cycle going. I hold a current Gaming License & have worked around & with pokies for 10 yrs ( you'd think I would know better). I blow my pay then have a sick feeling in my stomach about wat lie I am going to tell my partner this time. I have a beautiful 1 year old girl and a little boy due in 7wks. If I cant stop for them how will I eva stop. It scares me to think there is no way out of this. I have the mind power to say no more until next payday. Im weak I really need help to get this demon off my back...
Im so upset with myself! I have dreams and goals..and alot of them involve money..but i don't have any money because i pretty much live at the pokies!..I hide money, i lie, i borrow, i cant help it! i feel bored when im not playing and shitty when i do play! how do i get out of this? tonight i chopped up my card.. this means i have to go to the bank and get money out! which is a lot better..means i cant go to the ATM if i run out of money!...i have a good job, good house, good husband..and i really don't want to lose any of it to the pokies!!
it all started one day on the internet, i had never gambled or been in a casino before, i did not know any of the games or how odds worked.
i started to bet on some sports and i won money.
i think the problem with gambling is that the more you win the worse the addiction gets.
a few years past (started in 2007) and i was gambling day and night i could not get away from it, i would go to bed and wake up at 2am and want to go and gamble.
the real low point for me would have been playing blackjack online at $10,000 per hand, needless to say I could only afford one hand and lost!
i was married with a house and a buisness, it is now 2011 and i am divorced with no house, no buisness and i rent a room in a house share with 3 other people.
i came out to australia at the begining of this year having not gambled for about 1 year, however i started putting money in to these pokies (which are just everywere!) and had a nice win put in £100 and won $400, i cashed in and left with the money straight away. i then went back the next day and lost $400 inb the machine!
i went to the casino and put in £200 and won $700 back, again cashed up and left straight away, however as i was walking through the casino to the exit i was drawn to the roullette wheel, and before i knew it i was playing black jack and basically lost the lot and left with nothing.
i know that I get out of control, and the house always wins, i wouldnt say i a total adict but it does get the better of me.
having read what other people have put i can see that i am in the early stages of what would be a terrible life of gambling, and i want to get out now.
one thinhg i have learned and i will share with you all is this
IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW MUCH YOU WIN, EVEN IF YOU WALK AWAY WITH THE MONEY, AT SOME POINT EVEN IF ITS A FEW MONTHS LATER YOU WILL PUT THAT MONEY BACK IN TO THE GAME AND LOSE EVERYTHING, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ACTUALLY WINNING ON ANY TYPE OF GAMBLING! THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS.
Hi everybody please try and stop going to the pokies, it causes alot of depression [...] The pokies is the Devils Playground Ok STOP GOING!! Just think about it you lost so much money your not going to make it bak your just going to loose more and even if you win its never gonna make up for all the pain its caused you so just tell the pokies to [...] OFF and ok you lost money so what you got 2 arms 2 legs go live your life please or else think about the future i used to go and lost money as well i havnt been for a year now and trust me its not worth going there thanks.
Hey Guys, well seems like we all have something in common here. I am the same my gambling has slowly become more and more out of control. Il win money and put it back in, if I win big i.e. a grand and end up walking out with 200 a problem arises. I feel as though this money is not deserved and not mine and i will go back and put it back through. I'm sick of it I don't want this to be a factor in my life anymore. however as many of you have said whether we want it or not there is a good chance we will have the urge to play. Instead of opposing this urge I find it helps to look at the positives of living life without pokies not paying attention to how you want to play them but can't. It's crazy though. We're human beings and we have all become addicted to a lifeless machine that is having a highly detrimental impact on our lives. The power of the mind is ridiculously stronger than the machines we sit in front of. This forum is good as people are showing that they have issues and I am admitting I do to. But I think it would be good to have more updates on progress we are making. Every-time someone has a little win in the battle against this addiction, let this forum know. As a group we can empower ourselves far more than trying to take this one on one. Lets keep coming back to this forum and updating constantly. When people get somewhere support them, encourage them. We can all do this, I have no doubt at all, getting over this addiction is nothing compared to what the power of the human spirit is capable of. But we need to be in it together!!!
Dear suffers,in just 3months I have lost $7564 I know this exact amount cause I have been keeping track of all my loses..this makes hurts soo much cause I have a good job and I'm sick of lieing to my family about why I'm always broke..I have told myself that I will not gamble again after each session but I hAve said this so many times..the thing about pokies is that we are not addicted to winning, ever walk to a venue and put $50 and your up to $500 you don't take it out..you keep playing but at this point you have a reduced heart rate and it's not that much fun it's when your Down to $50 is when you your heart starts to pump, I have figured out why and read very carefully " this is because we are addicted to losing" as sad ad it sounds you will not be satisfied until you lose your last dollar..but there's hope..it's take 21 days to break a habit..going cold turkey is the best solution...ever been stuck home on a Saturday night while your mates are out having fun and meeting new people, think about what that money can bring to you..having savings and not having to worry about the next day..we can quit this, be determined and make your self a promise..good luck.
there's only one way to beat pokies. stop playing them. how do you do that? remove yourself from them. move to western australia. the only pokies are in perth casino. go there, and sign a lifetime voluntary exclusion.
problem solved.
I am from the USA but came across this site and reading all the comments seems to be very helpful to me. Seeing that I'm not alone and feel the exact same feelings as everyone else. I've been playing slot machines out of control now for about 8 year's. As one person on here said, "How did this happen?" I feel that same thing, I cannot believe this could happen to me. It crept up so slowly. I first went to a casino and spent $10. I watched other people pouring their money into the machines as fast as they could and I thought they were crazy. Now I see first hand what happens. I am so miserable and my self esteem is so low now. I know that is setting me up for more failure, so I am trying to pick myself up, tell myself I am a good person, and take care of myself better. I had never been a drinker in my life and then as time went on in the casino's, I started to drink heavily while sitting on the machines. This has caused me to put every penny I have to my name into the machine. Once I've had a few drinks I get totally out of control. But when I'm in a casino I can't stop drinking. I have picked up two bad habits and I've read that these two often go hand in hand. I think there should be no such thing as gambling, seeing as it ruins so many people's lives. If the economy wasn't so bad, I would try and sell my house and not live so close to these casino's, but they seem to be putting them up on every corner it seems. I did go to some GA meetings and stopped going and started going back to gambling. I have improved some, but I want to stop completely. I know another hobby would help a lot.
I can spend $3,000 in half a day on a machine and walk out as if nothing has happened.
I could win $5000, walk out, and be broke within a few days.
I will haggle anyone I deal with when buying goods (ie car, clothes, shoes) but the pokies haggle me.
I have lost big money on pokies.
Pokies are a disease and need to be controled as the effect that they have on MOST people is negative.
I can think of better ways to spend my money but when im at the pokies I don't care. Its not about the money, it becomes personal,(like a dirty affair)with a machine that sings lousy tunes and eats my money.
TODAY IS A NEW DAY.
IT'S MY DAY.
IT'S NO MORE POKIES.
Some say that it is hard to stop gambling as the withdrawal symptoms are like a drug addiction that will never go away. Others say that it gets easier after 2 weeks if you go cold turkey and dont go to a venue. I will keep you posted in 2 weeks of my update...
I am an addict. I work for myself and make very good money. But whatever comes in goes out. I lose at least 2 grand a week. I have a baby on the way and I shudder to think where all the money I have poured into the machines could have been spent. I have to stop. I have had some massive wins....but the winnings are spent chasing the next payout. Enough is enough. I hate it. I can't do it anymore. My family deserves better. So much better. No more!!!
May I suggest a 'solution' of sorts.
Each time you think of going to the pokies do this:
1. Withdraw the money you will usually use for the pokies, be it $100 or $1000
2. Imagine the kind of stuff that money will buy you.
3. Give that money to someone to keep for you
4. Do that each time, the pokies itch hits you
Hope that helps
[....]Recently I went on a holliday and play pokies on a cruise ship and won $27 but then lost $27 , so I essentially broke even, yes , I know it would have been a better outcome if I walked away with the $27 but I didnt have a net loss which is always a good thing.
TIPS:
- limit yourself to $5-$10 in total.
- play on the lowest machine possible ( I was playing on a 2cent=1credit machine )
- play with minium bets ( ie bet 1credit per line )
- play all lines ( optional ) - I just did this to make sure that if there was anything that was a winning on the board then I would get a payout.
- have two seperate cups, one for the money that you have started with, and one for the money you have won, put all the winnings into the winnings cup AS SOON as you win them and do not touch them, keep playing until you have emptied the cup full of the money you have started with , and then STOP AND WALK AWAY ( I just made this one up, I may have kept the $27 I won if I had implemented it!! )
- Final tip: put credits in $1 or $2 at a time, dont just feed in $50 notes, this is surefire way to lose losts of money quickly because you will be tempted to keep playing until you gambled all of the $50 away
I ended up betting only 40cents per game ( 2cents perline and all 20lines ) on minium bet.
I work at a local tavern and i can't stand the pokie machines. I got in trouble the other day for giving people their payouts in 50notes rather then 20's, because i know it might discourage them from blowing it again.
Its suppose to be my job to promote the slots.. give free coffees to the lovely ladies who come in to play. But i feel so horrible when they walk out after blowing several hundred.. every day!
It's a dishonest business but it pays my wages and the pub will be sunk without them.[....]
Thankyou Govt. Victoria for supplying this forum,. I am a gambling addict and my ugly career spans 13 years...yeah unlucky for some. Parted with some 300K to the pokie coffers. I have no home. I share accomodation and some days don't have the rent. I earn 100k a year...nuts aye!!. Im a 40 year old woman. Single ....have difficulty maintaining relationships...yet committed to pokies. I am separated from my 17 year old beautiful daughter because I have chosen gambling over family. I have burdened my family with my gambling issues. There is no one out there who can help us, this I know. I have been to GA....am currently seeing a psychologist (for those with addictions these guys are usually free...just as well because by the time the account is due to be paid there will be no money)
Living with a gambling problem is a living hell. I go to work, I work in an underground mine. I work long hours, in hot conditions. I do enjoy my work however, I work this job so I can go and give it to a local venue. The staff and management there seem quite unmoved by the amount of money I can put through....fortunately there is a 1000 daily limit on my ATM card, or otherwise they would get whatever my bank balance is. The sick depressed feeling is here today. I have 2 more days before I go back to work. All I want to do is sleep the days away. I have little money for food and fuel. Last week I had 4800 in my bank today I have 100. Someone posted that WA has no pokies ...is this really true? My psychologist does tell me that addiction is bought on by unresolved issues. If I moved to WA...there maybe no pokies, but I will still have the unresolved issues....whatever they are? She cant tell me and I don't know what they are. All we know is what we do and the living hell that goes with it. Gambling Addicts have lost all rational and logical control so how are we suppose to help ourselves. Our Governments/Gaming regulators need to accept more responsibility.....and ask do we really want gambling as part of our society, what benefits does it bring to our families and communities? Take the pokies out of the suburbs and towns for starters. Confine them to casinos Australia wide. Help us ...please
Kev again - Thought i would pecil my feelings, had a bad weekend on the pokies and gambling on keno and horses, i am in one of those moods that you cannot snap out of, i dont think i have been happy in a long time, the more years this goes on the worse i have become turning away from everyone.
I cannot believe somebody could gamble for so many years and never walk out winning, i am so irritable with Christmas just around the corner i cannot muster the strength to even smile.
That is all i thought this was a good idea but now i dont know.
I started gambling on pokies in the year 2000. Up until then, i never liked them, and found them totally boring, wondering how on earth could anyone find any entertainment in watching 5 reels consistanttly spin over and over again. Then one day after work, while having drinks at the pub, i joined some friends who were having a flutter in the poker machine room, and decided to join them by jumping on a machine myself and playing $10 at about 20 cents per hit. I really had no idea what was happening on the screen and was almost down to my last dollar when one of my friends jacked up the betting amount to a dollar a hit and the next thing you know, i got 5 of a kind and won $60 just like that. My friend told me to continue playing, but i said no, and took the money straight out and found myself with extra money in my wallet which is was not used to as i was used to spending at least $40 on shouting drinks and walking out with only about $10 on me for the night, but this time, i looked in my wallet and saw $60 and thought, wait a minute, if i could pull this off at least once a week, i would have a free night every week.
So the next week we went there, i tried to play and win the same money, much to my dismay, i lost my $10 and that was it, i never played again.
Then a few months later, one of my mates wanted a lift home nearly every day after work, but sometimes he wanted me to stop into the pub so he could play pokies for abit and i just hung out with him. First couple of times i just put $5 in the machine to pass the time, and kept on winning at least $50 on each occasion, and ended up getting hooked from there on.
I continued to play 20cents for at least a year until one
of my mates increased it to a dollar bets in which i won
$300 on the first hit. From there, i got hooked, and started to be $1 hits all the time. I never lost more than $200 at a time until one day i blew over $500, my whole wage at the time, in just 2 hours and i was devastated. That was the start of my downward spiral, which has led me to lose thousands and thousands of dollars, over the next 10 years.
I cant keep count of how much i have lost, but i can tell you one thing, pokies are a silent killer, and they can
destroy your life. I cant begin to describe the hell that
i have put myself through by getting addicted to them.
I did end up seeking help through GA, and it helped me out for 2 years, although i that time, i used all my energies into playing keno, to forget the pokies, which just defeated the purpose, because i started to over gamble on them as well, but the damage was no were near the damage that pokies did. In that 2 years i ended up being debt free, and only gambled with what i could afford on keno, but then when i relapsed and started pokies again, i got myself into 3 credit card debts, 5 pay day loan debts, and blew my entire wage fortnight after fortnight.
I have come to realise that once you have the pokie bug, its there for life, and you need consistent treatment, in order to maintain staying away from it.
Its like when you are prescribed blood pressure tablets for life, you have to take it for the rest of you life in order to make sure your blood pressure is stable.
Same thing with the pokies bug, once you stop treatment, it will only return, and you have no control over it, no matter how much mind power you think you have, as its a disease that seems to be there permanently once you have inherited it.
Consistent treatment is vital, in order to maintain strength in the mind to avoid those life & money draining mutants.
Its day one for me, in this quest to never touch a poker machine every again, in my life.
I love the slots too. But really really hate losing. Some things I do to prevent too much of a loss.
1. I pay my household bills, and stock up the fridge
2. I buy myself some nice things
3. I treat my good friend to a nice meal
4. Then I visit the slots
5. Wait for next pay day
6. Not very happy but I do have some nice things to wear and I eat well
They ruin lives! Got paid last night and bang, half my wage straight through. Drinking and gambling, bad combo. Been hooked for years after putting 10 bucks through after lunch one day, i won 8 grand and since then i reckon i would have put at least 5 times that amount back through. In debt up to my ears, bills not getting paid on time and i dont know what im going to do for food this week. On the flip side, i have admitted to people close to me that i am an addict and reading peoples comments on this site has helped put things into perspective. There is much more to life than the feeling of despair and ashament that the pokies bring. Its time to knuckle down, stay away from these venues and experience some of the more beautiful things life has to throw me
I believe that the machines also are programmed to give the impression that you "nearly" won more often than is statistically valid. This is obviously designed to mess with your head! They have to meet a payout ratio, but do not have to be honest.
[website moderator: Thanks for your comment. This kind of "near miss" technology is specifically excluded in the Commission Standards which electronic gaming machines have to compy with in Victoria. The Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation (VCGR) audit and have the machines independently tested to make sure they do not behave in the way described here. The Commission Standards are available at www.vcgr.vic.gov.au]
After reading these gamblers comments I want peop;e to know that I am a mature age woman who gambled pokies for over 10 years and now after wonderful coucelling through gamblers help I have for the past four years been a volunteer on the Peer Connection program. It is an anonymous phone support progran for people who are gambling and want to stop It is very successful in conjunction with councelling and very rewarding to me. Callers know that we have experienced and understand all that they are feeling and we do not ever critize or condem them at any stage during this long slow process to stop but the good thing is that they know there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you can get over the urges and eventually stop.
Have been reading everyones stories and thoughts and is good to feel im not alone in this. Those [****] machines have really [****] up my life. Financially namley, but of course that has repucusions on everything else in your life including faimly, friends and self worth.
Have just gone and lost my pay for the third week running, took my 30 mins to loose $600 and i was only betting a $1.25 a press. Just chewd it. Of course i am keen to go back and try and recover my losses but am out of cash. I really want to quit and had nearly completed a month when i slipped back into it and had a big win, that was it. Spent everything on me since, [****] hopeless.
You think i would have learned after 10 years of doing it. Alas i am addicted.
I recently broke up with girlfriend of ten years who have known since highschool and still love, due to my constant lack of funds. She couldn't respect me and who could blame her, i don't respect myself.
Thats the bad news. The good news is i will quit and day by day i will slowly build some pride back into myself. After a week i will start to feel happy again but you must be careful! All it takes is $1.
Thanks for reading and i wish you all the best. Make that decision and stick to it!
A friend of mine told me that everything happens for a reason. I don't know what reason it is that I succumbed to gambling on the pokies.
Way back in 2003, a colleague popular to foretelling ones future told me that I will face a legal suit due to money. I laughed at it since it is nowhere possible that I will be in that position. I have savings and I have been doing good in my career as a banker and have not been into any vice but nicotine. I thought it is very far from happening and her predictions will never be true.
In 2004, in a hotel bar, a stranger foreigner was telling me that he can tell the future. So I made him look at my right palm and his face changed. He declined telling me what he saw and just said that I will be in a big trouble. Just like my ex-colleague now, I brushed aside his remark. How could it happen when I am on top of my career? Then, things changed in my life when I first faced the pokie machine Queen Of The Nile in late 2004.
We were done with a fine lunch in a hotel with a lady I still endear and on our way back to the parking lot when we passed by the door to the casino. My lady made a remark on the casino and as a host, I asked her if she wants to take a look inside. She was very reluctant as I remember but my offer nailed every inner resistance she had. We went inside and from the very first time, I saw what slot machines look like. I did not even know how it works until I saw her put cash inside and started to hit the buttons. She wanted me to play as well and I remember saying no and will just watch her. To my mind then, there is no way the machines can be beaten because it is computer programmed. Also, I can not be seen playing the pokies as it could cost me my job as a banker. I thought we will not stay long in the casino as the intention is only to take a look, but when beer is ordered, I realized will stay longer. A few hours later, my 100 dollars were gone, her 300 dollars also. It was painful for me but none to her, telling me that her losses were none compared to what she was losing in Australia that had amounted to some fortunes already.
It was the start. I got hooked up and everytime we went out, we ended up in the casino, playing the pokies. She already left the country and I still went to the casino playing the pokies almost everynight chasing my losses one after the other. I got the feeling that when you start losing and continue losing, it is like you feel nothing at all anymore.
All my savings were gone dry, even the money I left for my son I even used. I had maxed out all my cards. Too much debts. This kind of life I hid to my family and friends and I do not know what will happen if ever they learned of this.
Now, it struck me. Was my colleagues prediction seven years ago of being sued for money coming to me soon? Will the prediction of the stranger at the bar will now be happening?
I have defaulted on my debts once in a while but I still manage to keep afloat by updating my debt by sometimes another debt before it goes to the credit card lawyers to sue me. When it happens, I ran the risk of losing my job as a banker. My wife does not know how much I earn and sixty percent of my earnings just go to paying card interest of medium four digit dollar proportion.
I have not gone to the pokies for a month now simply because I do not have money anymore to insert in those machines. I am living with debts. I need to straighten up and I hope the future will be kind to reverse the predictions on me.
I have read the stories and I can relate, I have lost thousands in the pokies, you can't win, it is useless trying to beat them.
Just today I lost $5, I could have bought myself 2 middies of VB, pokies are for losers, what a waste!
Back again - I was reading the new posts and just started shaking, the lives these machines have ruined, arguments with our families, been down that road many times.
Went back in on Sunday, i am going to leave if i double my money, i more than tripled it still walked out with nothing.
We are slaves to these machines we can not walk out, you get in a zone it is not the money, we are compulsive gamblers.
We fool ourselves each time we have money in our pockets, it is going to be different,30+ years i have done this, ruined birthdays, anniversaries, holidays you name it i have ruined it by spending more than i should have.
I have to stop, i am too old for this, one day at a time, in fact today is day two, you have to find a positive!
All the best - Kev
I am making the disiion to stop gambelling, I have said it to myself i dunno how many times, I think about it everyday, im on day 2 so far and I tell you its a struggle to get out of bed, cause I dont want to go through the shit that comes with this addiction, I have lost touch with my mum i feel their is nothing I can do to make this up to her, I feel that my friends are not my friends anymore and that they dont understand what is happening to me. I spend most of my day crying bout what i have done to my family and my life, but i try to get through it one day at a time. Yeah sure I might want to go to the point that i think of nothing else but there are other things that i want to do to, like go shopping for clothes, go out to dinner, go on a holiday. I have been trying to think of those things, before my slip up a couple of days a go i had not gone for three weeks now thats the longest i have not gone in 4 years. I am proud that I can do that and I think that I can do it again, maybe for longer this time...
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