What's the largest sum of money you've ever placed on a single bet?

Soldato
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About £200 too, I don't do it anymore, I found it was taking over my life where all I could think about was what the next bet would be, kicked the habit about 2 years ago.

It really is a downward spiral as you start to increase stakes.
 
Soldato
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I carried on with the same numbers and years later I still haven’t won more than £48 since the £1900

I'd be interested to know, can you do some quick maths on how much you've spent on it over the years?

FWIW I can afford the weekly layout

I think this is the difference. I sometimes refer to it as 'stupidity tax'. I'm sure there are plenty of people that really shouldn't be putting money towards this each week. Is it something like for £1 you have a 1 in 60 chance of winning a tenner? Those are some pretty terrible odds. At the same time, you've got to be in it to win it! So, if you can spare the cash, yeah, why not a pound or two a week for even the slightest chance of winning millions.
 
Man of Honour
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How can NIC be a stealth tax when it's an official tax?
Technically it isn't a tax (rather a social security contribution), although it behaves a lot like one, which is why it could be considered a not very stealthy tax. But that was just an example we can ignore that example and move on, others claim Student Loan repayments are a 'stealth tax', which I disagree with too but consider to have more merit than classing gambling as a stealth tax.

I can't countenance having gambling as a 'tax'. It's nonsense in my eyes, we may as well call anything that costs money a tax. I understand that statistically lower income households are more likely to buy lottery tickets etc but really that still doesn't make it a tax because it's all optional. You can't refuse to pay income tax but you can refuse to play the lottery. When I was poor I paid zero 'tax' on gambling but I did pay income tax - I didn't start gambling until I was not poor. Are football tickets a tax on the poor as well?
 
Soldato
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I did the same numbers every week, (my D.O.B. and my wife’s), until the Wednesday draw was introduced, then did those numbers twice per week, around 3 years later I won £1900, was I doing it wrong?
I carried on with the same numbers and years later I still haven’t won more than £48 since the £1900, now that I know that it’s a scam, should I stop?
FWIW I can afford the weekly layout.

That is not the point, they just give out little nuggets from their gold mine to encourage others to play lol.

There is no right or wrong way to play it since its just dumb luck.

I know loads of people who have been spending £5 - £10 a week since the lottery began and they never won more than £10.
 
Man of Honour
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That is not the point, they just give out little nuggets from their gold mine to encourage others to play lol.

There is no right or wrong way to play it since its just dumb luck.

I know loads of people who have been spending £5 - £10 a week since the lottery began and they never won more than £10.

I appreciate that dave, the thing is I can lay out £9 per week on it and it doesn’t dent my lifestyle, and who knows, maybe one week it’ll be my dumb luck that it comes up, if I ain’t in it, I can’t win it.

I'd be interested to know, can you do some quick maths on how much you've spent on it over the years?





I think this is the difference. I sometimes refer to it as 'stupidity tax'. I'm sure there are plenty of people that really shouldn't be putting money towards this each week. Is it something like for £1 you have a 1 in 60 chance of winning a tenner? Those are some pretty terrible odds. At the same time, you've got to be in it to win it! So, if you can spare the cash, yeah, why not a pound or two a week for even the slightest chance of winning millions.

Gimme a break Andy, History, Geography, English and French were my bag at school, maths and science were and are a complete mystery to me, I don’t care if I laid out £2200 to win my £1948, who knows, I MIGHT have hit a jackpot, but I couldn’t if I hadn’t bought a ticket.
 
Caporegime
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29 Jan 2008
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58,898
I mean if we're talking notional value then millions, on the Bund futures contract on Eurex, back in the 00s.

1 lot = 100k EUR, so as soon as you're throwing around clip sizes into the hundreds (or even thousands if you fancy yourself as a big swinging ****) then you're talking tens of millions (or hundreds of millions) of euros.
 
Associate
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I don't live too far away from Aintree, I've been to the Grand National a couple of times. I limit myself to £10/£20 per race using the on-course bookies. It's pretty much luck anyway! Good atmosphere though.
 
Caporegime
Joined
22 Nov 2005
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45,167
probably a few hundred with matched betting back in the day.

not really a bet though when you can't lose money.
I'd never gamble outside of 2p/5p/10p coin pushers
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Jan 2010
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3,517
Apart from the lottery, £1 on a World Cup accumulator bet many years ago, around 14 games, I think. Excitement built as my first 9 games went my way, and I was looking at a potential huge winning pot, then badly let down by Denmark (I think?) losing in the 10th game. The other games went my way, which was horrifying.

Immediately recognised this is how problems start, and haven't betted since.
 
Soldato
Joined
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8,312
£1,500 on Mayweather to beat McGregor @ 1/3. Still can't believe to this day that the odds got that long - it was possibly the greatest boxer of all time against a guy who has never set foot in a boxing ring :p

Aside from that I've never bet more than £20 on a sporting bet. Probably had about £100 - 200 in the middle on a single hand in cash game poker though
 
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