I am interested to hear the first memories the other members have of gambling. I'll start off by giving you mine.
As a youngster, I would go the football matches four of five times a season. My father had no interest in it all and I was only allowed to go on the supporters bus when some of my father's friends were going. This was a bit problematic as they were Hearts supporters and I supported Celtic however the guys on the bus took me to their heart and a wee boy dressed head to toe in green and white would accompany them to both the home and away games. The bus journey used to take about two hours each way to the games in Glasgow and much less for the games in Edinburgh.
The grown ups would upturn a broken seat on the bus to create a flat playing surface and play three card brag with all of the change used as the antes. By the time they were almost home all of the smash (low value coins for those who do not recognise the term) would be posted blind and any player who wished to call would have to play triple the bet. Some of the hands near the end of the journey were wild. I used to watch quietly taking it all in and enjoying the spectacle and this is probably the thing that igniting my love of gambling. I never played a hand in those games as i was far too young and even when I was old enough the stakes were too high for me at the time. I stopped going in 1986, the year that Hearts nearly won the league and were beaten on the last day of the season to lose the title. During that season Hearts beat Celtic at Parkhead and this had never happened in my lifetime. By that time I was in my late teens and no longer the cute wee boy covered in green and white. The Celtic supporters peppered the supporters bus with bottles and stones as it left and my urge to go to the matches was never the same again. The memory of the 3 card brag lives on forever though.
I suppose true gambling by its meaning would be playing cards with my parents with pennies. We would each have 20p - 50p to start with and it would be for fun. I think the game was gin rummy although I could be wrong on that as it was a long time ago.
My first fruit machine memory though was playing 2p slots on a caravan site we used to go to. My mum would play them. I would play them at Butlins in the arcade and I think this is where my gambling came from.
Always remember my dad winning a £100 jackpot on a fruity by hitting the button to gamble the value up on a ladder. I remember him having £25 on that ladder and I wondered why he wasn't taking it as to me, at about age 9, it was a huge amount of money. I remember him saying that when he played a fruity he had x amount he was willing to lose then he would walk. That is why he gambled on the ladder. He wasn't bothered if he lost as he had a set budget to have some fun then walked. He split the hundred between him, mum, my nanna and grandad and me. Responsible gambling really. Wish I followed his rule in my early years.
My nanny used to love the dogs and my dad enjoyed the horses on a Saturday. He taught me how to read form and on a Saturday he would treat me to a 77p bet on 3 horses. I was really good at picking winner's.
I'll never blame my parents for me getting into gambling but now you've made me think back with another great thread, it existed in my childhood days a fair bit.
My parents by the way, are really sensible with money. They just enjoyed a flutter.
Probably when I was 14/15. Me and about 7 of my friends would all go over to my friends house, we’d all bring some kind of alcohol and a few pizzas, we all chucked a fiver into the pot and we played poker all night until somebody won. That went on to playing online when I turned 18, then discovered slots and that’s when gambling became an unsociable activity for me. No matter how much I win or lose these days, I can honestly say I’ve never had as much fun gambling as I did back then, I’d love to experience that again.
I had not realised my post had not been completed and I did not tell the whole story.
On the supporters but there was a guy called Thomas who would sometimes play. People had to take turns as there was only room for about five or six people at once. That's why all the change always mounted up towards the end of the journey as people would lose and then someone else would join with more change.
I liked Thomas as he was older than the kids on the bus but not by all that much and had a lot of time for us. He was however a terrible card player and only ever bet when he had a really good hand and he was regarded as a scaredy cat so people could bluff him easily. Thomas had won the penultimate hand towards the end of the journey and it was a kind of unwritten rule that the person with the most change would put it all in blind. This meant anyone who wanted to call would have to bet at least three times that amount.
Well, Thomas reluctantly put all the coins in the middle and declared that he would play the hand blind. One of the other players in the game was the "big man", a guy called Gus who was a bit of a bully and an all round pratt. Gus looked at his cards and placed a bundle of notes on the upturned seat and the eyes were now all on Thomas. Was Gus just being his usual self - the eyes all looked at Thomas -would he just give up and be made a fool of by Gus bluffing as he often did?
I can still remember the howls of laughter when Thomas asked Gus "How much do you have left over?" and said he would bet that amount. All of a sudden the bus was quiet and Thomas sat there stone faced until Gus eventually threw his cards at him and muttered something like lucky ******* in his usual overly aggressive manner.
I will never forget when Thomas showed that he only had a pair of fours and the huge howls of laughter aftewards directed at Gus. What Gus had not known is that Thomas had won £100 in the social club that day on the fruit machine and just wanted to take a stand for once. That story is still talked of to this day. I do not think I totally understood it at the time and the recounting over the years by the folks that were there just keeps it alive all the more. To me it was a modern day David and Goliath. He bought all of the kids ice creams on the walk back up the road with his winnings.
when i won 2500x :)))
when I was a kid getting ready to go to a Celtic match my dad would let me pick a coupon out from the pools list in the paper. I’d pick like 10 matches for £1 and the 9p tax 😂 think I won twice in like 4 years lol
I went to Northern Ireland when I was about 19 or 20 when I was invited by one of my friends. At that time it was more common to visit social clubs than pubs.
At the door of the social club I was looked up and down as they did not recognise me however as soon as I spoke and revealed a broad scottish accent everything was fine and I was warmly invited in. The boys in the club were a great laugh and as it was Friday night they were doing a coupon and eveyone had to choose a match. As the guest I was allowed to choose first (no brainer I thought,Celtic vs Dumbarton in the cup).This turned out to be the coupon buster and the session after lunch on the Sunday afternoon involved me taking a bit of stick. Thankfully I had not picked Rangers and lost, I'd never have been allowed back.
Pitch n toss or pigeon toss as I knew it as a youngster. 20p normally, closest to wall wins. I would say around year 7 so whatever age that is. Also rattles for the highstakes gamblers. 4 £1 coins, shake in closed fist and one player calls heads or tails need a 3-1 majority to take it all.