Gambling is Fun

Hey everyone.  I don’t have anything whatsoever to talk about soccer-wise.  I mean there is stuff to talk about, I just don’t feel like it.  Instead, I’ve decided to discuss my new habit that is rapidly starting to seem like an addicition.  I’m talking of course about online gambling.

 

Valkeakoski is terribly boring for a person like me.  I know I’ve said it many times before, but I just can’t seem to enjoy the city.  In Enkoping (Sweden, for my new readers)  I at least lived within walking distance to everything so I could take a walk and kill some time.  Here though there’s nothing within walking distance.  And it’s not the same going around town on a bike.  You can’t really enjoy the environment and area when you’re going on a bike.  I’d go on day trips to Helsinki or Tampere, but they are really expensive.  As far as I can tell a return bus ticket to Helsinki would cost a minimum of 40 euros.  In Sweden the Enkoping to Stockholm trip is a similar distance and costs half that.  As a result I haven’t yet visited Helsinki and spend far more time in my apartment than I did in Enkoping.  That is what has made me turn to the dark world of online poker and sports betting.

 

Most people reading won’t know this about me, but I love online poker.  I discovered it in college along with two of my roommates and we played a lot.  In fact, we cheated (too hard to explain how really) and eventually got banned for life from one website, Full Tilt Poker J.  It’s kind of funny now to think of the fact that I’m banned from life from something haha.  Anyway I mostly stopped playing entirely after college and never deposited more than $50 at a time.  It was just a fun thing to do that killed a bunch of time and gave me the possibility of making some money (which I did as a matter of fact).  Before now, I had never done sports betting of any kind.  However, the combination of intense boredom and the terrible influence of my teammate Kris has tumbled me into the world of gambling.

I typed bwin into google and this popped up.  I had to post it, right?

First, I should say that I have not and would never bet on Haka or any team in our league.  I know Finland had a match-fixing situation not too long ago and I don't want that idea to even begin to get into people's minds.  That said, about two weeks ago, I signed up on a sports betting site, bwin.com, and deposited $40.  In two days I had lost everything.  But, you know how gambling works, I decided to put in another $40.  This time though, I set a limit of $100 a month to put into gambling sites.  That’s sports betting and poker together.  I haven’t been doing so well, so I’ve decided to make wild, over-the-top bets to hopefully win a ton of money.  This could be a very good weekend for me financially!  Or I could be out $100 bucks.  Oh well, it’s adding some excitement.  Maybe if I start doing well I’ll put my PokerStars name on here and take on challengers!  Worst case though is I lose a small amount of money.  If that’s the case, I’ll think of it more like paying for multiple hours of entertainment rather than money down the tube for nothing.  I mean, how many hours of entertainment can you get with $40?  Well now that you mention it, I could buy a video game with that money and play indefinitely.  But I don’t need your smart-ass back talk.  Just let me enjoy my gambling!

 

My only other thing to mention is that I recently completed the planning of a vacation with Celia.  We’re going to Morocco!  It should be really fun, and I’m hoping she doesn’t come to her senses and decide I’m not worth vacationing with between now and then!  If you’re looking for a vacation destination I would recommend taking a look at Morocco if you go in the spring or autumn.  Winter is too cold at night and summer is too hot.  It’s also quite cheap.  Our entire 10-day vacation will cost about 800 euros not including food and souvenirs.  And I’m splitting that cost with Celia (unless my sports bet win this weekend!) so I’m only gonna spend 400-550 euros once you include the things I’ll buy in the country.  It’s the type of price even a cheapskate like me can afford!

An actual piece of art from the Tate Museum of Modern Art in London.  Better than a mirror.

 

That’s about it for now.  I still love my apartment, though I can’t figure out how to turn the radiators on.  My bike is working fine, though the ride each way to training is getting a bit tedious and the extra workouts I’ve been doing have made the ride difficult on my legs.  We play IFK Marieheim tomorrow, and I’ll talk about it right after or on Saturday.  I’m not starting, but I hope to get in and make a positive impact.  We’ve had a really good week of training so the mood around the team is positive.  I know I’ve said that before every game, but I’ve meant it every time and I still do.  Root for us and if you’re in Valkeakoski come out and cheer us on tomorrow!

 

The meme.  This one is for the alchoholics out there haha: