Ten years ago, I gambled in a rather uncontrolled manner, but eventually I set clear rules for myself, which I still follow today.

I started betting on soccer and hockey as a weekend pastime. Back then, I didn’t really worry about the rules, I didn’t increase my bets much, and I bet just for fun. But this laid-back approach was a bit chaotic, and the first problems started cropping up. I also discovered that you could place bets in the afternoon and then, if things didn’t go your way, pop into the betting shop again. I can’t say I was doing badly. But with that many bets, it’s impossible to stick to a system, and sometimes you just make a mistake. I just didn’t feel like I needed to do anything about it. And then suddenly my monthly bankroll wasn’t enough, and I started borrowing from friends. This whole uncontrolled mess lasted a year and a half, during which I went through this cycle: loan—win—pay off debt—loan—win—pay off debt, and so on and so forth. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even keep that under control and racked up debts that were impossible to pay off at that point. At that moment, I appreciated my family’s support and realized that this wasn’t the best path to take. Naturally, a break followed, which lasted about a year. But even before that, I’d realized that betting for fun had long since ceased to be fun, and it wasn’t really an enjoyable activity at all. I knew I didn’t want to give it up for good, though, because in smaller, controlled doses, it’s actually quite nice. I used my “free” time to study various guides, tips, and tutorials online about which path to take to succeed in this area. I found my own way. I have my limits, my plan, and I stick to it. Betting is finally fun for me again. Whatever I win, I bet again. I’m learning a lot about the sports I bet on, and I don’t expect to win all the time. I think about how I’m playing and how much I’m betting. In my opinion, there’s no other way to do it. I’ve already gotten carried away once, and thanks to that, I know that a certain amount of discipline is necessary and that I need to use my head when betting.