So I was on the internet the other day, as always, reading blogs and I stumbled upon one that mentioned gambling as a path to hell. I must admit, this made me laugh right out loud. Anyone who believes that there is an actual place that you can go to called hell has a few screws loose.

They did bring up some good points however on gambling addiction which is defined as gambling when it becomes compulsive and the person is no longer thinking rationally about what they are doing. The way I look at gambling it’s not a bad thing, a ‘sin’ or something to be ashamed of. I believe, like many modern day philosophers, that as long as I am not hurting my self or others there should be no problem. From here we can debate what the definition of ‘hurt’ is but no matter how you look at it casual gambling using a rational mind, there is nothing wrong with it.

Taking a quote from this article: As the time passes, lying becomes a characteristic feature of the gambler and the family persons learns not to trust the individual. Gambling is always associated with physical symptoms like anxiety, headaches, and depression leading to smoking and alcohol consumption.

I feel that this statement is misleading. It is not the gambling that is wrong, it is the person. Do we not have control over our own actions? Do we not have a choice to make in every second of our lives? If you really think hard about these questions the only answer you have left is yes. These ‘symptoms’ of gambling are just mere choices that the person is making. Gambling does not have the power, the people do and they make the choice to throw it away.

If you feel differently about this, I’d like to hear your thoughts.

We all know about sports doping. Well, welcome to the next frontier; brain doping. People in a range of fields are reaching for a variety of prescription pills to enhance what counts most in this modern life.

Despite its side effects, classical musicians, academics, corporate executives, and even professional poker players have embraced these drugs to clarify their minds, improve concentration or control their emotions.

“There isn’t any question about it – they made me a much better player,” said Paul Phillips, 35, who credited the narcolepsy pill Provigil and the attention deficit drug Adderall with helping him earn more than $2.3 million as a poker player.

The drugs improved his concentration during high-stakes tournaments, he said, allowing him to better track all the action at his table.

“Poker is the sort of game that a lot of people can play well sporadically, but tournaments are mostly won by people who can play close to their best at all times,” Phillips said. “It requires significant mental effort to play in top form fro 12 hours a day, five days in a row.”

However because these drugs are so new their physiological effects on the brain are well understood the drugs haven’t been tested extensively on healthy people. People who take the drugs say that they aren’t giving them an unfair advantage, but merely allow them to make the most of their hard earned skills.

In an article published last week in the journal Nature, Morein-Zamir and Barbara J. Sahakian, a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge say that clear guidelines are needed to decide what is fair. It may be reasonable to ban the drugs in competitive situations, such as taking the SAT. However in other cases, they wrote, people such as airport screeners, air-traffic controllers or combat soldiers might be encouraged to take them.

When it comes to betting, there are no limits. You can bet on anything you want from politics, to weather, finance or any sport that is in existence.

First thing’s first, before anything you must be able to work out exactly how much you can afford to loose. This may sound like basic betting advice but if you do happen to have a bad run you’ll know that the money lost wont effect other aspects of your life.

Two terms that you probably already know are Stakes and Odds.  When you place a bet your stake is the amount of money you are willing to gamble. Odds, in the world of betting are the perceived probability of a win (pertaining to what ever you’re betting on).

When it comes to odds there are different ways to read them.

Odds Against- This is when the bookmaker offers a return which is more than double the amount staked for a win bet.  If your stake is $1, a winning bet at 2/1 will return you $2 plus your original stake = $3 total

Evens- This is when the bookmaker offers a return at double the amount staked. Again if you bet $1 and win you will return $1 plus your stake = $2 total

Odds On- This is when the bookmaker offers a return that is less than double the amount staked. A successful $1 bet at 1/2 will return $0.50 plus your stake = $1.50 total.

These are just the basics, but the more you bet the better decisions you will make through your experiences.

Good luck and happy betting!