Responsible Gambling Awareness Day

Sky_Andrew

Today, Monday 19^th October, is Responsible Gambling Awareness Day. Whilst we take responsible gambling seriously every day at Sky Betting and Gaming we are joining up with other companies to promote awareness of how to keep gambling fun. You may have noticed the banners on our sites and probably had an email from us reminding you of all the ways we try to help you enjoy your play at Sky in a safe and responsible way.

 

Did you know that we survey a large number of customers every month and that on average over 95% tell us that we are a responsible company? Well, we don’t want to sit back and just accept that, we always want to do more, we believe in better.

 

We thought it would be good to take the opportunity to pose a few questions, to get your thoughts and ideas and to generally open up discussion about we what do, and what you do, to make sure you stay in control. So here goes:

 

• What do you do, and what advice would you give to others – particularly new players – about managing your bankroll, handling bad beats and taking time out to avoid tilting?

 

• We offer deposit limits and 24 hour cooling off periods (as well as longer-term exclusions) for people who want to better manage their spend or take time out. Do you use these? Do they help? Can you think of other tools we could offer to help you?

 

To help keep this on-topic lets remember that there are already discussions elsewhere on the community regarding badbeats, RNG fairness etc. Share your thoughts with us on the above questions and help us keep making Sky Poker better.

Thanks
Andrew

BADBOY985

MANAGING YOUR BANKROLL AS A NEW PLAYER IS SIMPLE TO START WITH FOR A NEW PLAYER START WITH A SMALL AMOUNT YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOOSE SAY £10 ONLY EVER RISK A  MAXIMUM 10% ON ANY GAME OR TOURNIMENT START BY LEARNING TO MAKE YOUR £10 LAST WHEN YOUVE MASTERED THAT START TRYING TO GROW IT BY MOVING YOU 10% RISK TO YOUR BANKROLL AMOUNT.
IVE FOLLOWED THIS FOR MY FIRST  YEAR I HAD TO DEPOSIT £10 MONTHLY 2ND YEAR EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS MY LAST DEPOSIT WAS £6 ON 9 SEPTEMBER 09 AND I CURRENTLY HAVE OVER £100 IN MY ACCOUNT.
MOST IMPORTANTLY ENJOY PLAYING AND DONT GET OBSESSED BY TRYING TO MAKE A BIG PROFIT

Hale72

How about increasing the cooling off period.

Many people talk here about having a short time away but 24 hours usually isn't long enough.

How about a 3 day, 7 day or 14 day option as well?

You can self exclude but I think the minimum is 6 months. Well this too, is way too long for the player who wants to take just a short time out to reflect and come back more refreshed.

GREGHOGG

In Response to Re: Responsible Gambling Awareness Day:

How about increasing the cooling off period. Many people talk here about having a short time away but 24 hours usually isn't long enough. How about a 3 day, 7 day or 14 day option as well? You can self exclude but I think the minimum is 6 months. Well this too, is way too long for the player who wants to take just a short time out to reflect and come back more refreshed.
Posted by Hale72

I completely agree with this, i once excluded myself for 24 hours, but wished it could be a week.

Grimstar30

A wider range of cooling off periods would be good and easy to implement.

I also use the deposit limit option, this means I can not go over my allocated poker budget per week.

To be fair Sky really is very good when it comes to protecting us all from the illness of gambling addiction.

The 'no way back' policy of if you do click the year off button, should be retained. If a person felt the needed to take that amount of time away from Sky then there was obviously an issue there that needs to be addressed.

Dave

oh and about BRManagement:

I stick rigidly to the play with 5% rule. I started the other month with £20 and have slowly but surely grinded this up to £29. It may not be glorious but I am playing within my means and can therefore handle bad beats, it stops me tilting and helps me play 'better' poker.

mr_mbro

Hi Andrew,
I have, in the past used the 24hr cooling off period, but when i tried to get involved on the forum, i was not allowed.
If i want to take a rest from playing poker, its a great thing, but when i want that break i still want to be able to contribute to the forum.
Is there a way that we can overcome this?

col

SoLack

If you are on a bad run, there is an easy way to claw back your losses. 

• Add up the total amount you have lost in the last week.
• Multiply that amount by three
• Lump it all on trap 3 in the third race at the next Wimbledon meet

phil12uk

No matter what............never ever ever ever move up the cash stakes after a losing session to try and get your money back in one quick fix.  Quickest way to go busto.

Kiwini4u

In Response to Re: Responsible Gambling Awareness Day:

If you are on a bad run, there is an easy way to claw back your losses.  Add up the total amount you have lost in the last week. Multiply that amount by three Lump it all on trap 3 in the third race at the next Wimbledon meet
Posted by SoLack

Personally I prefer number 5 in the 5th, but whatever gets the job done:)

unknown_username

In Response to Re: Responsible Gambling Awareness Day:

In Response to Re: Responsible Gambling Awareness Day : Personally I prefer number 5 in the 5th, but whatever gets the job done:)
Posted by Kiwini4u

lol.... 

unknown_username

Serious Post from me........Steady !!

It's simple  ..Have a bank card that only has enough money in,  that you want to play for that week ....NEVER NEVER leave money  in an online betting account ...At the end of each week withdraw any money( profit) go to bank withdraw from betting account and transfer to put under the mattress or another account that's not linked to any betting account ...

Never leave money in an account that you have access to be able to bet online;Bankroll)...yes  it means getting of your arese to go to town and swap monies around but if you cant get to it.. you cant lose it..............
("Have you finished Mr Benny")

"Oh Yes M'Lord .. I rest my case !" 

("Then sit down before I have you thrown out of court") !!

Hale72

I think if you have the discipline, you can leave your money in your online account.
I know I do, but yes, I do know someone who puts his money in an account he cant touch but this is to stop gambling, drinking, smoking and other pleasant vices. It's just whatever you feel you need to do if you cant trust you self with the housekeeping.

Kiwini4u

Personally I keep a small float in my online account and the rest of my gambling money I keep in a savings account so that it is seperate from my spending money.  That way its easy to keep an eye on my bankroll and I get the benefit of any interest earned rather than the poker sites.

Hale72

I have to keep mine in my poker account for the opposite reason. If it were in a private account I would spend it and currently I am not able to replace it.

diablo_pez

Are we allowed to gamble irresponsibly again tomorrow.......i'm bored

scotty77

In Response to Re: Responsible Gambling Awareness Day:

How about increasing the cooling off period. Many people talk here about having a short time away but 24 hours usually isn't long enough. How about a 3 day, 7 day or 14 day option as well? You can self exclude but I think the minimum is 6 months. Well this too, is way too long for the player who wants to take just a short time out to reflect and come back more refreshed.
Posted by Hale72

This.  There have been times where I've been on life tilt and a 3/7 day option would be excellent to have.

nirvana29

good stuff bad boy,excellent advice^^, well done on ur succsess

NoseyBonk

Anyone give me 10/1 on Gambling Awareness Day not working?

oynutter

 personally i would recommend that new or novice players stay away from cash tables completely, and concentrate on learning the game in the 2.20 buy in deep stacks---these give great value for beginners and are a safe way to learn the game properly without risking a fiver or so every few minutes as can happen even on the micro-stakes tables---its very easy for a novice player to tilt on these tables and have a disastrous start to thier poker career--the strategy is very different on cash tables (pot odds ect)--but learning the basics of a solid game is the best start imo
   also bankroll management is the key to a good start--i would stay playing 2.20 games untill i get a 200 quid bankroll, then have a go at the 3.30s and 5.50s--the ten minute blind games are also good value now that they have 2000 chips
  anytime your bankroll dips below 100 quid, go straight back to the small games where you started and build up again to 200---chasing money by playing out of your comfort zone is only for nutters

  finally (if you are male) always put aside 24.67% of your bankroll for shoes, handbags, dresses and champagne---it may be easy to keep yourself happy playing poker, but the girlie in your life will worry about you gambling if this rule is not fully adhered to.
   

Sky_Andrew

Hi everyone

Thanks to all those who have contributed so far - it's great to see many of you sharing similar views on this and reinforces some of my own thinking. Sorry i wasnt about yesterday to reply i was, funnily enough, at a conference about responsible gambling. Anyway, to pick up on a few comments...

Badboy/Grimstar - playing at a level that you can afford and that suits your abililty is always good advice, so thanks for being quick off the mark in mentioning it. I'm sure discussion could roll-on for some time about what precentage you should take in play at a given time, but for me the important message here is to set a figure and stick to it. Good stuff. Part of what i love about poker in respect of responsible gambling is the very fact that it so naturally offers a buy-in to suit all budgets and preferences, whether it be a cash table or fixed-risk tournament entry...

Hale72, Greghogg, Mr mrbo - I really like the idea of longer cooling off limits, i'm certainly going to look into this further. As you know, Sky Betting and Gaming uses a single log-in, single account approach to all its services, so any cooling off period (or exclusion or deposit limit) applies across the board. Well be looking at the functionality for taking a break from specific services in the coming months so watch this space. On that note however, there is little, if anything, we can do for now in letting customers take a break from poker but still access the community.

Phil12uk - spot on advising not moving up the cash stakes after a losing session. We never recommend chasing losses. Sometimes taking a break even just long enough to make a cup of tea can be what it takes to get the emotions back in check and of course we offer the longer breaks mentioned above if thats what it needs.

Bennydip - keeping track of your deposits and withdrawals is very important. You make a good suggestion about using a card only with funds that you can afford to spend. I'd suggest that our deposit limits offer a similar means of control and also let you budget on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

Thanks again everyone and keep it coming. And i'll try and keep on top of the replies a bit better!

Andrew

Hale72

In Response to Re: Responsible Gambling Awareness Day:

Anyone give me 10/1 on Gambling Awareness Day not working?
Posted by NoseyBonk

Put me down for a tenner, no make it twenty.

What the heck, all my roll please.

Hale72

Nosey,

You now owe me over £39 grand.

Twenties will do, used non-sequential and in a sports bag by the lobby front door please.

Other than that can I whack the lot on the 4.45 from Kempton.

There was a blind 3 legged giraffe with a sore throat that had half decent odds.

I'm retireing if that little beauty romps home. 500-1 and only one other horse in the race. I can't lose!!!!

NoseyBonk

OOPS - I'd better buy extra lotto tickets, not got that sort of cash under the bed!

Hale72

I hear the scratchcards are exellent value.

All the pensioners in the post office seem to like em.