What Would You Do If Your Child Became You (As A Bettor)?

CoachTony_Bets

CoachTony_Bets

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Genuinely uncomfortable question that hit me watching my son on his phone last week.

He's 16. I caught him checking scores on three different apps during dinner. Not betting - he's too young - but the behavior was identical to mine.

Same frantic refreshing. Same phone-first mentality. Same inability to just watch a game.

And I thought: if he becomes me as a bettor in ten years, what do I do? Do I intervene? Do I teach him my methodology and call it responsible gambling? Do I tell him to never start?

Here's the real question: would you be proud if your kid replicated exactly what you do?

I coached him not to text at dinner. Meanwhile I'm checking CLV under the table.
 
Oh this is a brutal one Tony.

Got two boys. Twelve and fifteen.

Fifteen year old already asks me about rugby odds.
Thinks it's cool his dad knows stuff about betting.
I play along.

But if he was doing what I do in ten years?
Betting drunk at the pub every Saturday?
Missing family stuff for matches?

I'd be absolutely devastated.

And I know that's completely hypocritical.
 
No kids but I've thought about this with my nephew.

If he grew up and bet exactly like me - disciplined, tracked everything, 56% win rate - would I be proud?

Honest answer: yes and no.

Proud of the discipline. But I'd also know what it costs. The hours. The mental space. The way it filters every sports experience through money.

I'd want him to have what I had before betting. Just watching a game because you love it.
 
I don't have kids but this question is making me think about my little sister.

She's 19 and already asks me about my parlays.
Thinks it's fun and cool.
I've literally helped her pick a parlay before.

Reading this thread I feel awful about that.
 
Have two children. Thirteen and sixteen.

If they became me: disciplined systematic approach, positive ROI, strict bankroll management.

Objectively I should be proud. The methodology is sound.

But no. I would not be proud.

Because I know what the spreadsheets don't show. The evenings at the desk instead of with them. The social narrowing. The way betting colonized everything.

I would tell them never to start.

Then they would ask why I continue.

I would have no answer.
 
No kids.

But Klaus's last line is the whole thread isn't it.

"I would tell them never to start. Then they would ask why I continue. I would have no answer."

That's the hypocrisy perfectly stated.
 
no kids thank god... genuinely relieved about that reading this thread... cant imagine watching a child become what i am...

if i had a son doing what i do id be horrified... chasing losses at 2am... betting on sports he doesnt understand... lying to people about how much he bets...

but id still be doing it myself...

wouldnt even be able to look him in the eye telling him to stop...
 
Klaus and Conor nailed it.

The intervention conversation would be impossible.

"Son, you need to stop this."
"But Dad you do it."
"That's different."
"How?"
"..."

I have no answer to that. Never thought about it until right now.
 
Had almost that exact conversation with my fifteen year old.

He asked me to explain how odds work.

I did. Properly. With examples.

Then he asked if he could bet when he turns eighteen.

I said absolutely not.

He said "but you do it."

I said "that's different son."

He gave me this look.

Didn't push back. Just looked at me.

Felt about two inches tall.
 
No children. No plans for children.

But professionally interesting question. Worked at exchange. Saw secondhand what betting culture does to families.

Colleagues who missed school plays for trading sessions. Wives who attended events alone. Children who stopped asking dad to come.

None of them would have wanted their children to follow that path.

All of them were still trading.
 
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