If you want to get real success in gambling and become more than an ordinary player, you must do your best to improve your practical skills. At the same time, many gamblers do not pay enough attention to the theoretical component that also plays a significant role. To get the most out of every bet, you must constantly replenish your personal knowledge base and further realize this information in practice.
Currently, you can find many different books on gambling topics. Some of them contain specific approaches, strategies, and so on. Others, in turn, are more like fiction literature to motivate you to play and maintain this interest. Today you will learn about the top five books you should read to improve your gambling skills and even more.
Top 5 Books About Responsible Gambling Habits
Unfortunately, not all countries with legal gambling provide self-exclusion tools to their players like GamStop in the UK. But even in the United Kingdom players can easily access casinos not on Gamstop. Based on this, non-Gamstop casinos with the absence of self-exclusion become even more popular. And surprisingly, these players don`t have problems with gambling addiction because of their self-education about gambling behaviour. This highlights the insufficiency of relying solely on the availability of self-exclusion schemes. What holds more significance is cultivating players’ consciousness regarding their gambling behaviour. So, the following books will help you find the main risks associated with gambling and how to avoid them effectively.
Addiction By Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas by Natasha Dow Schull
This book is one of the best examples of an in-depth study of the modern gambling market and how high-tech, economics, and psychology are intertwined in it. In the book, you can find a lot of interesting facts about how modern casinos in Las Vegas develop slot machines, study the audience to meet their interests, and so on.
The author describes how often gambling games lead to addiction and compulsive behaviour. An in-depth commentary on consumer manipulation will definitely not leave you indifferent. The peculiarity of the author’s work is that it combines both academic research and quite a light narrative, which as a whole, gives an understanding of the seductive and, at that time, manipulative casino market.
Gambling: Don’t Bet On It by Joyce B. Taylor-Marbury
This book can become an inspiration for those who have ever faced gambling addiction personally or knew about such cases in their close environment. The author describes her life story and how she struggled with this harmful behaviour. You will learn about the difficult 25 years of Joyce B. Taylor-Marbury, during which she lied, cheated, and built terrible intrigues with only one goal: to get money and continue to play.
The author describes how she tried to cope with her gambling obsession and maintain her behaviour. The book perfectly describes one of the dangers that is related to gambling addiction when big wins only cause an aggravation of neurosis and the appearance of a desire to win even more. However, the book has a happy ending, as the author dares to attend a meeting of Gamblers Anonymous and begins to change her life gradually.
A Day At a Time – Gamblers Anonymous Handbook
This is an excellent example of a book that contains effective tips and techniques for getting rid of gambling problems. It has inspired hundreds of people with this problem and helped them change their lives. In the guide, you can find daily thoughts, meditation practices, and even prayers that aim to keep people on their path to healing. The handbook is designed in such a way that it is complementary to the popular 12-step recovery and self-care program powered by Gamblers Anonymous.
This work can be an excellent source of knowledge for those who want to understand not only the shiny and glamorous world of gambling but also see its dark sides and problems that gamblers face. Despite the book’s effectiveness, it should not be used alone in overcoming addiction, as it cannot replace qualified medical care. At the same time, it can become an indispensable addition to getting rid of addiction.
Born to Lose: Memoirs of a Compulsive Gambler – by Bill Lee
If you want to explore all the dangers of gambling addiction, this book will be a perfect pick for you. The book’s author masterfully describes how a shunning gambling world can turn into a real grey quagmire. The special value of the book lies in the fact that the author shares his own experiences.
Here you can find heartbreaking details of a rapid fall into the abyss of self-destruction and strong motivation for changing your life. For some, the author’s story may seem rude and sometimes even too brutal. However, every word here is honest, which makes the book especially powerful. The author’s memoirs serve as a stern warning for those who are suspected of gambling addiction and motivation to work on themselves and change their lives for the better.
Responsible Gambling: Primary Stakeholder Perspectives by Howard J. Shaffer
This is one of the most popular books about gambling, it refers to a range of strategies and interventions put in place by gambling regulators, gambling politicians, and casinos themselves to reduce the harms associated with gambling. These parties have no 100% agreement, and each pursues its own, sometimes conflicting, goals. This aspect is perfectly described in this book, where the emphasis is on the following five interaction groups:
- Scientists/researchers
- Clinicians
- Gambling operators
- Regulators
- Recovering players
The book’s authors consider responsible gambling within the framework of the Reno model, which emphasizes the importance of stakeholders working together.
Conclusion
The world of gambling may be in the form of tempting winnings and adrenaline rush, as well as depression and falling into the abyss of addiction. To balance and be aware of all the pros and cons of the casino world, you should constantly replenish your knowledge base, and the books described in this review can help you with this.
