Gambling Addiction Stories: What is It Actually Like?

This is my first reddit post, so please excuse the length, as well as the quality. I’m currently struggling with a gambling addiction that I’ve had for around four years and find that nothing I do has succeeded in helping me overcome this addiction. I figured that other people have experienced a gambling addiction and have successfully overcome one, so I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts, advice, or comments on my situation, as well as gambling addictions in general.
As a kid, I’ve always had an addictive personality. I remember when I was younger, I would play video games for hours on end non-stop. One of my biggest regrets to date is not reading more as a kid. The cognitive ability of reading is one of the most underrated skills in life and my peers and friends who read for fun growing up are not only fast readers, but generally do well in school and life. At the time, I didn’t think much of my video game addiction as it was not harming myself or others. Little did I know, this small addiction would serve as a gateway to a larger addiction that would bring a lot of stress and problems in my life.
Fast forward to the summer after graduating senior year of high school. Growing up, I’ve always been really into soccer, playing competitively on a traveling club team since I was eleven years old. By my senior year of high school, I was committed to a prestigious university to play collegiate soccer. During my high school soccer season my senior year in the spring, I broke my foot in the league championship game against our rivals (which we won). This was the first time in my life that I’ve ever suffered a serious injury and let me tell you, I was not ready for the setbacks that I would face from it, both physically and mentally. For those of you who have never broken a bone, it is one of the most debilitating physical things that can occur to someone, especially if it impairs daily, routine activity. I had to use crutches or a knee scooter to get around everywhere and could not exercise, which caused a great deal of anxiety and jitteriness for me given that I’ve grown up living an active lifestyle. Around the same time, I had some friends who were talking about a casino that was only 15 minutes away from where we lived and it was also an 18+ casino. Given that I couldn’t really do much with a broken foot, I decided to make a trip to this casino to find out what people were talking about. Little did I know that this innocent, first trip to the small casino near my house four years ago would take me down a dark path of gambling.
I remember on my first trip to the casino, I was so excited that I grabbed a handful of cash (I think around $100) and drove as quickly as possible to the casino. When I tried to enter the building, a security guard stopped me and asked for my ID. Amidst my excitement, I realized I forgot my wallet with my driver’s license at home, which led me to speed home to grab it. On my way home, I was stopped by a police officer for going 15 miles per hour over the residential speed limit. The officer was nice enough not to penalize me for not having my ID, but I still received a $140 ticket. After that happened, I was in a pretty bad mood, but still determined to find out what it was like to wager money on a bunch of cards. I remember the first trip to the casino, I actually lost my $100 in about 15 minutes playing blackjack, which should’ve discouraged me from setting foot in a casino ever again. However, me being someone who thinks that they’re smarting than the average gambler, I went home that night and practiced memorizing basic strategy (a strategy that minimizes the house edge in blackjack), as well as studied card counting, specifically the Hi-Lo method (wagering more money when the remaining cards are favorable for the player).
Armed with this new knowledge, I was determined to beat the game and make money from my local casino, after all, it did cost me $240 the first time I went. The few trips after my first, I was making money pretty consistently. I remember there was one time I turned $60 into around $600 and other times where I would walk away making a couple hundred dollars. I didn’t think that gambling was a problem during this time as I was going with my friends, making money, and getting a crazy amount of adrenaline from the casino runs. Being at the blackjack table allowed me to forget about my anxiety and depression that gradually compiled due to my broken foot and the inability to exercise. It provided an escape from the limitations that my broken foot had instilled on me.
At the same time, I was working at Domino’s as a delivery driver, and remember taking the cash from the tips I earned each day that I worked (ranging from $60 to $200) and drive over to the casino to test my luck for that day. For those of you who don’t know, gambling is dangerous because winning money is really not that difficult; however, walking away with the money is a completely different story. A majority of times I went to the casino, I was up from my original buy-in at some point; however, that meant nothing considering I didn't walk away winning most of the time. I started spending more and more time at the casino, and eventually started losing money, including all the money I had previously won from the casino. The problem started getting particularly bad when I started lying to my friends about going to the casino. I even remembered multiple times where I would go with friends (who had more self-control than I did), and would stay longer than them (losing my ride) and resort to calling other friends to pick me up or taking a cab home.
To make matters worse, one of the things I’m most ashamed of to this day was gambling on the birthday of my girlfriend at the time which caused me to be late to her birthday dinner with her family. To make matters worse, I remember taking my girlfriend to dinner near the casino, stopping by the casino to redeem one of the bonus coupons they give you to entice you to visit more frequently, and having her wait in the car for an hour while I played blackjack. Despite having nights where I won over two grand in a matter of a few hours, I still ended up losing at least $3,000 that summer. Luckily, I was going off to college in St. Louis, far away from my hometown casino in Kirkland, Washington, which should have prevented me from gambling during my four years at college.
My Freshman year of college was rough, my foot hadn’t fully recovered so I was not able to play soccer to my full potential. On top of this, I had a difficult time making friends, and was in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable environment. I was surrounded by extremely wealthy, privileged kids from the Northeast, who grew up going to private school. Most of these kids have never worked a job in their lives. This made it a much more difficult time getting accustomed to my new school having grown up on the West Coast, going to public high school, and working throughout high school. Additionally, the way the social scene at my school works is through Greek life, as the population of social, normal people is pretty small. To make matters worse, as a guy, one of the only ways to have a good social life is joining a fraternity; however, since the fraternity houses are pretty small relative to state schools, many kids who rush don’t receive bids. I was unfortunate to be a part of that group when I rushed Freshman year. On top of this blow to my self-esteem, I underwent foot surgery since my foot was not making any progress healing. This caused me to have to rely on crutches and a knee scooter again for the next couple months. I was legitimately depressed and at the lowest low point of my life. I was not doing well in school, didn’t have a girlfriend, and felt like I didn’t have any close friends in general.
This was around the time that I discovered the realm of online gambling, a path that would unfortunately be worse than live casinos. Online casinos make it extremely easy to deposit real money into them, and coincidentally, pretty damn difficult to withdraw money. I remember visiting a casino called Bovada and making my first $100 deposit with my debit card. This deposit quickly lead to more $100 deposits, until I had lost around $1,000 playing online blackjack and poker in a matter of hours. At this point, I didn’t have a job so I was essentially gambling away money my parents had given me to spend on food and necessities. I was too ashamed to tell my parents about this problem, as they were extremely disappointed after I told them at the end of the summer after senior year of high school. Luckily, at this point in my life, I didn’t have too much disposable income to gamble away so the damages were minimal.
The next few years in college got better, I quit soccer and got into lifting, got into a fraternity, and made a lot of new friends, who I’m still close with to this day. Aside from getting into sports gambling for around a month and losing $1,000, I would lose between $1,000 - $2,000 whenever I would go home for winter break at the original casino I went to. Although this was a decent amount of money, I was still able to allocate some of the money that I earned from my college job towards personal spending and was just happy that I had the self-control to ration out a percentage of it that I was comfortable losing when I did gamble. The good thing was that I did not gamble too consistently my sophomore and junior year of college and more importantly, I was not obsessively thinking about it every day.
Now senior year of college was where everything took a turn for the worse and led me to all-time lows in my life. I remember playing poker for $25 buy-ins with my friends at my apartment every night for the first half of the school year. This wasn’t a problem financially since losing $25, was not a big deal to my financial health. Additionally, it was more of a social activity where most people weren’t too concerned about the money and were playing for a good time. This did negatively impact me; however, as I was constantly thinking about poker and gambling in general, all the time.
Around the same time, I got my signing bonus from the company where I will be working at in a couple months and started heading to the nearby casinos with my roommate to play blackjack. I remember the first night we went, I won $2,000 and he won $500 and that immediately hooked me back into the whirlpool of blackjack. I started going at every opportunity I got, which also led to the revival of my online gambling addiction. I remember specifically, one time when I was playing online blackjack, I turned $200 into $4,000, submitted the withdrawal request, but since online casinos take a long time to process the requests (intentionally as they want you to gamble the money away), I ended up losing the $4,000, along with another $1,000 or $2,000 on top of that as I was chasing my losses. I was actually making money at live casinos, but losing double the amount that I made online. This gambling ended up coming to a brief stop when I had lost my signing bonus and all the money in my bank account and I took a break for around a month or so.
The addiction started back up when I received my next paycheck from my college job. The instance, the check was deposited into my bank account and cash was available, I would race over to an ATM and withdraw money to gamble with. I quickly lost $1,000 of it back home when I took my friend who visited to a nearby casino. It was around this time he told me about an app where you can invest in stocks called Robinhood, so I put around $5,000 of that paycheck into stocks on the app. When I put the money in my stock account, I remember making a pact to myself that I would never touch a table game again. I mean “New Year, New Me” right? As you can guess, my pact didn’t last very long as I started playing live poker in the casino. I was so drawn to the appeal of winning money by making the right decision. I was actually profiting from playing live stakes poker, as I studied the game and had sound strategy. The dangerous part about playing live poker for me (I personally don’t consider poker as a complete gamble as there is skill involved), was that whenever I went to the casino to play poker, there were temptations awaiting me (table games). After a month or so of playing strictly poker, I started getting back into blackjack again, along with baccarat, and went to the casino 4-5 times a week. After draining all the money from the stock account, I started borrowing money from my friends as I knew I would get a big paycheck from my job at the time at the end of the school year. Additionally, I started dating my current girlfriend in January of that same year (whom I am currently dating) and love very much. I can regretfully say that gambling has not positively impacted my relationship with her in any way.
When my girlfriend and I went to California during spring break, I remember staying up all night on an online casino playing poker, blackjack, and baccarat after she fell asleep. I exhausted all my money in my bank account including maxing out my credit card, during that trip, and had to borrow money from my girlfriend, one of the most shameful things I’ve done to this date. Additionally, I remember one night where I promised her that I would meet her at a party my fraternity was hosting after I went to the casino to play poker with some friends. I drove two of my friends over, and one of my friends left for the party with my car, while me and my other friend stayed. We ended up playing poker the whole night, and despite being up a couple thousand dollars from blackjack, I missed the party and really disappointed my girlfriend. Some of the biggest fights that I have gotten into with my girlfriend were fueled by gambling. The monetary gains that result from the casino are always temporary because at any point in time, you can lose all the money in your bank account if you spend enough time playing games that are specifically designed to make you lose.
Additionally, my addiction has caused me to disappoint my parents and family. No matter how successful I become, I know they will always be worried about me since they know that this dangerous addiction can ruin my life at any moment, without giving any warning signs. I’ve read so many different stories about how this addiction leads to one of the highest suicide rates when people gamble their life away and feel like there is no way of recovering. I would really like to put an end to this problem, at an early age, before I allow it to affect my relationships with my friends and family.
I started skipping out on social events, and hanging out with my friends in general due to my addiction to gambling. All I thought about 24/7 was all the money that I would make playing poker and blackjack. At one point, I was betting 3 black chips like they were worth a few cents as opposed to one hundred dollars each on table games. I had to lie to my friends about going to the casino because I was embarrassed about that side of my life.
The summer after my graduation, I just continued to dig myself into a deeper hole. I would win money in real life, while losing money playing online poker and blackjack. After the big paycheck from my college job came in, I stored away a decent amount of money in my Robinhood stock account to invest, but in a matter of a few short months, I had gambled away most of that money. I’ve borrowed money from multiple friends, even my girlfriend, and have also exhausted my credit card on several occasions. The loss of money started affecting my play in live poker. I ended up losing $5,000 playing live poker, along with $15,000 online, and at least $20,000 in casinos. Even though I graduated from a prestigious university, and I have a solid job lined up in the fall, I battle constantly with this addiction and the urge to gamble with the hopes of earning all of my money back and being done with gambling once and for all. What started as a spark of curiosity turned into an escape from emotional pain and eventually into a lifelong attempt to break-even.
I've tried many things to overcome this addiction, but nothing has worked successfully. I'm posting on here today because I want to end this addiction once and for all. I figure if I post on reddit, I will at least have written down this commitment in a publicly available space.
TL;DR: What started as a curiosity about what gambling was turned into a four year struggle with this addiction that has led to financial distress, relationship problems, and unproductive behavior. Wrote this reddit post to seek advice on overcoming a gambling addiction, and would love to hear any thoughts, comments, or concerns.

Hey everyone, long time reader, first time posting. First off I want to thank everyone who has posted their stories and situations. It's really helped me when I have a temptation to gamble. I've read many threads here and I've mustered up the courage to post my story. I hope it helps or gives some insight to anyone struggling with a gambling addiction.
I'm sure my story has been told through someone else's eyes a thousand times but mine is unique to me. My road to destruction all started back in October of 2017. My soon to be ex wife and I were sitting on the couch one evening when she looked over at me and said she wanted a divorce. We have been married a little over 6 years and have 4 beautiful children. I won't go into details but we've had our problems since day one. I will say while we were married I was an occasional casino goer but nothing serious. She didn't like going and I would go 3-4 times a year with a buddy and always enjoyed going. I never considered it a problem through our marriage and it has nothing to do with our divorce.
So within a week I was moved out of my house and living with a friend. I was desperately trying to talk her into working things out, getting some counseling, and restoring our marriage. She wasn't budging though and all this quick and sudden change was destroying me inside. My visits with the kids were really tough because they were in my home that I had left. My whole life felt as if it were falling apart.
A month had passed and I realized I had to start looking for a place of my own. I needed somewhere to spend time with my kids where memories weren't so strong and I could focus on them. I found an apartment within 4 miles of my home and it just seemed perfect for my situation. I talked to the landlord and I would need $900 by the end of the month (now December of 2017) for my deposit and first months rent. I had no money in savings but had a little truck that was basically an extra vehicle. So I sold it for $1200 and had the money needed to make the move.
That weekend I was at my friends house where I was still living, it was Saturday night, and I was dreadfully bored and consumed with thoughts about my situation. I was most definitely suffering from depression from my family situation. Then the thought popped into my head, "why don't you head down to the casino and use the extra $300 you've got and have a little fun. You deserve it." I put on some nice clothes, gathered my things and headed to Hollywood.
As I walked in I remembered how much I enjoyed the casino. The smell, the lighting, being able to smoke cigarettes inside, and the whole general atmosphere of people having a good time. My troubled mind soon became cleared, awake, and alert, ready to hit the blackjack table. At that time I didn't have much experience and preferred the electronic dealers, plus it was a lower minimum at $5 a hand.
I sat down, ordered a beer, opened my fresh pack of smokes, and went to work. About an hour had passed after countless $5, $10, and $15 dollar bets and I had about $40 more than I started with. I had made a couple friends that were sitting next to me and I was having a great time. Something in me told me to make a $40 dollar bet and double up the winnings. If I lost it, hey, just right back to where I started right? I could feel the adrenaline and dopamine pumping as I pushed the $10 bet 4 times. Bets were closed, cards were dealt. Wouldn't you know it I hit blackjack and won $60 off the bet and was up a hundred bones. I felt like a million bucks!! As the night progressed I ended up being up $250 dollars and decided to cash out and head home. The whole trip home all I could think about was how good it felt to have an extra $250 in my pocket and how much I enjoyed the experience.
That following Monday I went over and paid my $900 security deposit and first months rent. The place was mine! In the midst of my sorrow this made me happy to have a place to spend time with my kids without being reminded of my old life. A fresh start. I went back home and started hatching out a budget and seeing how I needed to manage my finances to make life work. I figured up what I would need to have initially, that way when I moved in I'd already be on track. After tallying it all up, adding and subtracting money in my bank account and the cash I had I, I was a couple hundred short. Now I could have tweaked some numbers, sold some of my collectibles I own, but my mind instantly said, "head down to Hollywood and try and make that dough.... you'll have fun in the process too!" It was a no brainer in my mind so off I went.
Same old story walking back in. It was like a sensory overload, an old friend who was always there to make me happy and leave my troubles at the door. To the electronic blackjack machine I went! After a few hours had passed I had found myself up a few hundred again. I had realized I had enough money to cover my budget startup and told myself I should leave. I did, but this time it was a bit harder to force myself to leave. The thought of staying and winning more was stronger. I said to myself "don't get greedy" and walked out the door. The ride home wasn't as fun this time either as the thoughts of winning more money consumed me. My brain was already developing a good relationship with thoughts of the casino.
Days passed, and with my family situation I had more free time on my hands. I was seeing my kids every other day. My days without them all I could think about was heading down to Hollywood. Eventually they overcame and I started going more frequently. Then it turned into everyday I didn't have my kids, I'd head there straight after work. Every time I went I came out 2-4 hundred ahead and it seemed like I couldn't lose. That, paired with taking my mind off of my situation, made it easy to keep going back. By the end of January of this year I had $3500 in hundred dollar bills from my winnings. It excited me to tell my co-workers about my nightly experiences.
Then came the trip where I decided to put my money down on the actual tables. This made me more nervous because I knew there were strict rules to follow when playing at the tables. Hand gestures, etiquette, all that jazz. But other players had told me that's where you make the real money. So I gave it a shot. I laid $800 down and received my chips and went to work. After some ups and downs and a $400 bet I had managed to double my money and cashed in 3 purple chips and a black one ($1600). I was on cloud 9. Winning $800 was so much more exciting than 2-4 hundred. Since that win 2-4 hundred just wouldn't do.
The month of February was up and down. I started making riskier bets, and my bank roll fluctuated between 4-6k. I was starting to miss work because I was so comfortable with my financial situation. My mind was totally consumed with blackjack and how soon I could be back to Hollywood. My winning streak was unbelievable and I felt like I could almost make a living at this.
Fast forward to March 14th, Pi day, a day I'll never forget. I had 8 thousand dollars in cash on top of my fridge. All from blackjack winnings. It was a Wednesday, not my day to have the kids. As you can imagine, I was headed for my home away from home. That day I decided to take every bit of my bankroll in with me. I headed straight for the high stakes tables ($50 minimum per hand). Tonight my luck was exceptional. I hit a few side bet bonuses, hit a couple $500 blackjacks ($750 payout) and had a pocket full of $500 purple chips. It was time for the dealer to shuffle which gave me time to lay my chips out and count up my money. $15,000. I had $15,000 dollars in chips. Well a little over that to be exact but I tipped the dealer a couple hundred and cashed out my 15k.
As I sat out in my car looking at my three rubber banded wads of 5 thousand, I thought about what time it was and how there was no way I was making it to work on time if I went home. What's it matter anyway though I thought to myself. You've got 4 months of income right here in your hand? Go back in with 5k and try to make more! So I left the other two wads locked up in the car and headed back in. I mean why not? I couldn't lose.
Nothing has ever ran dry more quickly than my luck that night. Timing was off. When I bet big I lost, when I bet minimum I won, and couldn't hit a side bet to save my life. At this point in my addiction, and this newfound horrible luck, 5k lasted about an hour. I had never experienced this. It was a horrible feeling. But I knew I still had plenty of reserve waiting in the parking garage. Now any sane mind would have left with the 15k. Any halfway sane mind would have left with the remaining 10k. But my mind went back in with another 5k. Same brick wall though. I switched tables, switched betting patterns, but nothing was working. I soon lost that 5k and was right back out in the parking garage and walking back in with the last wad. I lost 15 grand that night/morning in the course of 6 hours. The feelings of regret were so heavy, chased with the reminder I was losing my wife who I still was very much in love with.
I'd never felt worse. The ride home was so quiet you could have heard flies fucking. I was overwhelmed to the point of no return. I needed that 15k back and I'd do anything possible to get it back. I'll try and be quick about the ending because it's not as fun to talk about. And if you've read this far, kudos to you and thank you. From March 15th to April 23rd I managed a 5k personal loan from my bank, a 2k online high interest personal loan, and the big one, a 7k online high interest, personal loan.
That luck I had March 14th never left, like a bad habit. I squandered 14k of borrowed money in a little over a month. I tried to borrow more money but no one would lend it to me. I had dug myself into a deep hole and my depression and anxiety were more than I could handle. Paired with a nasty drug habit that I won't go into. I had hit rock bottom, not knowing how I would even pay my rent. Online gambling had my checking account at a negative three hundred something balance. I was beyond broke, all my relationships I had left with friends and family had suffered, and at the end of the following month was losing all ties to a life I wanted back so badly.
As I sit here today I'll tell you I haven't gambled a dime since April 23rd (last month). I know it's less than a month but all urges are gone. It took me losing everything to work on gaining it all back. I told my dad everything and he found it in his heart to help me out. Luckily he was in the position to do so. I was smart enough to have him pay for the things directly instead of him just handing me the money. I knew I'd just gamble it and be in an even worse spot. I have a lot of debt to pay back now though. When my house closes in 12 days I'll have enough money to pay almost all of it off. The things I could have done with that money make me sick though. Instead I'll just be writing checks to the banks and still having debt afterwards.
That's what it took for me to stop though. I'm sure one day I'll be back on my feet and happy again and I'm sure the urge to head back to Hollywood will return. I'll fight that demon when it comes. I'm working on building relationships with my kids now and on my days off I have dinner with Mom and Dad. I'm recovering but not forgetting I'm a gambling addict. Thank you for reading. I've read many of your stories and some give me hope, others I can emphasize with and hope you get the help you need. I'm taking it one day at a time and counting my blessings along the way. Life's one hell of a ride!

Hi, I'm researching addiction issues in Maryland after 10 years of legalized gambling there. If you know someone who might have been affected by legalized gambling there, or even someone who got a good job through a casino, send me a message. Thanks.

I invite anyone with a gambling problem to share and read gambling stories, and find other tools and ideas how to get rid of gambling addiction.
Please visit it here: http://www.gamblingstories.com

Not necessarily you, but perhaps someone you know or have witnessed?

Hello everyone,
I started this year as most new investors have in the stock market. Riding a bullish market and huge comebacks from the coronavirus, my account was up 280% and reaching 50K. I then proceeded to jump onto the SPAC craze and made some money and then had some major ups and downs there. In one day I lost 10 thousand dollars all because I wanted to keep making the next big trade.
I probably checked my phone 100 times a day and was on an emotional rollercoaster. I truly was addicted to trading and even in winning positions, that I knew were long holds, couldn’t be held for more than one week
I’m posting this because I’m choosing to go the ETF route and I’m going to let my gains and wealth build over time the smart way. It’s very difficult for me to do this, but I needed help while still investing in my future.
If you guys could post success stories, long term gains, and wealth built from this strategy it would truly help me. All I see these days are people gambling in penny stocks and hitting it big and it doesn’t help me whatsoever.
My positions
100 shares SPY
900 shares ICLN
750 shares BETZ
Adding 500 bucks monthly plus added per diem from my job.
Thank you guys in advance!

I wanted to make this since I see there isn't anyone in this subreddit here who has done that yet and not a single big content creator has covered the game by showcasing everything.
I've been playing HeroCantare since it's release,what got me into it is like for many others webtoons,I love all 3 of the webtoons that are currently available in the game and the art + soundtrack are amazing for myself. As much as I love the game I will do my best to showcase both the good and the bad as best as I can. Now i'll fastforward to the actual thing.
I'm sorry for the formating or grammar errors,i'm not good at those 2 things lol.
Con's let's start with the bad things first.
-crashes on emulators here and there(especially if you spamm click something),have not experienced crashes on my phone/tablet yet.
-You will not do well by going in blind,it is highly advised to get atleast a gist of what are the good heros and try to get them cause that is very important to your story progress and story does get hella hard in the later stages.
-like I said before, the game needs you to have decent understanding of it or you will hit a wall which will make you feel stuck and mostlikely play it less and less.
-SSS grade is a long grind for a f2p player,if you only account freebies it will take aprox 2-3months to get a 6star rated unit to SSS if you do not care about whales running with 6+ SSS units you should be fine with the way it is currently.
-Lack of Chaos shards,to explain quickly,you need elemental type shards to further progress your character be it their lvl,star rating or advancement tree there is Light and Dark Heros but there is only one type of shards for them which are the Chaos shards but on top of them both sharing the same type of shards, the chaos shards are given only half as much as all the other type of shards,a shard box would give you 400/200/100 of all other elements but only 200/100/50 from Light and Dark.
-Balance is an issue in this game like in many more,it is not balanced and certain heros do have the upper hand against others,tho the devs have been trying to even it out by giving buffs to certain heros slowly to match the other meta units but it still has not changed much.
-once you have done the story and reached your current limit in what you can clear with your power it's going to be you just doing dailies and farming Advent(its like epic sevens golem etc farm) for better gear,or maybe pvping if thats your thing,but what im trying to say is that this game is mostlikely not a main game for most of you,it will take a lot of time to clear all the content as a new player ofcourse but once you have cleared it all it will just be the daily grind which can be mostly autocompleted you do not have to waste hours and hours on getting resources,which makes it more of a sidegame than a maingame.
-recently we had live pvp preseason and after playing it once or twice i did not touch it myself for the simple reason it's unbalanced currently,I have multiple SSS units and was being matched with players that have literally 0 which took away the fun,the live pvp has been taken down since the pre season ended it is currently being reworked hopefully it will be in a better state when it launches again.
-we also had guildwars preseason recently and this was also a mess,instead of taking the best defenses in the 30v30 match( a guild can have 40players) it took whoever applied first or random? Im still not sure but it for sure didn't pick the best defenses. Guildwar should come back early next week and I'll hope it is in a better state then.
-gear summoning is a scam and everyone would tell you that but ppl will still waste thousands of gems on it.
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Pros
- different but very nice music,I really like the EDM feel to it,the art is amazing,you can instantly see who is who if youre a webtoon fan of those 3 series and imo that is a good thing.
-The game is extremely generous to it's players just to give you a quick rundown,there is currently 2 story seasons one is season 0 and one is season 1 both seasons come with story rush,story rush means after completing certain story stages you get tons of rewards to help you progress and ofcourse fuel your gambling addiction.Story rush alone will give you 575 Essence of dimension(you need 45 to do one multi and it takes 10 multis for a guaranteed banner SS),you also get a bunch of SS relict selectors and SS unit tickets,the good thing is that both seasons have it so if you are a new players and manage to clear both season 0 and 1 normal mode you would be sitting with over 20 multis worth of summons,but from my own experience it will be more than just 20 multis cause the game still gives you EOD rewards for 3starring a chapter fully and from Hero road which is another reward system that rewards you for playing the game.And ofcourse you get a lot of gems from completing the story chapters too,there are currently around 400-500stages per story mode,and 4 story modes which makes it around 2000 stages you can clear,it is very hard to 3star hardmode stages but normal should be doable so we take account for 1000 stages which is roughly 5000 gems which account for 5 multis alone from 3starring all normal mode stages. There is still a lot of free gems to get from events,pvp first time rewards and weekly rewards so I really can't give you the exact number.
-the events are easy to complete to get the main reward but you can still put a bit more effort into clearing harder stages to get more out of it.
-gear is pretty straightforward armor has no RNG stats it's always the same and you can fuse armor to get a higher rarity for better set effects,there is one earring slot which has rng stats on it you can roll very easly to something good enough and 2 artifacts slots with rng stats,the artifacts upgrade works kinda like in e7 gear upgrading,for each +1 your gear has a chance to increase a random stat,luckily there are only dmg increasing stats on dmg artifacts and more tank focused stats on tank artifacts so it's not that frustrating.
-competitive content for both pve and pvp focused players,I myself am more into pve and I really love scoring as high as i can on the Guildlab scoreboards.
-Even tho the game looks very simple at first,there is a lot of tactic that can be involved into it,when to use which chain and when to disable what to not get the EX card next round to not fuck up your rotation is very important if you plan to min max,a lot of theorycrafting is involved and thats smth i really like.
-SS is the highest base rarity but there are extremely powerfull units from all raritys which would be A and S.The A and S units will have lower base stats at first but once you upgrade them to SS they will have the same power as a nat SS.Just to showcase how important some S or A ranks are currently one of the top Lab scorers is a nat S unit and a really strong and cancerous pvp unit is a nat A unit.
-A lot of QoL improvements in a matter of 1-2months after the games release made the game much more easy to manage and play daily,devs listen to feedback and push out fast content patches so that global has almost catched up to the korean server.
-High quality story cutscenes and EX skill animations
-Idol resource gathering is a nice thing on the side to get a bunch of resources by not playing
-Recently they updated new voicelines and face expressions to all heros you can get a few of them by just clicking on the heros live2d art,which is a nice addition.
-If you get only one copy of a unit you still are able to max that unit out over time.Currently you need 480 Hero shards to 6star a nat SS unit from 3 stars,with the Hero dungeon you are able to run hero stages to farm their Heroshards,you got 10 entries daily and there are 12 dungeons per Hero,for the first clear reward you get a lot of Hero shards which equivalent to almost 80Hero shards by clearing all 12 stages, 80 if my math isnt failing me,after you cleared that you can daily get 6 Hero shards by using 6 entries on the hero you want,which nets you 180 hero shards every 30 days so lets say you get really unlucky and only get 1 copy from a limited hero that will not come back,you can still max that hero out in a matter of 2 months of daily Hero dungeon,the good thing is after you completed the Hero dungeon once you only need to collect the rewards daily,no need to run it again.
-Dimension store is a place where you can pay dimension essence(you get that from summoning or dailys) to buy hero shards,you can use the A rank essence for A rank heros,S rank essence for S rank and SS rank essence for SS rank,it starts out at 1 essence for 1 shards up to 30 after that is slowly starts increasing and goes up to 5 essence for 1 shard max.This is another way to get some extra hero shards incase youre missing some for your hero.
-Trial tower is like epic7's abyss tower it is difficult and gives good rewards you can do daily 3 stages on it,currenlty highest stage is 100 but korea got 130 just recently.
-You can buy daily 80-120 gems from the special offers shop for gold which stacks up to around 700gems per week for free without doing anything.
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I might have forgotten some things but i think i summed up everything I personally know pretty good here,I tried to be as unbiased as possible listing both good and bad,hopefully this gives you a better idea of the game.

Let's look back at some memorable moments and interesting insights from last year.
Your top 10 posts:

Hi. My name is Peter. I'm not yet a recovering gambling addict, but it's by far the biggest goal I have in my life. Just to mention, I also have a goal to be accepted into a university in Finland. Here is a the complete story about my gambling addiction:
I come from quite a wealthy and loving family. I consider myself considerably intelligent. I was performing well at school and I was extremely happy all the time. Until the age of 17 I hadn't shown any kind of interest towards gambling. I played football and enjoyed watching it with my dad. One day he asked me if I wanted to put a bet on a Champions league game where Barcelona played against Roma (Spring 2019). That was my first introduction to gambling. We started to place some bets, very irregulary, but I kinda started to like it more and more. By the age of 18 I moved away from my parents to live with my girlfriend and the betting stopped (Fall 2019). I heard and read some news articles about Finnish people going into debt spiral because of gambling away thousands and even tens of thousands of euros. I remember how I despised them and always thought that how could anyone be so stupid.
Half a year later (May 2020) I was working as a co-driver in a local electronics store. I spent most of my working days with my coworker Alex. One day we started to discuss about gambling and Alex told me that he had a serious gambling addiction, but was now recovering from it. He told me a story about how he lost 2k in day. No one close to me had never talked about their own gambling addiction, but when I finally met a friend who had one, the only thing that came to my mind was just like before: "How can someone be so stupid?".
The same year my military service started (September 2020). There I started to place some little bets with my military friends and I started to like betting again. The bets were from 1 to 5€ and I remember winning 300€ and feeling like a champion. I had 5k on my savings account and I had never been happier in my life. One weekend (October 2020) when I was on a break from military we went drinking with my girlfriend and our friends out of city. Four of us had a hotel room there and I still don't know the reason why I did it, but I placed a 500€ on roulette on red color. Remember, I had never placed a bet more than 5€ , not to mention 500€. I won that bet. I continued. I cashed out 4,5k just from playing roulette and switching colors. I felt like the biggest champion in the world. It was 5am and everyone was asleep so I woke everyone up and told them what I had just won. Even though it was 5am and I had woken them up while they were still a bit drunk and obviously not feeling that well, they were extremely happy for me, for real. The following morning I woke up, I had to check my bank account just to make sure it wasn't a dream and there it was, a 4,5k withdrawal from Unibet. The same day I also told my parents that I had just won 4,5k, and they told me not to gamble ever again. On Monday I went back to military service and I listened to their words and never gambled again. For the next two weeks.
The next vacation came. I had 9,5k in my savings. Somehow I got a urge to climb my balance up to 10k and when I'd get to that, I'd completely stop gambling. I placed one bet. I placed another bet. I placed another bet. I soon noticed that I had not only gambled all my winnings away but also my whole balance. I had literally zero euros in my bank account. I didn't even realise it that night but the following morning I remember waking up checking my bank account just to make sure it wasn't dream (again). I felt like my world collapsed. I had three months left of my compulsory military service and my salary was like 400€/month. Every morning I woke up I had the same feeling, I felt like my world had collapsed. I told my military friends about what had happened and they pretty much just laughed at me and had exactly the same thought as I had had: "How can anyone be so stupid?". I couldn't tell any of my real friends or my family, because I felt humiliated. When my military salary came I tried to climb back up to 10k. Of course it was near impossible with 400€, so I lost them all. I continued like that for the rest of the military service. I had never took a loan from any of my friends or any other lender and that was the only good thing that I could think about that time. I have always had had a bad habit for lying and this significantly increased it. I've always been quite good at lying so my lies were believed.
Then I got off from military service (December 2020). I had got a new job as a salesman. My first month wasn't great and I only got like 800€. I once again tried to climb back up to 10k. I immediately lost it. Taking a loan came to my mind. I did some research and a local bank offered me a 4k loan which I took. I lost it that same night. I felt like my world collapsed even further. I sta I was completely lost and the only solution was to gather myself and finally tell my parents and also my girlfriend that I have a serious gambling addiction. They were extremely understanding and thanked me for daring to tell them. My parents lend me 500€ for me to survive the following month and I promised them that I'd never gamble again. Just like I promised them four months ago.
Now here I am with 7k in debt and zero euros in my bank account. I betrayed my promise again. Today I told my parents and my girlfriend about my current situation with gambling and after all this, they still managed to be extremely supportive. I've always been a positive person and I still tend to be. I have a loving family and a girlfriend, I have many close friends, I got accepted into a business university, I'm healthy, I'm not in a financial distress because I know that my parents can lend me money if I really do need it and I have a full-time job. I'm in a better situation than many many other people. I just can't find the right solution for myself to stop gambling. And I really do want to do so. I feel like I've thrown away the latest four months of my life, and I don't want to lose a single day anymore. I want to stop the constant lying and made up excuses for justifying my gambling, my mood swings and reckless behavior. I want to continue living my life as such a happy young man as I was last summer and before that.
Sorry for the long post, but getting the full story this off my chest felt awesome.

Hi everyone,
This is my first post so bare with me. It may be long so don’t feel compelled to read it.
I am 26 years old and in the midst of the Pandemic, I have been working from home since March. Before September, I would never have thought of myself having a gambling addiction. I remember being on a cruise when I turned 21 and put $20 in a slot machine and lost it and was so angry and disappointed in myself.
Then in September I kept seeing this ad on Instagram for an online casino. One day I succumbed and decided to sign-up because they had a $30 signup offer. I thought, ‘Hey what’s the harm?’ I wish I could go back and slap myself and say don’t do it.
I play through the free $30 and won $500. My whole body felt electrified. That went away when I realized there were wagering requirements (I have never been in/involved with casinos so I had no idea). By the time I met the wagering requirement, I had $75 of withdrawalable money. Still excited I made $75 for free I went to withdrawal, but found out the minimum withdrawal amount is $100. So I kept playing and eventually lost it. I wish I learned my lesson that this will be the reality most of the time.
For a bit of background, before this I was in a decent financial state. Pretty good job for someone my age, lived alone in a nice apartment, had some credit card debt, but overall manageable. I have some mental health problems (Bipolar and anxiety disorders) but received treatment and relatively stable compared to my early 20s.
As the days went on I couldn’t stop thinking about seeing that ‘big win’ flashing on my screen and kept thinking to myself, ‘that $500 could have been mine if I didn’t have that $30 bonus’. So, I decided to deposit $20 and bet low on the same game and won nothing. I felt sick like I did on the cruise.
This particular online casino gives you $1 every day, so for the next week I just played but $1 and won some, but not enough to withdrawal. About a week later, I got an email from the casino saying if I deposit $50, I’ll get an extra $50 with no wagering requirement. The thought of depositing $50 was crazy to me so I just deleted the email and continued with my free $1 a day. After about a week of that, I get another email, deposit $50 play with $200. I scoured the fine print and I only had to play through the extra $150 once, then any winnings I can withdrawal. I still hesitated until Friday night where I had a couple drinks and decided to go for it. Back then, I would say this was one of the most fun nights of my life. I kept landing the ‘fireshot’ feature and winning mini and minor jackpots. At the end of the night I won $1200 USD (I’m from Canada so it would be about $1500 CAD).
My body was so full of excitement I could barely hit the withdrawal button. When I did, I found out they had to verify my account and I had to send in the required documents. After I researched if this was standard for online casinos and researching this casino, I sent in my documents. I went to bed happy, and already had plans on what I was going to buy/pay off with this win. Unfortunately I was too excited to sleep. So I log back in and miraculously (at least to me back then), my $1200 was still there, and playable. So I thought why not play a few more rounds with a higher bet to get an even bigger win? Big mistake. By 3:00am, I was down to $100. I forced myself to stop so I could still withdrawal something. After about a week or two, I resisted playing/betting more and when I logged into my online banking and saw the $120 deposited, I think that’s when my addiction started.
I was no longer satisfied with my free $1 everyday. I started just depositing $20 here and there. On my lunch break or in the evening when I was bored. Then $20 turned into $50 and $50 to $100. After maxing my credit card with no significant wins, I decided enough was enough. And stopped for the rest of September.
Most likely because I had researched so much about online casinos, I had more ads than ever tempting me. One night again after a few drinks, I joined a different online casino. This one was completely different, with better games, a level up feature where you get to spin a wheel after each level and win free spins, cash back or free money, I was hooked again. I put in $50 and lost and was completely broke. So I patiently counted down the days until I got paid. I also sold about $500 worth of video games/consoles I didn’t want to sell, but did to have more money to gamble with.
On payday, I set an alarm for 4:00am when my pay is deposited. This was the first real sign to myself I may be becoming obsessed, but brushed it off. I deposited $100 and won $200. Same story, I had to verify my account but this was done within hours, and I got my money in two days VS a week and a half with my first casino. Stupidly, I put the $200 back in and lost it. I was back to being broke after only two days of getting paid. By the weekend, my credit card payment posted and in my eyes, I had money again.
That night I won most of what I lost back and learned my lesson and withdrew it. When I saw that sum deposited into my bank account, I was ecstatic. I first paid off my credit card I was using to make the deposits, and went out and bought AirPods Pro. I felt rich (even though the win was less than $1000). That evening I wanted to play again, but I had no money. This was the night I learned I could cancel a bill payment within 24 hours. Which I did. And played through all my winnings. Words can’t describe how disappointed I was in myself. I was broke. Credit card maxed. And the only thing I had to show for it were the AirPods. The next day I tried returning them but they wouldn’t accept the return because of their return policy on headphones. I vowed to myself to never gamble again, wrote a note in my phone describing what I was feeling so I could read it if I was ever tempted. That week I fell into a depressive episode. I couldn’t afford groceries, lied to friends and family for not spending time with them because I feared they would want to order food, I didn’t want to admit what happened, so I isolated myself.
That week was what I thought was the hardest. I just stayed in bed signing up to every casino out there for free spins no deposit sign ups to try to fill the void but you never actually win anything on no deposit spins. Finally, my good friend asked what is going on and I immediately bursted into tears and told her I was broke, and my credit card maxed. We work at the same job, and long story short, are both getting $5000 in retro pay because of a expired union contract. She told me she would lend me $5000 now, and I would give her my retro money when we get it in February. This was one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me. Reluctantly, I decided to accept this kindness and we worked out a budget on how I would not let this happen again. Here’s the thing, and I will never forgive myself for, I didn’t tell her all this happened because of gambling. I was too ashamed and embarrassed.
Life was somewhat normal again for a couple weeks until one night I decide to just put in $100 and see if I can win some of what I now owed my friend back. After $500 lost, those same feelings came back, but worse since I felt I betrayed my friend’s kindness, and that this isn’t the first time this happened.
Fast forward to November - I won again (not nearly enough to recover my losses), paid my credit card and cancelled the payment, lost it all again. Then towards the end of November, my $1000 for rent sitting in my savings account kept calling my name. I have never ever been in a position where I would risk not affording rent, but my addiction was stronger and I lost $500 of it. I had about a week until my rent was due, I had nowhere to turn, I couldn’t ask my friend for a loan because in her mind, and from the few times she asked, I was sticking to my budget. My new way of handling stress was gambling, so I put another $100 in and won $600. I was saved and again vowed myself to never put myself into this position again and ‘quit’.
Now it is December, I guess this is my rock bottom. Not nearly as bad as some people’s, but here it is. I took out another credit card for ‘emergencies’ since my main one is maxed. I was good, and didn’t use it except to buy a few groceries which I swore I would pay off on payday. My mental health declined, and I deposited $100 and lost it. Then another $100. Lost it. Made another ‘promise’ to myself to stop and I did until last night. I now owe $1,000 on the new credit card, and my main one is now in a negative balance because of a subscription.
I am a liar, I take advantage of people’s kindness that I didn’t deserve in the first place, and now in more credit card debt than I know how to deal with. All I can wish for is I’ve learned my lesson. That the money I lost I will never get back, and to find some way to fill the void gambling has left in my life. After only the first day, I don’t know what will give me that feeling of excitement, the feeling of being alive. I had all my casino accounts deleted this morning, but I know there are more out there, I just really hope I can stop myself from ever going back on this path.
If you made it this far thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions on what I can do to not relapse, and any hobbies or activities that can fill the void please let me know.

Sadly this will be my last year of HUT. Over the past couple of years I have become addicted to ripping packs, I broke free last Christmas and thought I could come back as a free to play or like $100 to play player but that is the case. While my spending is not what it has been in the past it is clear the only way for me to stop spending money on fake shit in games is to just not play them (i would retire this year but I already spent money)
Over the past couple of years, I have documented my story on occasion so I have collected all the posts I found and will compile them here
The Start
My addiction started at some point in high school (i believe when I got my ps4). I remember I used to bike 40 mins to the store before I had a credit card to buy psn cards or iTunes cards for whatever game I was into at the time (in this example Clash of Clans and HUT). Back then I made a lot of money and had little shit to spend it on so I didn't notice the problem
Crucial games that ultimately were terrible for me to play:

Maddens MUT (started in Madden 2018, so 2017)
MLB Diamond Dynasty (started in 2018, so 2018)
NHLs HUT (lifelong player)

When I Noticed:
I first noticed in 2018, as every summer I worked for my dad in a factory and would go to school with 12k (less if you factor in the money that was already going to be going to rent). It was October of 2018, I had been in school for 2 months and already noticed if I was to get through the year with my current lifestyle I would be back at the factory. I put this off until January as I had internships as well... and you know LAZY. So I wondered where the fuck did my money go, well MLB came out and boy was that year a gold mine for them. Then during Christmas, I got into Madden as my cousins played it.
Come January I was in need of money. My week for all of January was Class Monday and Tuesday, factory work Wednesday through Friday, and unpaid internship at a ski place Wednesday through Sunday (whenever I was schedule). To get to the ski place on time, I would come home from the factory and immediately leave to go do my internship in the fucking cold. I remember most of my drives to the ski place I would say to myself "honestly If I a car hit me I wouldn't care as long as I died so I don't have to continue this shit." Luckily that wasn't God's plan, you see I was not a great student for going to class as a result I failed the first class for my research paper and was going to school regardless next September. So i said "fuck it peace" to the internship and did it in 2019 (which has a fun but unrelated story I will attach to the end of this)
2019 what a terrible year
2019 was rolling along, I quit my internship. I was slowly paying off my debt (i still have a great credit score). Life was going well I discovered I have a gambling addiction and I was aware of it. I was going to beat this right, ABSOLUTELY FUCKING WRONG. I got MLB, I got Madden and I got NHL. That year I spent $3k on MLB, $3100 on Madden, and like $1k on HUT. To make matters worse, literally, 2 days before MAdden release I wrote about how I am fully aware of my problem and will fall back into... ya i spent 3k in one fucking month on MUT. Now during this summer, I was looking for a part-time job in the sports industry as it would count toward my internship, and also I did the math and calculated the money I would earn in the first semester to be enough for a little 1-2 week trip I planned on. Well, that didn't work out, the job I got was 3 paid hours a week (my internship was 20 a week). So ya I had less paid work than I planned on. Come September I even asked my friends if working for 2 weeks at the factory to do a week in a European country was worth it (forget what country). They said Nah, later that year come November I decided to spend May 2020 in New Zealand (LMAO FUCK COVID) so I went back to the factory. Come around Christmas in 2019 I absolutely quit playing Ultimate team games and I went up until my trip was canceled without spending a cent on a game after purchasing it.
2020- yes it has been bad
The trip got canceled (luckily got airline refund), I finished working for my dad up to the end of April when I was supposed to leave. I decided to pursue other job options at the start of May. Unemployed in summer was fun since I've worked every summer since grade 10, but ya turns out hard af to get a job during covid- luckily I've had financial gifts so far this year. I discovered I can become a German citizen so I am going to fuck off to Europe next fall (hopefully). It'll be interesting going a year without playing video games. But ya I think im nearing $1k on HUT this year, more than I hoped but also as my only video game spending (outside league which i have played since 2016 so the cost per year is low) I'd say im doing pretty well now. I need to not get next year as this relationship is not healthy at all for me (extremely healthy for EA). Now i just go hangout with a server friend at the bar like 4 nights a week.
But ya thats my story, sadly after i quit HUT this year I won't be subbed here anymore and my NHL series streak will end. Such a shame since I have had everyone since I was born in 97'

Fun story of 2019 internship:
I'll keep it short.

Worked at a place that provided children recreational activities
Worked with high school kids (grade 11 and 12) as well as college kids
Was like an older brother to the high schoolers (literally treated them how I treat my younger sister)
Saw a Christmas movie with a group of coworkers (Last Christmas is the movie). Went early to people watch at the mall. Ended up meeting up with 2 of the high schoolers after they finished dress shopping for their high school dance. Got to experience a very uncomfortable conversation as they talked about their boobs
Got my fucking 2012 transverse eggs (while I was working). The day Rise of Skywalker came out (Dec 23rd). Was more pissed they didn't use eggnog, like fuck at least be festive if you are going to vandalize

but ya the egging was quite funny. I didn't care as I had a very good hunch who did it. I was just more upset it wasnt eggnog. My coworkers didnt understand how that was the thing i was upset about

But goodbye NHLHUT, it was fun hanging out here and share our views at what EA did poorly and what they did well at each year. Feels weird saying buy as i am still currently playing but dont want to make a post later since ill forget)

<<< Timeline VII
2009, continued

March 21-28, 2009: Kafkaesque
- Gus meets with Hector and hints that he orchestrated the deaths of Leonel and Marco and Juan Bolsa out of revenge, infuriating the immobile Hector.
- Walt and Jesse are now in full production in the new lab and are easily producing the 200 pounds of meth each week, as per their quota. Jesse finds that they're even overproducing, and is resentful when Walt refuses to allow him to remove the extra pounds from the shipment, particularly since he has calculated that Gus will net at least $96 million by the end of their three-month contract, while the two of them are receiving only a combined payment of $3 million despite doing all of the work. Walt, however, is unconcerned by this and simply brushes off Jesse's complaints as him being unappreciative.
- Hank is still recovering in the hospital, and Steve Gomez shows up to tell him that the blue meth has made a comeback in several states, thus confirming Hank's suspicions that Heisenberg has not yet been captured. Hank is nevertheless dissatisfied, and reveals that the only reason he's still alive is because he got a warning call a minute before his would-be assassins attacked him. Instantly suspicious of Walt, Skyler asks him if they, and he, are safe. Walt assures her that they are.
- Though Hank is now conscious and functioning, his legs are mostly paralyzed, and the prognosis is that he may not be able to walk again, even with months of physical therapy. His doctor tells Marie that the therapy he needs is unlikely to fall within their insurance plan, and they would most likely end up having to pay out of pocket, which could end up costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- Walt meets with Gus at his distribution center to "clear the air." Hank's revelation that he received a phone call before the attack has led Walt to the conclusion that Gus was the one who diverted the Cartel assassins away from him and directed them towards Hank instead so that an attempted hit on a DEA agent would get the American and Mexican governments to crack down hard on the Cartel and close off the distribution of meth from across the border, thereby granting Gus complete control over the market from within the States. Despite having put Hank's life in jeopardy, Walt nevertheless expresses gratitude towards Gus for saving his own life and commends him for his strategy, saying that he'd have done the same in Gus' position. He also brings up the issue of not knowing what will happen when his three-month contract has expired. Gus promises him security for his family, and also brings up the possibility of extending their contract to a year, which would increase his earnings to $15 million. Walt considers it.
- Saul encourages Jesse to purchase a nail salon with which he can use to launder the money he makes from the meth business. Jesse flatly refuses, especially since doing so would require him to report his income to the IRS and thereby pay taxes. Tired of having to adhere to the quotas and responsibilities within his new job, and wanting a larger cut of the profits, Jesse decides to steal the leftover pounds of meth that he and Walt produce in the lab to sell separately to the members of his rehab support group. He enlists Badger and Skinny Pete in this endeavor, and during a meeting, they pose as two new members and initiate a conversation within the group where they mention the blue meth, piquing everyone's interest in it.
- Marie becomes increasingly frustrated about being unable to find a means to pay for Hank's physical therapy, as their insurance will not cover the therapists. Skyler finally offers to pay their bills directly using Walt's drug money. She fabricates a story of Walt being a compulsive blackjack gambler, saying that this has been the cause of their recent marital problems. She explains that Walt took to gambling to pay his medical bills after his cancer diagnosis, and after some losses, his winnings have netted them an amount with seven figures. Marie is left shocked and appalled, but agrees to take their money to pay for Hank's therapy.
- Walt expresses surprise in Skyler's ability to come up with such an elaborate story on the fly. Skyler tells Walt that she believes he is somehow responsible for the attack on Hank, and that she is "not forgetting that."
March 29, 2009: Fly
- Walt, suffering from insomnia, stares up at his smoke detector's flashing light while trying to get back to sleep. Later, he arrives with Jesse at the superlab, where they begin making another batch of meth. At the end of the day, Walt calculates that their yield, while above what they are required to produce, falls short of what he expects. Jesse, who has been secretly taking small amounts for personal distribution, suggests it may be from other losses from spillage, but Walt insists there is another reason.
- After Jesse leaves for the day, Walt sees a housefly in the lab which he fears could contaminate the meth-making process. He tries numerous means to swat it, even dangling precariously from the lab's catwalk, from which he slips and falls to the floor. When Jesse returns the next day, he finds Walt still in pain from the fall and demanding that they cannot start cooking until they get rid of the fly. Jesse worries about Walt's lack of sleep and suggests they go outside to figure it out. However, when Jesse leaves, Walt locks him out of the lab and goes back to find the fly. When Jesse disconnects the main power to the lab, Walt lets him back in so they can work together. Jesse gets some flypaper which they hang around the lab, as well as some sleeping pills that he secretly puts into Walt's coffee. He then recounts a story about his late aunt, who experienced auditory hallucinations as a result of her cancer spreading to her brain. Walt asserts that he is still in remission.
- As they wait to catch the fly, the two talk about their families. Walt expresses that he should have died already and tries to think of the perfect moment to have done so: after he had enough money, after Holly was born, before his surgery and before Skyler knew what he'd been doing. He finally decides the perfect moment to die would have been the night Jane died, telling Jesse of his conversation with her father Donald. He tries to calculate the chances of meeting both father and daughter in different scenarios on the same night despite having never met either beforehand, but finds the odds too astronomical to calculate. Jesse is distracted when he sees the fly near the ceiling. As he tries to use a step-ladder to reach the fly, an increasingly-sleepy Walt seems poised to confess to Jesse about his role in Jane's death. Jesse tells him Jane's death was nobody's fault, but he still misses her. Jesse climbs back down and, seeing the fly land on the ladder, swats and kills it.
- Jesse takes a sleeping Walt to a couch while he cleans up the superlab and prepares for their next batch. They later leave together, but Walt warns Jesse that if he has been skimming from their product, he will not be able to protect him if Gus finds out. Jesse denies taking anything and states that he isn't asking anyone to protect him. That night, Walt is again unable to fall asleep, and sees a fly landing on the smoke detector's flashing light.
March 30 - April 7, 2009: Abiquiu
- Hank is frustrated with his physical therapy. Marie gives Skyler the therapy bill to pay as they previously discussed. Walt attempts to pay with his drug money, but Skyler insists the source must be "unimpeachable." Walt takes her to meet Saul, who laundered his money in the past. Skyler is put off by his flippant personality and his scheme to buy a laser tag facility. Instead, she suggests a more believable business investment: the car wash where Walt previously worked. Saul objects, as the owner of the laser tag facility would ask no questions about the deal, while the car wash owner, Bogdan, is an unknown factor. Skyler offers to help launder the money by managing the car wash. Walt worries that this would make her liable for his actions, but she reveals she never signed the divorce papers, and if married, cannot be made to testify against him.
- Meanwhile, Walt warns Jesse about skimming some of their meth product, which he continues to deny doing. Jesse takes what he has stolen to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting to give to Badger and Skinny Pete to help peddle. The two reveal they can't bring themselves to sell meth to recovering addicts, so Jesse shows them how easy it is by striking up a conversation with Andrea, a newcomer to the meetings. He soon becomes attached to Andrea while surreptitiously attempting to sell her product. Andrea invites him to her home, where Jesse discovers she has a son, Brock. From him, Jesse learns Andrea has a younger brother named Tomás, although she initially refuses to talk about him. Later, Andrea suggests they use meth, but Jesse declines now that he knows she has a child, and the two argue. Andrea insists she wants to avoid having Brock suffer from the same fate as Tomás, who, as part of an initiation to a local drug gang, shot a rival dealer at a street corner. Jesse recognizes the murder is similar to that of Combo a few months prior.
- Gus invites Walt to his home for a private dinner, telling Walt that he made many mistakes when he first began working in the drug business. He regrets that he did not have a mentor and warns Walt never to make the same mistake twice. Although Walt does not appear to understand what Gus is referring to, it later becomes apparent he is speaking of Walt's relationship with Jesse. The next day, Jesse travels to the corner where Combo was killed. He finds Tomás there, and confirms that not only is he working for a drug gang, but the gang works for Gus peddling the blue meth that he and Walt are making. Jesse quietly walks away, enraged.
April 8-14, 2009: Half Measures
- Skyler pushes Walt to accept her plan of laundering his drug money through the car wash. They continue to disagree, but are able to negotiate a plan that allows Walt to have some family dinners at home as a ploy to make the Whites appear reconciled. Meanwhile, Jesse begins to plot against those who killed Combo. He buys blue meth from the gang responsible, indicating that the people who killed Combo work for Gus. Jesse tells Walt about his findings and asks him to make ricin so he can exact revenge. Although Walt appears troubled by the gang's use of children, he dismisses the plan and tells Jesse to do the same. Jesse says, "I’m doing it. With or without you."
- Convinced Jesse is likely to do something rash that would endanger multiple people, including himself, Walt visits Saul and they hatch a plan to have Jesse sent to jail for a month to cool down. Meanwhile, Marie wheels Hank out of the hospital after winning a bet where she arouses him during a sponge bath. Mike makes an unannounced visit to Walt at home, telling him that he is not going to follow Saul's plan. He explains that Gus does not know of Jesse's intentions, but that if he follows through on them, he will find out and "take it as a problem." He then recounts an incident from his time as a cop, when he showed mercy by allowing a habitually abusive husband to live, only to have the man beat his wife to death shortly after. He tells Walt that he chose a "half measure" instead of killing the husband, and warns before leaving: "No more half measures."
- Jesse plants a poison of his own making in burgers his friend Wendy, a local prostitute, will bring to the gang members. However, Mike and Victor get to Jesse first, thwarting his plan and forcing him to go for a ride. They bring him to a meeting with Gus, Walt, and the dealers he was targeting. Jesse is furious to realize Walt has revealed his plan to Gus, but Gus tells him that Walt is his only friend in the room. After several tense verbal exchanges, the dealers agree to stop using children, and Jesse agrees to "keep the peace." It is implied that Jesse intends to drop his plans for revenge, although his relationship with Walt is damaged. He refuses to speak to Walt in the car after the meeting, and later won't return his phone calls.
- That night, Jesse hears about the death of Tomás, and rushes to the scene with his girlfriend Andrea. He realizes the dealers have killed Tomás because he is no longer of value to them, as they've agreed to stop using children. Jesse waits in his car near their territory, watching them and snorting meth for the first time since leaving rehab. He grabs a gun from under his seat, leaves the vehicle and starts walking towards the dealers. As Jesse draws his gun, the dealers begin to do likewise. Suddenly, Walt plows over both dealers with his car. He exits the vehicle with one still underneath, and another injured but reaching for his gun. Walt picks up the gun, shoots the dealer in the head, and tells Jesse to run.
April 15-16, 2009: Full Measure
- After Walt kills the gang members and Jesse goes on the run, Walt meets with Gus and Mike to negotiate for his and Jesse's safety, and for the continuation of his employment. Walt suggests Gus has two options: (A) kill Walt right there on the spot and eventually track down and kill Jesse, or (B) consider the incident a "lone hiccup in an otherwise long and fruitful business arrangement," let him return to cooking, and both agree to forget about Jesse. Gus leaves, appearing to have chosen option B, but informs Walt that he will be choosing Jesse's replacement.
- Walt arrives at the superlab to discover Gale Boetticher's car in the parking lot. Gale has been reinstated as Walt's lab partner, and Victor now shadows them everywhere, ensuring the two are never left alone. Gus informs Gale later that night of Walt's cancer. Gus says he intends to keep Walt on as long as possible, but must prepare for the "worst-case scenario." Walt, whose prior suspicions about Gale are soon reignited, correctly concludes that Gus is grooming Gale to replace him, and that he will be killed once Gale masters Walt's procedure.
- Acting on Gus's request, Mike visits Saul to find out Jesse's whereabouts. Saul refuses, claiming attorney–client privilege, but relents after Mike physically threatens him. Saul then allows Mike to look at a notebook containing a fake address for a trailer park in Virginia.
- Walt and Saul meet Jesse at a laser tag arcade; Victor is parked nearby and watches Walt and Saul enter. Walt informs Jesse of his situation, and explains that when Gale is confident enough to take over, they will be disposed of. Walt decides they must kill Gale. Jesse begs Walt, having made enough money from the venture to ensure his family are financially secure, to quit and go to the police or the DEA, but Walt refuses. He reasons that Gus can't stop production, and with Gale out of the picture, Gus would have no choice but to keep Walt. Jesse says he is not a murderer and can't kill Gale. Walt says he will do the job, and Jesse only needs to find Gale's address, as Walt is being heavily watched and can't manage it. Later that evening, Jesse calls Walt at home with Gale's address.
- As Walt is leaving his home to kill Gale, Victor arrives and informs him of a chemical leak at the lab. Suspecting a setup, Walt nevertheless goes with Victor. Upon arriving at the laundromat, Walt sees Mike, confirming his suspicions. Pleading for his life, Walt offers to cook for free and take them to Jesse. Mike, upon hearing this, demands Jesse's location, but Walt says he needs to call him and set up a meeting. Walt calls Jesse, who is sitting in the darkened laser tag building about to smoke meth. Jesse asks "Did you do it?" Walt says no, he can't now, and tells Jesse he is about to be killed. He urges Jesse to reach Gale and kill him first. Victor and Mike wrestle the phone away and when Walt quotes Gale's address to them, they realize what he has asked Jesse to do. Victor hurriedly leaves; Mike stays with Walt and attempts to warn Gale, but Gale fails to notice his phone ringing.
- Jesse arrives at Gale's house and pulls a gun on him. Gale pleads with Jesse, telling him that he doesn't have to do it. A tearful and shaking Jesse pulls the trigger as the screen cuts to black, with a gunshot being heard.
April 16-17, 2009: Box Cutter
- Jesse has just shot Gale to death on orders from Walt to foil Gus' plot to kill and replace them. Gus' henchman Victor arrives at Gale's apartment and finds him dead, surrounded by neighbors who have just called police. Victor finds a stunned Jesse sitting in his car and forces him to return to the lab, where Gus' employee Mike Ehrmantraut is holding Walt hostage. Mike, who is concerned that Victor was seen at Gale's apartment, calls to inform Gus. Victor, who realizes his own position is precarious because witnesses saw him at Gale's, has watched Walt work and starts cooking meth himself to prove that he has value to Gus, and that Gus does not need Walt or Jesse. Walt grows concerned when Victor proves better at the process than he expected.
- Meanwhile, Skyler observes his car in her driveway and, not wishing her son Walt Jr. to see it, parks it a few blocks away to conceal it. Concerned about Walt's apparent disappearance, she calls their lawyer Saul Goodman, but he has become paranoid because of Walt's falling out with Gus and is too busy checking his office for listening devices. Skyler hires a locksmith to break into Walt's condo, claiming she lives there. When he hesitates to do so without verifying her address, Skyler claims her purse was stolen and fakes a panic attack until he lets her in, but she finds little of interest. Elsewhere, Skyler's sister Marie struggles to maintain her composure while caring for her belligerent husband Hank, who is still bedridden after the attempt on his life.
- Gus arrives at the lab but says nothing. Walt launches into a nervous, rambling monologue of excuses and justifications, trying to convince Gus he needs him and Jesse alive. He claims it is Gus who is ultimately responsible for Gale's death, not them, and insists Victor cannot produce the high-quality meth Gus needs. Gus maintains his silence, even while changing into hazmat gear and selecting a box cutter from a storage shelf, while Victor grins in anticipation. Never changing his demeanor, Gus suddenly slices Victor's throat, startling the others. Through the killing, Gus simultaneously punishes Victor while delivering a stern message to Walt and Jesse. Gus drops the body to the floor and coldly eyes the duo to ensure his message was received. He quietly returns to his street clothes, then walks out of the lab, pausing only to say, "Well, get back to work."
- Later, Walt and Jesse dispose of Victor's body, the gun that killed Gale, and the box cutter in a barrel of hydrofluoric acid. During breakfast, Walt insists that Gale's death was necessary, but expresses concern that Gus will kill them at his next opportunity. Jesse doubts this, believing it will be too much trouble for Gus to find another drug manufacturer, and that both they and Gus understand the situation: neither can kill the other, so Gus might as well make them wish they were dead. The episode ends with police investigating Gale's apartment with the camera focusing on his lab notes, which have yet to be discovered.
April 18 - May 4, 2009: Thirty-Eight Snub
- Walt buys a Ruger LCR .38 snubnosed revolver from a black market gun dealer. Walt plans to use the concealable gun to kill his employer, drug kingpin Gus. Since falling out of favor with Gus, Walt believes Gus will kill him if he does not act first; when the gun dealer asks why Walt needs the gun, he insists it is strictly for self-defense. Later, Walt practices drawing the weapon. Elsewhere, Gus' henchman Mike drinks coffee at a bar and discovers dried blood on his jacket sleeve belonging to Victor, whom Gus previously murdered. Although Mike is silent, he appears to harbor conflicted feelings about what happened to Victor. Meanwhile, Jesse has purchased expensive gadgets, like a sophisticated sound system and the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, but remains miserable after having murdered Gale to save Walt and himself. After his friends Badger and Skinny Pete visit, Jesse has them arrange a wild party with dozens of people dancing, drinking and doing drugs to further distract himself.
- Later, while cooking meth at their lab, Walt waits for Gus to arrive so he can kill him. Instead, Victor's replacement Tyrus arrives with Mike, who informs Walt he will never see Gus again. That night, Walt drives to Gus' house and approaches with the gun, but before he can cross the street, Walt receives a call from Tyrus, who says simply, "Go home, Walter." The next day, as Walt approaches Mike at the bar, Mike tells Walt that he observed Walt tailing him to the bar. Mike then reveals he could tell that Walt was carrying a weapon in the lab. Walt suggests he and Mike are in the same danger, and Gus could easily kill Mike the same way he killed Victor. This visibly unnerves Mike, who appears to be aware of this. Walt asks that Mike get him in a room with Gus so he can kill him. In response, Mike punches Walt, knocking him to the floor, kicks him in the torso a few times and then leaves the bar.
- Skyler calls Walt to ask about buying the car wash where Walt once worked, which they plan to use as a front business for Walt's drug money. When Walt fails to act on the purchase, Skyler starts doing her own detailed research about the business's expenses and revenues. She later approaches the car wash owner, Bogdan, about the proposed purchase, but he angrily rejects her, making sexist remarks and condemning Walt for having insulted Bogdan when he quit the car wash. Meanwhile, Marie continues struggling to deal with Hank's deepening depression as he copes with physical therapy from having been shot. The bed-ridden and bitter Hank constantly ignores or insults Marie and, even after celebrating a successful session with his physical therapist, he refuses to share any of that excitement with Marie.
- After three straight days of partying, Jesse tries to keep hanging out with Badger and Skinny Pete, but they are exhausted and go home, along with all of the other guests in Jesse's house. Alone with his thoughts, a depressed Jesse breaks down and cries, sitting less than an inch away from his speakers at an extremely high volume.
May 5-6, 2009: Open House
- Walt furiously notices a motion-detecting surveillance camera that has been installed in the lab.
- Later that day, Skyler convinces Walt in a meeting with Saul to buy the car wash by mentioning how the owner insulted his manhood. She devises a plan to trick the owner into selling by having con artist Patrick Kuby pretend to be a water-tester who is shutting down the business out of concerns over contaminants. The owner promptly sells to her, agreeing to an even lower price than her original offer.
- Jesse is still feeling numb from recent events, attempting to clear his head with nostalgic go-kart trips. He continues to open his house up for all-night drug-fueled orgies, deliberately throwing piles of money in the midst of the chaos.
- Angry and frustrated by Hank's continuous cold shoulder, Marie resumes her kleptomania; she starts stealing objects from real-estate open houses, where she also makes up elaborate stories about who she is, but is eventually caught by a real-estate agent. A livid Hank pulls strings with a senior police officer to get her out of being charged. The same officer drops by the Schrader residence to seek Hank's help by giving him Gale's lab notes to look at. Hank initially shoves away the notebook, but begins to read it later that night.
May 7-17, 2009: Bullet Points
- Mike rides in the back of a Los Pollos Hermanos refrigerator truck on a meth delivery run. The truck screeches to a halt as it is forced off the road by a pair of hijackers. Mike pulls out his gun and listens as the gunmen pull the driver from the cab and shoot him in the head. Mike takes cover as the gunmen raise Heckler & Koch MP5K submachine guns and shoot up the trailer. After firing two volleys, the gunmen break into the truck, only to be promptly shot dead by Mike. Only after he steps out of the truck does Mike find that one bullet has grazed his right ear.
- Walt and Skyler prepare an elaborate story about Walt having a gambling addiction and a successful card counting method. They hope it will explain how they can pay for Hank's medical bills and purchase a car wash (that will actually be used to launder Walt's meth profits). Walt remains too distracted to put much effort into the charade and is worried how Walt Jr. will perceive him. During a family dinner at Hank and Marie's, Skyler and Walt tell everyone the gambling addiction story, but Hank and Walt Jr. turn out to be impressed by it.
- Later, Walt is shocked to learn that Hank is investigating Gale's murder. Hank says that he believes that Gale was the elusive Heisenberg and expresses regret that he was not able to arrest him. When asked by Hank to read about a chemical process written in Gale's lab notes, Walt notices a line from a Walt Whitman poem and a dedication: "W.W. My Star, My Perfect Silence." When Hank chuckles at the initials matching Walt's, Walt jokingly admits admitted to being "W.W," and says "you got me," before telling Hank that "W.W." refers to the poet, Walt Whitman.
- When Walt asks Hank about the investigation, he learns that the only leads are some fingerprints and an eyewitness spotted at the scene. Hearing about this evidence, Walt is spooked and worries that the police will connect Jesse to the murder.
- Walt goes to Jesse's house and is disgusted by its condition, as it is now being used as a drug den by addicts and vagrants. Jesse is adamant nothing can connect him to Gale's murder, but when he is asked if he picked up the shell casing from the gun (which could have his fingerprints on it), it is revealed he did not. When he is further questioned about the murder, Jesse starts to panic due to the memory of it and pays two druggies to kick Walt out of the house. Walt later laments to Saul about how the meth business is falling apart because no one is acting professionally, and rejects an offer to go into hiding.
- Jesse's detached complacence eventually leads to all of his meth money being stolen from his house, but Mike quickly recovers it and warns Jesse that he's on thin ice. Jesse is apathetic about the loss and recovery, leading Mike to tell Gus that Jesse's lack of professionalism is a problem for the organization, and they must intervene. Jesse does not show up to the lab the next day and Walter realizes that he has been kidnapped. The episode ends with Mike driving Jesse to an unknown destination. When he asks Jesse if he would like to know where they are going, the only reply is a simple "nope."
May 17-18, 2009: Shotgun
- Walt is racing to Los Pollos Hermanos to confront Gus about Jesse's disappearance. Worried about what will happen, Walt leaves a voicemail for Skyler and his children, saying only that he loves them. Walt learns that Gus is not in, and Mike eventually calls, explaining that Jesse is with him and will not be harmed, and tells Walt to go back to work.
- Over the course of the day, Mike drives Jesse to seven isolated drop-off spots all over New Mexico, where Gus's dealers leave the money from meth sales for pickup. Jesse assumes he was brought along to watch Mike's back, but Mike denies this and says he doesn't know why he was asked to take Jesse. While waiting in the car alone at the last drop-off spot, Jesse notices two robbers approach, one armed with a shotgun. He slams the car in reverse, rams into their car, and drives off. When Jesse returns, Mike hints that he is impressed. It is later revealed that Gus set up the entire scene so that Jesse would consider himself a "hero."
- Meanwhile, Walt and Skyler officially buy the car wash. After Skyler hears the voicemail Walt left earlier, the two passionately make love and she offers to let Walt move back in, but Walt leaves for the lab without giving an answer. Jesse has returned to the lab and explains to Walt that he will be working in the lab and also helping Mike with pickups from now on. Walt Jr. excitedly reveals to his father that Skyler already set the date for Walt to move back in, which seems to unnerve him. Seeing Walt Jr. drink from a Beneke Fabricators mug—whose boss, Ted Beneke, had an affair with Skyler—upsets him further.
- During dinner at Hank and Marie's, a brooding Walt gets increasingly tipsy on wine. Hank explains that he gave up investigating Gale further, having found a sense of closure in the death of the man he believed to be "Heisenberg," but lauds Gale's genius. A prideful Walt then insists that Gale was not a genius, and suggests that he was copying someone else's work. This convinces Hank to take another look at the case files, and he notices that the strictly vegan Gale had notes scribbled on a napkin from Los Pollos Hermanos.
May 19-20, 2009: Cornered
- Two guards ride in the back of a Los Pollos Hermanos refrigerator truck which is suddenly forced off the road by cartel hitmen, led by cartel member Gaff. They shoot the driver in the head, lock the truck, and use a hose to redirect the truck's exhaust into the ventilation system. They eat the driver's lunch while the hidden guards die of carbon monoxide poisoning. Gaff and his men then open the truck, and find a marked container of fry batter that contains meth for distribution.
- Skyler listens to Walt's voice message twice after researching Gale Boetticher's death on the internet. She wakes up a hungover Walt the morning after their dinner with Hank and Marie during which Walt suggested to Hank the genius who created the blue meth might still be out there. Skyler wants to talk to Walt about Gale. She suspects Gale's death is related to the meth operation, which leads her to pressure Walt to call the police due to the danger it presents their family. She suggests a hypothetical situation where one day an in-over-his-head Walt opens his front door and is shot in the face. Furious that Skyler does not understand the scope of his criminal operation, Walt responds that, in that scenario, he would be "the one who knocks." Skyler flees the house, taking Holly with her. She ponders escaping to Colorado, going so far as to drive to the Four Corners Monument, but ultimately reconsiders.
- Walt receives the keys to the car wash from Bogdan, and avenges his past insults by making Bogdan leave behind his framed first earned dollar, which Walt uses to buy a soda. Walt tells Walt Jr. he is not moving back home and buys a new Dodge Challenger to cheer him up. Jesse returns to the lab and Walt expresses doubt that Jesse was hired to help Mike due to stopping an earlier robbery, considering the whole thing a ruse by Gus Fring to create a wedge between them. Jesse is later called away by Mike before he can help clean the lab. Infuriated, Walt pays off three women at the laundry to do it, but afterwards feels guilty as Gus punishes them by sending Tyrus Kitt to deport them back to Honduras.
- Jesse and Mike scout a house selling the blue meth from the hijacked truck, but Jesse grows impatient and tricks one of the meth users into letting him into the house, where he knocks out the other. Mike notices the words "¿Estás listo para platicar?" written on the stolen container which translates to "Are you ready to talk?". Gus meets with Mike at a diner that night and decides to try and negotiate with the cartel. Outside of the diner, Jesse asks Gus, "Why me?" in reference to him being asked to help Mike during the previous several days. Gus responds by saying "I like to think I see things in people." Meanwhile, Skyler arrives home and demands that Walter return Junior's car, as buying lavish things threatens their cover story, saying "someone has to protect this family from the man who protects this family."
May 21 - June 4, 2009: Problem Dog
- ASkyler tells Walt that she's negotiated the return of Walt, Jr's Dodge Challenger to the dealership, Walt angrily drives the Challenger to a parking lot, burns donuts, and strands the car on a cement parking divider, then stuffs the ownership papers in the gas tank, lights them afire, and blows up the car. Saul covers up the outburst, which costs Walt $52,000.
- When Walt later drops off approximately $274,000 — his biweekly profits — to Skyler, she is stunned by the amount, unsure how she'll launder his annual meth-lab earnings of over $7 million, in mostly $50 bills no less, through their car wash. Meanwhile, Hank visits Los Pollos Hermanos with Walt, Jr. and manages to get Gus's fingerprints on a cup.
- Walt convinces Jesse to use his new position as a henchman in the organization to kill Gus, and concocts a ricin poison in the lab that Jesse hides in one of his cigarettes. Mike brings Jesse along to a sitdown between Gus and the cartel. Jesse is told to make coffee for the meeting and contemplates poisoning the coffee, but he is interrupted before he can act. Mike is surprised when the cartel sends only one man to the meeting, who delivers to Gus an ultimatum. Gus, who had been prepared for a negotiation, rejects the ultimatum. Jesse contemplates shooting Gus as the cartel representative leaves, but decides not to. Mike later tells Jesse that Gus is impressed by Jesse's loyalty, but that he thinks it's "for the wrong guy."
- Jesse returns to his Twelve-step program group. During his turn, he discreetly shares his feelings about killing Gale, saying he shot a "problem dog" that otherwise did nothing wrong. Jesse angrily disagrees when the group leader tells him not to judge himself, and reveals to everyone that he had used the group as a market to peddle meth. The group leader finally expresses disapproval of Jesse. Hank meets with Gomez and Merkert and explains his theory that Gus leads a large meth operation. Although Hank's investigation into Madrigal Electromotive GmbH — the German parent company of Los Pollos Hermanos — was stopped by its attorney, Hank reveals that Gus's fingerprints on the cup Hank had earlier obtained from Los Pollos Hermanos match fingerprints found in Gale's apartment.
June 5 - July 2, 2009: Hermanos
- Gus is called to meet with the police and DEA, where he is asked about his fingerprints in Gale's apartment. He explains that Gale was a recipient years ago of a UNM college scholarship in chemistry that Gus created, and says that Gale had invited Gus to his apartment for dinner to ask him for money. Hank asks if Gus Fring is his real name, as there are no records of anyone with that name in his native Chile. Gus says he immigrated at the time of Pinochet's dictatorship, which he claims was notorious both for human rights violations and poor record-keeping. The investigators are satisfied with his answers, except Hank, who is still suspicious. Meanwhile, Skyler begins to hide Walt's meth money in a crawl space below the house.
- Hank later asks Walt to drive him to a mineral show, but reveals en route that he's really going to Los Pollos Hermanos to plant a GPS tracking unit on Gus' car. Walt is nervous since he is already on poor terms with Gus and because Mike has appeared and is watching him, but Walt ultimately gives in to Hank. Walt pretends to plant the tracker and goes inside the restaurant, where Gus meets him at a register. Walt hastens to assure Gus that he didn't plant the tracker, showing it still in his pocket, but Gus tells him to "do it." Perplexed, Walt plants the tracker on his way back to his car and leaves with Hank. Later, Walt (on video) and Mike each assure Gus that Hank is acting on his own and not as part of the DEA's investigation, but Mike advises Gus that Hank may pose a problem if Gus and the cartel go to war. Walt warns Jesse about Hank's investigation and again urges him to kill Gus. While he is at Jesse's house, Walt intercepts a text message meant for Jesse and suspects that Jesse is becoming loyal to Gus.
- Gus goes to see Hector in the nursing home and asks him, cryptically, if today is the day. Gus tells Hector to look him in the eyes, but Hector refuses. "Maybe next time," Gus says, and leaves.

Timeline IX >>>

Growing up I was never into sports or gambling at all. I used to be the type of person to go to the casino and throw 20 dollars on blackjack or throw 20 dollars on slots and look at it as “you’re going to lose this, but you might win something and if you don’t it’s only 20 dollars and you’re done.” The person I became within a very short time was a far cry from that conservative gambler I used to be.
I saw my friends who were very into sports and gambling start to bet on football on FanDuel and DraftKings Sportsbook and they would win money here and there, but I was dead against the idea. That is until the sportsbooks had a promotion for a risk free bet for 500 dollars. It was the Broncos vs Chiefs. Not knowing much about sports at the time, I knew the Chiefs were gonna absolutely crush the struggling Broncos and I took the Chiefs -8.5 at -110 odds. It was a risk free bet so I thought fuck it, I’ll get my money back if it loses. Well, it won. And the dopamine rush of winning that kind of money for just picking a selection had me hooked. It was better than weed, cocaine, alcohol, or any kind of substance I had experienced before.
Pretty soon I ballooned that almost 1000 bucks into 35 grand over the course of a couple months and I was over the moon. I have a good paying job, but I work a lot of hours and it’s very hard physical work. It’s very draining and I viewed sports betting as a way out and into an easier more prosperous lifestyle to break the cycle of my daily misery. But boy was I in for a surprise...
So then COVID-19 hit and I was forced to stop gambling due to there being no sports. I wish I had stopped for good because I would’ve still had that money, but you can’t turn back time as the saying goes. There was a 2-3 month period where I stopped gambling completely and I was really happy. I never had that much money sitting in my bank account before. I could go on any trip I wanted. I bought a sweet new-to-me Audi in cash. I was elated. But when sports came back things started going downhill...fast...
I got into betting Russian table tennis as stupid as it sounds. I laughed at the idea the books started offering it as a bet, but I got into it studying the lines on betsapi and sofascore thinking I could beat the lines like I did in American professional sports. I had what I thought to me was ‘unlimited bankroll’ so I’d bet 100 at a time on each table tennis match (which last no more than 30 minutes vs 2-4 hours for a pro sport). I was hooked. I’d wake up at 7:00am for work and there would be a full slate and I was betting almost every match possible. Sometimes I would make 3 grand in a day. Sometimes I’d be down 2 grand. It was a roller coaster, but this is where my addiction took a turn for the worst.
After getting addicted to table tennis for 2 month, real sports came back. I wanted to get back into the 500 and 1000 dollar parlays I was making, but I didn’t want to throw all that money up at once. So I would do 100 dollar table tennis bets first thing in the morning and try to get to those dollar amounts. This was my downfall. Chasing loss, after loss on what I thought were “sure fire bets” the money started disappearing rapidly. Soon enough I was broke. But that wasn’t good enough. I have good credit so I went and took out a 7000 dollar loan to get back on my feet.
I promised myself I wouldn’t gamble that 7000, but what did I do? Follow the same path I promised myself I wouldn’t go down. I even won a parlay for 13000, another for 7000, one for 8300, and many for 3-4000. I’m writing you today to tell you still have that 7000 debt and not a single dollar to my name. The last 3 paychecks I’ve gotten have all gone to gambling. Every. Single. Dollar. Within 2 days of getting paid. It’s an absolute ruthless addiction that will take everything from you.
How did I stop? I forced myself to cut access from my money. My bank card held all the power to allow myself to drain my accounts to chase money that I’ll never get back so easily. I’ve come to accept I have to work for what I have even though it’s so hard. Gambling is easy. The consequences are hard. I came clean to my dad and he’s taking over my finances for quite some time. I’m fortunate that it’s only 7k in the hole and I’ve stopped the bleeding now, but not a day goes by I don’t think about that 35k in my bank account. My dad told me something that stuck with me and I think it’s the thing that’s gonna keep me away forever
“Son, that money was never yours. No matter how much you win, you’ll give it all back”
Thank you for listening to my story and I wish all of you struggling the best. You’re not alone. You can beat this. You just have to want it.

I’m older so it’s back before video games. During lunch in middle school(12-14yrs old) we would flip coins. 3 people flip. Odd man wins the others coins. Variance was on my side back then. Also pitched a bunch of coins gambling during this time. Became pretty good at that also. I always made money to buy a honey bun and some chips for lunch.

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My Story with gambling addiction

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People who have suffered with a gambling addiction, whats your story?

Day 4 In Recovery: My Rollercoaster Story of Gambling Addiction

I have a problem that needs to be solved !!!💸 long story short I have been spending way too much money in this game. I’m super competitive and I guess I’m addicted to gambling as well. How do you actual ftp players get by ? Because I’m done spending.

How my gambling addiction started. True story

A lot of older American songs and stories appear to feature a lot of gambling and its destructive results. Was gambling addiction more common in the United States in the past?

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