Used to gamble, not much, but you know, a bit of small stake roulette, some slot poker, etc.
Then I discovered real poker (texas holdem to be exact) in 2007., really delved into it, started reading books (after I lost first 50$
) which allowed me to fully understand that casino gambling makes no sense if you wan't to earn money (gambling for fun is something different).
Made some money off of it, but nothing major as I always used the money to play on and get better.
That part was a turning point and I understand, more than before, that you CAN'T win in long term in casino games.
Basically, when you understand that something is bad for you and in what way, you can't get addicted to it.
(i.e. 20 years smoking weed, mixing with tobacco (poor european, what can I say
), but I NEVER smoked cigarettes. It's actually gross to me. And I had (and still have) short or long periods of not consuming anything. It's all in your head. I don't like to be addicted to ANYTHING. So I'm not.)