Not so long ago I had a little addiction to playing blackjack. So, to continue for my month of blogs about different "investments" I thought I would discuss the issue of gambling and finance.

Blackjack was the game for me. Ever since I saw it first played in a casino in Prague I loved it and wanted to get good at it. I had a friend that became my mentor of sorts that taught me the basics of how to play the game. These rules included not hitting if the dealer has a six or a low number (depending on what you have) and learning to stick to basic blackjack strategy. When I first started to play the game I played it for fun and didn't really care if I won or lost and just hit or stayed whenever I felt like it. Eventually, the game became more serious for me and I developed my own strategies and stuck to them.

I would go to the casino alone and scope out all the tables for about thirty minutes before I played. Once I found one I liked I would take out some cash and promise not to use more than that amount that night. Then I would go and sit at a low minimum table and bet the minimum. If I won I would bet the minimum again and if I lost then I would bet double my last bet. I stuck to these rules to ensure that if I ever lost I would be able to win my money back right away. The funniest thing about gambling is how smart it can make you feel when your winning and how dumb it can make you feel if your loosing.

To make a long story short I was winning at the game for a while as long as I stuck to my rules. The problem is of course that nobody ever does. I began betting irrationally and was so focused on winning back what I had lost. Don't get me wrong I was never in serious trouble and this was a short minor stage for me but it gave me an idea of how much of a bad investment gambling is.

Last weekend I went and saw 21 in which a young college student starts playing blackjack to pay for his $300,000 school costs. In short the payoff that he's getting doesn't last and I like to think that the moral of the story is that if he had spent his time and money elsewhere he would have achieved more then his wasted efforts. This got me thinking about students everywhere and that I should address the horrible investment that gambling is.

Blackjack is popular no doubt and as the most popular card game in the world it draws in people from all ages. For students, gambling and blackjack is becoming increasingly popular and this is exacerbated by the extreme media exposure that the game receives online and on TV. I just wanted students everywhere to know that gambling in any form is a bad investment. I see blogs like Blackjackblog.net and how it offers tips on how to win by strategy and it worries me. If you are going to play blackjack please do learn some simple rules to make the game more fun but as an investment don't waste your time.

There are much better ways however, for students to spend their extra money and their time than games. From my own personal experience I will let you know that if you take your extra money that you have and invest it in stocks, RRSPs or real estate you will get a much better high and return than from gambling.

Trust me, I understand the need to take risks and the excitement that comes from playing with your money but if you take the time to do some research and make a good investment the risks will be exciting, safer and much more rewarding. The high that I received from buying a place and all the work that went into doing that was much more exciting than any night at the casino.

So next time your bored and looking to have some fun with your money think about the other choices you have when it comes to investing your cash.