Wow, Reading your post SO reminds me of my own adventures into gambling however I never gambled online. I took a trip to Las Vegas in my early 20's and I was truly sucked in right away. On my first trip I won 300.00 playing a quarter slot machine. That first feeling of winning was the greatest feeling on Earth! I felt like I suddenly had magical powers and could do ANYTHING. Amazingly, I did win a lot of the time, I came back home and began reading all the books I could find on gambling and systems like the martingale, blackjack strategy, slots, etc.
About 6 months later, I went back to Las Vegas, this time on a mission to test my skills. I WON like crazy, 700 on one slot machine, 200-300 on several others in one day. I had a really good system that involved finding the LOOSE machines in a casino based on floor placement and watching other players and their winnings.
I also won about 1500.00 playing Baccarat and Roulette betting on Black and Red using the martingale.
I have yet to return to vegas because I got caught up in my job but I have always wanted to move to Las Vegas and become a Professional Gambler for a living. IT CAN BE DONE and it beats the crap out of a day job.