Getting through Thanksgiving football without betting

Games all day, people around, someone asking who you like. A holiday with a full slate is one of the hardest days to skip a bet. Plan the day before it starts.

The night before

1. Put up the wall tonight. Self exclude or block the sites on your iPhone or Android tonight, not tomorrow morning.
2. Pick one person who knows. Tell them you are not betting this year and ask them to text you at halftime of the late game.
3. Have your line ready. When someone asks for your pick: "Not betting this year, just watching."

During the day

• Keep the phone away during games. In a bag, a jacket, another room.
• Give yourself a job. Food, dishes, kids, a walk between games.
• When an urge hits, wait 30 seconds. Open your card first, before anything else.
• Skip the pick talk. Change the subject, refill a drink, step outside for a minute.

If you bet anyway

One bet does not decide the rest of the day. Stop there, tell your person, and read what to do after a slip. For the weekend after, see NFL Sundays and college football Saturdays.

Pause before the next bet

Hold The Bet is free with no account. It shows your own number and reason and holds a 30 second pause before you bet.