3.1. Re: Breaking Even
Date: Tue Jan 6, 2009 8:14 pm ((PST))You know, gambling is a pretty funny enterprise if you think about it.
I can't help but sometimes step back and think about what I'm doing
and watching those around me in a casino... Most know full well the
deck is stacked against them and they are prepared to lose. They
expect to lose. Some can afford to lose more and some less.
Hopefully they play within those boundaries. The healthy ones do. A
very few are bright and disciplined and work hard enough that they
have a good shot at being a long term winner. I tend to think if
those folks applied the same intelligence and energy to another
endeavor that they would make more money and maybe even produce
something useful to their fellow human beings. I try to stay rational
and get what I consider value for my gambling silliness, but in those
times when I step back I can't help but think we are all victims of
B.F. Skinner. Humanity is a strange soup and I find laughing at it
essential to sanity.
Interesting observation - I have a friend who used to voice the flip side of this thought process -- he would ask, if they are smart enough to make big money in the real world, why aren't they smart enough to study this game (he was referring to blackjack) and at least learn a basic strategy that would help them play somewhat close to even?
Of course, it's a matter of where you want to apply yourself. I've talked to too many people who consider their gambling STRICTLY recreation, and if they have to think or study to play, it's not fun for them anymore. I guess I sort of understand - even though I play VP with correct strategy, it's not advanced strategy, with penalty cards, etc., and I haven't bothered to learn additional games, happy with just JoB -- so maybe I am similar to them. When I played blackjack and counted cards, I tried using a more advanced count system and a side count of Aces - once -- and it was too difficult, so I abandoned it. That was not unreasonable for that trip, but the question should be, if I was serious about the game (and I was), why not go back and work at it some more to master the advanced strategy like I'd mastered basic strategy and simple card counting?
I guess a lot of people would find applying themselves to "real life" to make more money / do more good - is just more than they feel capable of or willing to do.
And it doesn't take THAT long to master a playing strategy for some of these games that is either profitable, or that reasonably minimizes likelihood of loss. Maybe I'm naive, but I think it usually takes a lot more effort and talent to make big bucks, win a Nobel prize, or just be at the top of your own field in "real life".
--BG
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