You know you are getting old when:

[tonyb]

I'm too cheap to attempt this kind of foolishness. They can have it. I hope that he enjoyed himself, but it wouldn't be for me.

Yeah, the memory of working long hours to pocket the kind of money people lose in a blink at the gaming tables keeps me away. If I knew I would be croaking imminently, I'd be looking to who is most deserving of what I have to bestow upon them. And that sure as the Hell that would soon be greeting me isn't the gambling den.

 

[ChrisB]

Yeah, the memory of working long hours to pocket the kind of money people lose in a blink at the gaming tables keeps me away. If I knew I would be croaking imminently, I'd be looking to who is most deserving of what I have to bestow upon them. And that sure as the Hell that would soon be greeting me isn't the gambling den.

Most people claim that it is a form of entertainment. For me, I could get the same effect as I would in a casino, and not have to leave home, by putting dollar bills into a paper shredder.

 

[Zombie_61]

Yeah, the memory of working long hours to pocket the kind of money people lose in a blink at the gaming tables keeps me away. If I knew I would be croaking imminently, I'd be looking to who is most deserving of what I have to bestow upon them. And that sure as the Hell that would soon be greeting me isn't the gambling den.

Many years ago a co-worker and gambling addict explained to me that it's all about the mindset. A "gambler" will walk up to a gaming table with $5 convinced he/she will turn that into $50, or $500, or $5,000. But a "non-gambler" would approach the same table with the same $5 convinced he/she is going to lose $5. We're simply in the latter group. This is a simplification, of course, and there are usually other issues involved, but having discussed the issue subsequently with gamblers and non-gamblers I believe it's essentially true.

 

[2jakes]

Many years ago a co-worker and gambling addict explained to me that it's all about the mindset. A "gambler" will walk up to a gaming table with $5 convinced he/she will turn that into $50, or $500, or $5,000. But a "non-gambler" would approach the same table with the same $5 convinced he/she is going to lose $5. We're simply in the latter group. This is a simplification, of course, and there are usually other issues involved, but having discussed the issue subsequently with gamblers and non-gamblers I believe it's essentially true.

When the $$$$$$ Lotto began in
my hometown, I was working for the
news media as a cameraman.
One of my assignments that day
was to go get video of the folks
buying tickets.
They were all convinced they had the winning ticket because they had spent most their paychecks buying dozens of
tickets.

 

[Zombie_61]

When the $$$$$$ Lotto began in my hometown, I was working for the news media as a cameraman. One of my assignments that day was to go get video of the folks buying tickets. They were all convinced they had the winning ticket because they had spent most their paychecks buying dozens of tickets.

Same theory in action. I have to laugh when the Lotto/Lottery payout gets so high that more people than usual run out to buy a ticket. It never seems to occur to them that more people buying tickets means a greatly reduced chance they'll win. Point this out to them, and the response is almost always the same: "Well, someone's going to win; it could be me. But you definitely won't win if you don't buy a ticket."

 

[jacketjunkie]

It's the thrill, no matter how little the chance, that attracts people to it, I believe. So, if anyone enjoys that thrill, he can gamble for entertainment, it's going to cost him, but most entertainments cost money, so whatever. The problem starts where people play not for entertainment, not for the thrill, but to win. I think you should only gamble with the assumption you'll lose it all. Never spend more than you can afford losing and never make yourself dependent on winning.

 

[2jakes]

I went with a friend to the Santa Anita race tracks.
This was the first and only time I’ve ever been to the
races.
It was a small amount that I gambled.
The combination of order of the three horses I picked,
won.
The winning returns was great.
I made another small bet but lost.
So I stopped betting and later we went to eat at a nice
restaurant.

 

[BlueTrain]

You realize there were lotteries held during the colonial period.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The Irish Sweepstakes was a gigantic fad in the US during the 1930s, and its popularity was motivated not by "thrills," but by desperation. People were willing to risk $2.50 on the slight chance of anything that might pull them out of the holes they were in. It was the same motivation that drove the chain-letter fad of 1935 or the urban popularity of the policy racket. For a very great many people in those years, the idea of "work hard, save your money, and you'll get ahead" had been completely discredited, and such things as illegal lotteries and gimmicks were all that was left.

You'll find a lot of such people lined up at the lottery machines today.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The comic strip "Bringing Up Father," which achieved great popularity in the US before the first World War, was based on the popularity of illegal lotteries in the 1910s. Mr. Jiggs, an unremarkable shanty-Irish hod-carrier, won an immense fortune in such a lottery, and his wife Maggie took to the nouveau-riche life with great gusto, creating the stereotype of the aggressive, gauche lottery millionaire in American popular culture. But Jiggs, although he began wearing at all times, on his wife's violent insistence, the stereotypical cartoon capitalist's outfit of top hat, wing collar, white tie, swallowtail coat, striped pants, and spats, at heart remained exactly as he was, a rough-hewn working-class fellow of no pretentions whatever, who'd rather eat corned beef and cabbage in a bar with his cronies than partake in any way of the social ramble.

 

[tonyb]

Many years ago a co-worker and gambling addict explained to me that it's all about the mindset. A "gambler" will walk up to a gaming table with $5 convinced he/she will turn that into $50, or $500, or $5,000. But a "non-gambler" would approach the same table with the same $5 convinced he/she is going to lose $5. We're simply in the latter group. This is a simplification, of course, and there are usually other issues involved, but having discussed the issue subsequently with gamblers and non-gamblers I believe it's essentially true.

Perhaps there's a third category: those who know the arithmetic and behave accordingly. You might win, you'll probably lose, and on balance you'll likely lose 15 or 20 cents for every dollar wagered at a tribal casino.

I've bought the occasional lottery ticket, although it's been years since I last did. And for one year I was a member of the Turf Club at the since-defunct Longacres horse track (a job perk), where I'd place modest wagers on long-shots to show. When I lost my 20 bucks, I was done for the day.

I recognize magical thinking. I've engaged in it myself. Still, there's nothing magical in observing that SOMEONE will indeed hit that big jackpot.

 

[BlueTrain]

I recall a television program about card games, such as are played in casinos as well as on Saturday night with your buddies. The host stated that the casinos were all perfectly honest. They had no reason to cheat as the odds always favored the house. But you had watch your friends when you played cards with them.

I remember Jiggs in Bringing up Father very fondly as well as Moon Mullins and several others. The one I most closely identified with (realistically, anyway) was Dagwood. The ones that appealed to my fantasy side were Prince Valiant and Mark Trail.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

I suspect that, for the true gambling addict, it's like any other addiction: gambling floods their brain with dopamine. When they're at the table or the races or on their knees in an alley throwing dice, they feel good, and they come to crave that feeling.

 

[2jakes]

I suspect that, for the true gambling addict, it's like any other addiction: gambling floods their brain with dopamine. When they're at the table or the races or on their knees in an alley throwing dice, they feel good, and they come to crave that feeling.

Dopamine.....
When I’m serving for match point in tennis or
when I know I have my opponent at “checkmate”!

 

[Bushman]

I've never been a gambling man, myself. I'm terrible with math, and I know I don't have the mind to consciously count the cards while I'm playing. I might through something into the nickel slots, or the blow a few bucks on the roulette table, but I can't play cards to save my life.

 

[tonyb]

... but I can't play cards to save my life.

Me neither. The few times I've played poker made that clear to me.

Blackjack is another matter. If you can quickly do arithmetic in your head, it's the one casino game you CAN beat, although dealing out of a shoe containing six or eight decks makes it a lot more work -- certainly not your typical player's idea of fun. Nor mine, for that matter.

My dear old mom regularly plays in blackjack tournaments, and she does okay. She's not really a card counter, but she's a smarter player than most. She has an almost unconscious memory for which cards have already been played, so her sense of what might turn up is fairly good.

 

[2jakes]

Game of Solitaire on iPhone is good distraction while in the waiting room at the clinic.
Wear a jacket & gloves, otherwise you’ll freeze your hand!

Get it, "freeze your hand!”


Sheesh...
it’s a slow day at the office today...

 

[Trenchfriend]

Luckily, playing cards is so out of fashion, today, that the kids are not more tortured with this boring sitting-games...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mau_mau_(card_game)

 

[BlueTrain]

From an old movie: "One good one makes up for all the bad ones! Might as well be broke as to not have enough! Stand away from the table if your not placing a bet."

 

[Captain O]

From an old movie: "One good one makes up for all the bad ones! Might as well be broke as to not have enough! Stand away from the table if you're not placing a bet."

Works for me.