John Patrick
Reality of Gambling

It's one of my favorite subjects and I want to address it to the newcomers to the world of gambling. Obviously, everyone who risks money on the outcome of a happening should read this because the message is a closer look at the reality of gambling.

This week: REALITY OF GAMBLING

OK, you've just discovered casinos and you want to be part of the biggest business in the world. You take your better half on a vacation and stay in a beautiful room, eat in fancy restaurants and then enter a world seldom seen in our everyday life…called a casino.

You walk into this fabulous room and are caught up in the splendor of the action. Slot Machines, Crap tables, Blackjack tables, Video Poker Machines, Baccarat Pit, Roulette tables etc. Nobody notices you. They're too busy betting chips with both hands, everyone caught up in this lifestyle that you only read about in books or saw in the movies.

The initial reaction is "Wow, this is unbelievable, I've never seen anything like it".

Yes, it is unbelievable because it is so different than our regular lives. Here the focus is on beauty, constant music, soft lights, elegant dining, beautiful cocktail waitresses giving out free drinks, and thousands of people scurrying back and forth between tables and machines.

Ooooops, I guess you think I forgot the gambling. Nah, I just saved it for last because that is the most important part. Once you get accustomed to the glamorous part, you go and check out the obvious attraction - gambling tables, lots of them. You go over to a Blackjack table because you KNOW the game of Blackjack. You've been playing it every week for years on your kitchen table, in the garage, at parties etc.

You see the enormous stacks of chips and people betting piles of chips hand after hand. You feel if only you could get a hot streak, you could pay off a lot of those nagging bills that have been coming into the mailbox every month. You decide to get involved in the game and look around for the first empty seat you can find.

Without checking whether the dealer is hot or cold, you climb on a stool, take out $100, buy in and get antsy, waiting for the deal. You're not familiar with the rules of the game or the procedures of the individual casinos, but the dealer is very nice and brings you along slowly. She corrects your mistakes, explains how to make your bets, where to place the chips and eventually you settle into the game.

The other players glance at you when you buy in, but then they go about the business of playing their own hands. After all, this is gambling and the object is to get those piles of chips away from the dealer's side of the table. You're not alone in this thinking - we ALL have those thoughts along the way. We want to bring home that great big stack of black $100 chips.

It's not exactly REALITY, but so what, in this gorgeous castle, you're allowed to dream. But you also have to have a lot of cash to compete, to go after the casinos wares, but you figure that you have an excellent shot at bringing the casinos to their knees. After all you are the best Blackjack player in your town...or so you think.

You sit at the table for a couple of hours and everything is going great. The dealer is ice cold and you get ahead $300, a terrific profit on your first day at the tables. Your better half is over at the Slot Machines and eventually she comes over and shows you a cup, brimming over with coins. She too, has hit a hot streak.

You both decide to have a bite to eat in one of the many restaurants available and for some unknown reason, you leave a table that is still running red hot for you. You figure that with your experience and knowledge, it will be a snap to just find another one a little later. You both head off to the restaurant.

During lunch, the topic is obviously the amount of money you both will take home with you. Dreams are always positive thoughts but not exactly REALITY, but hey, everyone can dream. You can't wait to get back to the tables. On the way to the casino, the both of you discussed the possibility of winning $25 so that you could have a nice meal, an entertaining day out and a look at these casinos that are attracting so many people all over the world.

Before lunch is over, you both count your blessings, I mean money. You are up $370 and the little lady is ahead $220 from the slots. You don't even have dessert, you're so desperate to go back and pick up another bundle of chips. Your better half heads to the slots and you again look for an empty seat at a Blackjack table.

There are no seats at the $5 tables so you grab one at a $10 table. This time you buy in with $500, instead of the $100 you started with at the last table. You now are betting twice as much, but so what, this is simple, and just means you will win twice as much in the same amount of time.

Funny, after an hour, the stack in front of you has shrunk..do you think it's time to cash in? Maybe you've hit a cold table and it would be wise to pack it in and accept the small profit you still have in front of you. You decide to leave, RIGHT?

WRONG! You decide to stay and try to recoup the chips that just went south. The time passes and eventually your better half comes up to your side, a look of bewilderment on her face. You ask her what's the matter. "I can't believe it, I lost everything I had won. Plus the $200 I brought with me".

You look at what is left of the $500 buy in that you now have in front of you. Of course you don't mention that that is all that remains of the $500 PLUS the additional $300 you plowed back in, after the initial $500 was gone. You count the remaining $65 you have and state: "Let me try and get it back."

How many times have I heard those words at a table! Get it all back with $65? You blow almost $800 and you think $65 and a prayer is going to get you back even? Hey, sometimes even the BIG GUY says no to stupidity. Need I mention that the $65 also found its way into the dealers rack?

The ride home is devastating. Both of you are in shock. You got ahead so easily and before you know it, the money is gone, not to mention another deposit that you reached back into your pocket for. Someone says the words that are repeated by people who are guilty of this act every day of the week:

"I guess it ain't so easy to win at gambling"

To be continued.

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