***
This is by far the greatest thread I've read in a long time, certainly over the past few months.
Something that left me scratching my head not too long ago, was the poll/thread conducted by "
liquidsoap". It was the "
are you up or down" thread, which was a great idea for a poll because it was sensitive to the fact that not everyone wants to publicly display how well (or not) they've done (since they started playing).
What really puzzled me though, and still does, was that out of the 61 voters who had voted, 52.46% had voted "up" compared to the 44.26% that had voted "down" (and 3.28% voted "even"). That figure seems awfully misleading to me. Especially that one would have to think (or my mistakingly assume) that most of the regulars probably voted. And we've all read each others good and bad runs through various posts, and we all know that the casinos have that great edge, so how on earth can that many people be up overall?
I would agree 100% that slots are the worst game to get into. It's certainly the most "photogenic" of the casino games, and will always be the standard of the "
Winner Screenshots" thread. Unmatched in terms of excitement, but just too harsh on those prolonged/frequent cold-streaks.
Someone like
KasinoKing, as far as I know, is the only exception that I can think of (at least that's what I believe), of someone who plays
slots on a regular basis and comes out ahead. I used to simply think it was JUST that he was using bonuses to get there, but there must be some great strategies (or approach) involved to come out ahead, despite low-rolling (AND again, including playing with bonuses). It's never as easy as it appears. I've tried going that route (slots) a number of times last year, and I have constantly fell flat on my face.
An earlier post in this thread, where I think it was "
tim5ny" who was quoting that movie (which name eludes me at the moment), certainly threw a "realization" my may. I think that sadly, I fall under the same category as that character. Gambling to me, has always been the most exciting thing that I can think of, and it would probably rank it a "10" in my books. It's never been dull, even when I've hated it. And that's severely bothersome, because some of the other great things, under the context of "exciting", would honestly rank at least a couple notches lower.
Even if I trace back to the years prior to where I even started (serious) gambling, I think some of my favorite movies involved gambling in some form or another. I can think of "Rainman", "Rounders", and although they're not exactly the same thing, "The Color of Money", "WallStreet" and "Boiler Room" (to name a few). If I watch any one of those movies, I get the sudden urge to want to make a quick buck, which leads to visions (and apparently delusions of grandeur) of sitting down at a table in hopes of going on a run. There's nothing sexier than going into a casino, being on a great beat, and cleaning-up.
Now, that's where
Pinababy69's earlier post raises another great point. Realizing that there are other wonderful things to do in life. Since being on a break from playing over the past couple of months, I'd forgotten how some "other" things in life used to give me pleasure. They had vanished off the radar over time. They may not be as exciting as gambling, but they're certainly more fulfilling.
One famous "expression" that was getting tossed around here too many times a while back, was that if you're losing (with
slots that is), you just got to stick with it, because variance goes both ways. I'm sorry, but that's just a load of garbage. It's poison. I'm in no way saying that it's impossible to come out ahead (we know there are exceptions to that), and I'm not saying that you can't get those monster hits (over time) to help you break even, but the odds are heavily stacked against you. Giving a
and saying that you got to keep your chin up, because you can get hot tomorrow, just isn't sending the right message.
It boils down to this, if someone (new) asked for some advice for gambling (for the first time), I'd say:
a) Don't do it. The house always wins. Go out and buy yourself an X-Box instead.
b) If you're still going to gamble, be responsible, and set a limit on how much you're going to play with (of course, studying how to play certainly helps as well
).
c) There is no option "C", because if you're using option "C", that means you're probably knee-deep in it already (and you'll soon be creating options "D-Z").
My apologies for stating the obvious (I can't sleep, I had two slices of bad pizza, I grew a conscience, and this is my "Mission Statement"), and this particular post of mine is all over the place (now I'm thinking that
Macgver and
Casinomeister, with their educational/English backgrounds, will deem this paper too uneven
).
Last thing (before the 1 hour edit option expires)...
Casinomeister
I understand what motivates me, and I am able to keep this in check. The same should go for anyone else. It's easier to understand yourself when you see yourself reflected in others. And we should never lose sight of why we do things - especially when money is involved.
Great, great, quote. Particularly the part about "understanding youself as how you see yourself reflected in others", as I've always tried to live by that.
I appreciate everyone's honesty in this thread. I truly do.
Steed
***
Anyway, after a couple of months it started to feed me a bit, not a lot, but a bit. So i decided that from that point on, the site would be my deliverance from evil. Whatever it made would be my limit.
