- Joined
- Sep 21, 2013
- Location
- currently in US
Slots can manage to be mentally engaging without being mentally demanding - probably the same principle behind why we might enjoy having music in the background. Sure, there's nothing truly and particularly interesting about a line of 5 of the same thing in a row, but when you put it in the concept of a game, the potential actual money won, the difficulty of actually pulling off that amazing win, with the sights, sounds, and themes that provide the context for the gameplay - seeing if that last symbol manages to hit sure feels interesting.
For many, roulette doesn't feel quite the same, it lacks the context that a slot provides to the experience and feels a bit slow and dry. You can still get a rush from roulette if you put down a lot of money, but many people get more enjoyment out of slots.
I understand where a few of your thoughts in your OP are coming from, but I think targeting your questions as slots in particular is a bit misguided though - you could ask similar questions about most kinds of gambling. If people want to double their money, why don't they put everything on a single hand of baccarat and then go home? Because that isn't as much fun for most people. They would rather split their bet up into a lot of smaller gambles, look for patterns, test their luck, and so on.
Is there a bit of irrationality mixed in there? Often, yes. But as long as people understand that and keep their spending levels in control, that's okay. There are some people that genuinely believe their betting systems can win, or that they can feel their luck or tell when a win is coming or when a machine is hot or cold, or various other gambling fallacies people make. Admittedly, those can be dangerous for people who don't keep themselves in control, but there are also many people who gamble who know perfectly well that the casino is going to come out ahead in the long term, and who are happy to pay a bit for the experience and for the wins here and there.
If you know deep down that it doesn't really make a difference whether you bet red or black, that your lucky paperweight is just a placebo, that summoning your focus to press that spin button at the exact right time doesn't make a 1000x hit any more or any less likely to occur, and that the power of positivity isn't going to grant you a winning keno ticket, it's okay to engage in those things for the fun of it.
You said that you sometimes had some fun with free spins and bonuses on slots where you didn't feel you were risking your own money. Are you sure that the fact that you were winning a bit of money was the only reason you had fun? Were you even making any more money than if you worked the same amount of time? I suspect that there was something else that you also found engaging in the experience and caused you to enjoy it. I'm not saying you should take up slots or gambling if you don't want to, but you may understand others a bit better if you can also understand your own experiences.
For many, roulette doesn't feel quite the same, it lacks the context that a slot provides to the experience and feels a bit slow and dry. You can still get a rush from roulette if you put down a lot of money, but many people get more enjoyment out of slots.
I understand where a few of your thoughts in your OP are coming from, but I think targeting your questions as slots in particular is a bit misguided though - you could ask similar questions about most kinds of gambling. If people want to double their money, why don't they put everything on a single hand of baccarat and then go home? Because that isn't as much fun for most people. They would rather split their bet up into a lot of smaller gambles, look for patterns, test their luck, and so on.
Is there a bit of irrationality mixed in there? Often, yes. But as long as people understand that and keep their spending levels in control, that's okay. There are some people that genuinely believe their betting systems can win, or that they can feel their luck or tell when a win is coming or when a machine is hot or cold, or various other gambling fallacies people make. Admittedly, those can be dangerous for people who don't keep themselves in control, but there are also many people who gamble who know perfectly well that the casino is going to come out ahead in the long term, and who are happy to pay a bit for the experience and for the wins here and there.
If you know deep down that it doesn't really make a difference whether you bet red or black, that your lucky paperweight is just a placebo, that summoning your focus to press that spin button at the exact right time doesn't make a 1000x hit any more or any less likely to occur, and that the power of positivity isn't going to grant you a winning keno ticket, it's okay to engage in those things for the fun of it.
You said that you sometimes had some fun with free spins and bonuses on slots where you didn't feel you were risking your own money. Are you sure that the fact that you were winning a bit of money was the only reason you had fun? Were you even making any more money than if you worked the same amount of time? I suspect that there was something else that you also found engaging in the experience and caused you to enjoy it. I'm not saying you should take up slots or gambling if you don't want to, but you may understand others a bit better if you can also understand your own experiences.
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