Gambling: The game of chance

Gambling, risk factor, huge returns – Sounds like a lot of fun right? I am not really sure which side to stand on when it comes to gambling. If I say it is good, I may end up hurting the purists and if I say it is bad  – well I might really be lying. So it certainly puts me in a sort of a dilemma. But hey, sometimes the best things in the world are a gamble aren’t they –

– Asking the girl you like to go out with you for dinner

– Leaving your job in search of your passion

– Investing in the stock market :P 

And look how they turned out? It probably isn’t very fair that we link gambling only to the dice or card games, there are so many other things too. But, we shall try and limit this post on gambling to the widely accepted version – the card game :).

And here are the 5 joys of gambling.

1) The Uncertainty

Whether we like to accept it or not, don’t we all love a little bit of uncertainty? May not be in its fullest extent, but certainly the amount we can handle and feel comfortable about.

There is a great surge of energy in uncertainty, not knowing what is going to happen next and the thrill of finding it out. I do agree that the fear of loss is at the back of our mind each time we gamble. But also there is the adventure of winning.

2) Odds

We like the feeling of winning over something. When it comes to gambling – whether it is the board game or the dice game – there sure are odds and there sure are a lot of challenges. And you never know how your opponent is placed and you are bound to bet on him/her.

Luck might favour you or it might work completely against you, but it sure gives you the odds – the sense of a small battle within and the little frivolous joy of pushing someone down. It might not be a huge amount in the winning, but it sure is the sense of winning, esp against the odds.

3) Incentives

And of course the money factor is always an additional incentive. Friends might ask if I am promoting gambling through this post. My honest answer is NO – I am just trying to debate and understand what in us makes us like gambling.

I do respect the few who have never tried, in fact I appreciate their restraint. But sometimes it is a little bit of fun beyond the boundaries a bit.

4) Quick as a Lightning

Double or nothing- It all depends on that one move – the chance factor. What happens when that dice roles, whether it is going to give you the results you need or not?

But the joy is that it all happens so fast, you  don’t have to wait a long time to know what has happened – it is just that quick.

5) The clever gambler?

Who is the clever gambler then? Is it the one who never gambles? Or is it the one who never loses?

I am pretty sure everyone has to lose at some point or the other. It is the game of probability and it cannot be always ‘1’ or else the casinos would have never existed in the world and they wouldn’t have prevailed as one of the most profitable businesses in the world.

Having said that – we don’t say that gambling is all bad – there is a simple fun in that too. It lets us loosen up, maybe be a small kid again, not worrying too much about things.

But there has to be a slight separation between gambling and money – that one bit which defines why you actually gamble.

If the answer is merely to make money, then we would strongly discourage it. But if it is just for the fun of it, then go ahead by all means.

Like Michael Jordan Says –

I want people to understand, gambling is not a bad thing if you do it within the framework of what it’s meant to be, which is fun and entertaining.

So it isn’t really that horrible. It just has to stay in that limit. And the limit is that definition which tells you why you gamble – if the answer is money -please stop it right away.

And there is one final word of wisdom we would like to share –

ALWAYS GAMBLE WITH CASH!

This is from the book – The Richest Man in Babylon. This way, we have a limit on the amount we gamble.

One of the biggest threat of gambling is that it is hard to know when to stop. And if you observe the casinos make every effort possible to keep you at the table and that is why you get everything there – right from your drink to the ATM.

The next time you think about going to gamble, leave all your cards and valuables at home – just take cash – win or lose and then come back home.

It is all about keeping it in a restraint isn’t it? If that’s hard – then do the smart thing – Don’t gamble at all :)

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