Do you ever wish you were innocent??

[OrangeHeat]

I went home for the holiday and went to the small local casino with my parents and watched them have a blast playing nothing but -EV games.

They played the machines that "felt" good, played the craps table when it was "hot", and all in all they enjoyed the heck out of it.

All I could do is think that is a 5% house edge, that is a 10% edge, bet the max odds it is less -EV, etc..., etc...No fun, no excitement just math...

Do you ever wish you hadn't learned all the gambling theory or that you could forget it for say a day and go and have fun at the casino? Do you ever wish you could be the guy at the gas station blowing 10 bucks on the scratch tickets because you think your lucky? Do you ever wish you could be the guy capping it up with J7 offsuit because you feel lucky?

I wish that once in awhile...It is something I can not genuinely experience for the rest of my life. Luck does not exist to me anymore just bell curves, averages, std deviation, etc...

It was a little depressing watching them enjoy there entertainment while my brain wouldn't shut off.

Don't get me wrong I am grateful for the $$ I earn from knowing what +EV is..just once in awhile seems it would be fun.

How about you - do you ever miss that "gambling innocence"?

Orange

[toots]

Well, as previously noted, I miss my "poker innocence."

I enjoyed the game a heck of a lot more when I wasn't trying to implement a "winning game" strategy, and when I lost, I didn't kick myself for making mistakes, since the loss exactly matched my expectations.

[benfranklin]

Sounds like a line from an old song (Bob Seger?):

Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then.

[Toro]

The short answer is no. When I go into a casino now and am walking to the card room, I have absolutley no desire to play any of the table games anymore. And I've felt like this for a few years now.

During a recent trip to LV we mixed a little business in and had a business meeting at this high rollers suite. We then went down and had a nice dinner and he was chomping at the bit to play some craps.

Because it would have been awkward not to play, I played. But I was real uncomfortable and didn't enjoy it at all. And craps used to be my favorite table game. And I knew exactly why I was uncomfortable. I had no control of my money. It was as they say "a crap shoot".

So maybe after this long ramble after the short "no" answer I guess I really do miss the innocence of being able to enjoy a gambling game.

[daryn]

my answer: yes.


i feel this way about a lot of things in life. (you guys are gonna love this one) sometimes i wish i wasn't as intelligent as i am. ignorance can be bliss sometimes. sometimes i start thinking about the world, the universe, philosophising to myself, and i think myself into deep depression about how existence is meaningless. then i just picture some group of idiots out there drinking beers at a bar and living it up. they are just pleased to be alive, and i think that's what it's all about.

anyways yeah sometimes i wish i didn't know what i know, and sometimes i'm very glad that i know what i know.

[cardcounter0]

NO! I enjoy the money I win on much better things than the "fun" of throwing it away at some -EV game in the hope that lightning will strike me and I get lucky.

I mean how simple does one have to be to think that losing money gambling is "fun". Couldn't you have more "fun" spending that money on a hooker or booze or some mind altering drug?

I like the fine furniture, or nice carpeting, or cool vacations, etc. that my gambling wins have provided me. Even just the peace of mind of paying some utility bills with gambling winnings instead of "job-earned" money provides me enjoyment.

[blackaces13]

[ QUOTE ]
and i think myself into deep depression about how existence is meaningless.

[/ QUOTE ]

Man this is so true. The more you analyze things from a "big picture" perspective the less meaning everything has. Once things are stripped of the meaning that we assign them it becomes nearly impossible to truly "care" about anything. As far as the universe is concerned if the entire earth spontaneously combusted in a ball of flame tomorrow it would change absolutely nothing. Whether you get your dream job, marry some great woman, become a war hero or become a complete waste and die alone means absolutley nothing to anyone but yourself; and once you're dead then it doesn't even matter to you anymore. Your life may affect other people but their collective happiness or unhapiness as a reslut of your existence means nothing either. They'll be gone, a time will come when no living being even remembers that any of us ever existed, the sun will burn out, none of it means a thing.

So, the answer then is to give things meaning. Get passionate about things and fully enjoy them. Meet people who make you happy and do things that make you happy and do them well. In the end the only thing that matters in your life is your average level of happiness achieved in the time you were alive. The catch 22 part of it is that if you get to realizing what I've just said in this paragraph because you first realized what I said in the first paragraph, its extremely tough to give things meaning and be truly passionate about them because you realize that "meaning" is essentially just an illusion and caring about anything is by definition illogical.

Sometimes I think I'd be better off if I believed in God, but I think about things too much and try to be rational so I don't. God is really the only way around the problem I've outlined. People who believe in God always have a handy way to assign meaning to anything, and because of that they're lucky, though in my opinion uninformed or "ignorant" (uh oh [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]). I guess in a way that is a good parallel to the original posters point. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.

[astroglide]

don't they serve drinks there?

[Warik]

Good post. I agree with everything that you said.

[OrangeHeat]

The last time I drank and played a -EV game I blew $7000 in 30 minutes on a crap table at the Bellagio. I had been doing a shot of cuervo every time the waitress came around to the 30/60 game all night. 7:00... am flight leaving at noon I took all the money I had and slapped it on the table.

300 on the line 1500 odds...it didn't take long. Heh - at least I got the room comped.

Orange