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Is it Guaranteed?

I recently published an article on quitting when you’re ahead which may be found here. The article referred to a particular $100,000 royal flush I hit at Dotty’s and why circumstances at that establishment led me to quit gambling there for a few months after the jackpot. Some of the follow-up comments about the article were, to me, very strange and irrelevant. I wouldn’t call them stupid questions. I would call the questioners uninformed. Continue reading Is it Guaranteed?

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Being Good at Everything

I have two good friends, “Thelma” and “Louise,” who are married to each other. I’ve been friends with Thelma for more than a decade, Louise about half that long, and Bonnie and I happily attended their wedding last year.

Thelma is very bright and has been successful at a number of things. She’s also very well-off financially. She’s a pretty strong video poker player, but doesn’t concentrate on learning all of the smallest details. “Why spend hours memorizing rare hands that will save me a tenth of a penny once every two years?” she asks. “I don’t need the money and life’s too short to spend my time on shit like that.” (If you don’t like that language, take it up with Thelma — not me.) Continue reading Being Good at Everything

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How Good Do You Want to Be?

Bonnie and I traveled to Los Angeles several months ago and, among other things, spent an afternoon visiting Margo, a platonic friend of mine going on 35 years. The ladies got along great and the visit reminded me of a story I wrote about Margo several years ago. Continue reading How Good Do You Want to Be?