Comments on: An Old Gambler

By: Eileen Darby

Eileen Darby — Sat, 18 Mar 2023 17:14:05 +0000

What software are you using? I might want it…thanks for your Frugal Gambling books, it forever changed the way we gamble. My husband was a sales director of the Washington state lottery, that was our living, we were not permitted to play lottery tickets or gambling much would have looked bad, so we are late to a game we like anyway.

By: Dave Hintley

Dave Hintley — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 18:50:58 +0000

After years of working in retirement communities, the saying “Aging is not for sissies!” rings truer than ever! At 74 (and retired for 8 years) I feel it more and more. I try to stay fit mentally and physically but it’s harder each year. Keep on keepin’ on!

By: Bob Dietz

Bob Dietz — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 15:57:23 +0000

I turned 65 last summer, and while that may be young to you, I have to respect (as Clint Eastwood famously said in Magnum Force, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”

I’m a sports gambler, and wherein at one time I could sit in the Stardust in my 20’s and watch eight football games simultaneously while keeping tabs on downs, distance, and general stats without graphic aids, now I find that watching five games is now my max, and I’m more comfortable with four. Wherein once I could scan box scores in the back of the LA Times for 20 minutes and have somebody quiz me on them immediately thereafter, and be accurate, now I need hours, and I’m still not as good.

I used to do most of my own math, but now if I’m faced with a probability issue, I hand it off to friends who taught college probability and put my trust in them.

I’d say that the key to aging profitably in gambling is to not get sucked into the illusion of what one could once do with x amount of prep, but to figure out what one can now do, and if it takes more physical and mental conditioning to pull it off as seniors, then we either must commit to that training or admit that we’ve aged into being gambling civilians.

Age well and prosper!

By: Mufasa Thedog

Mufasa Thedog — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 05:18:55 +0000

In 2017 the pari-mutuel industry got the IRS to change how reportable winnings are calculated. It resulted in a 90% reduction in W-2Gs.

It’s about time the casinos got the same treatment from the IRS.

By: Harry Porter

Harry Porter — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 04:20:25 +0000

Jean, you’ll forever be my queen! I’m 20 years behind you, and I greatly admire that you’re “still in the game” (and continuing to excel, to boot)!

Time and time again your narratives teach us that it doesn’t take esoteric knowledge to succeed in the casino; just a commitment to exercise common sense and learn basic strategy. This article is no exception to that.

Can’t tell you how much I wish, in hindsight, that my Reno/Tahoe trip timing was next week instead of last week! Would love to meet up; it’s been some time. (Of course, now that we’re both GA’ites … at least for 2 more mo. before our move to MA, maybe Bev and I can reach out and make plans to run down your way for lunch!)

Not that I would want to scratch our actual plans a week from this coming Sunday … we’re cruising on the NCL Prima. Looking forward to what sounds like an exceptional ship!

By: Richard Hales

Richard Hales — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 21:06:03 +0000

Hi, Jean. I love your honesty, but do want to mention at 58yo, I think I have an eclectic group of things I take an interest in (sounds like I’m scattered-brain, but I’m not) and often when I put something down and pick them back up, it takes some time to get to the point where I reach a higher level. I’m glad, though, someone’s like me and likes to get in touch with how you feel. Thanks for the lesson (I play mainly slots and know the ‘manic’ feeling of excitement) of ‘speed kills’

By: Kevin Lewis

Kevin Lewis — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 19:49:24 +0000

I think the IRS would welcome this move, because it would reduce the paperwork–and they’re stuck in a permanent state of 80% staffing, thanks to Republican opposition to properly funding them. People want their tax refunds yesterday but don’t want to enable the IRS to do its job.

As far as age affecting VP prowess is concerned–my fairly recent problem has to do with eyesight/scanning the screen. I’ve caught myself–and worse, NOT caught myself–ignoring one card and playing as if it wasn’t there. Nothing makes you feel more stupid than being dealt AJxxx and just holding the Jack, or worse, being dealt 888xx and throwing one of the 8’s away!

So I agree with you–we gotta slow down. And given that if we’re playing, say, a 100.5% game, each hand we play should earn us 1/200th of a bet on average, a so-called “small” error could negate twenty or thirty hands! It doesn’t take many such mistakes to turn what should be a profitable session into an exercise in futility.