(From Blackjack Forum<\/em>, September 1987)
\u00a9 1987 Arnold Snyder<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
[Note from Arnold Snyder: There is such a thing as a professional lottery player, but there are only a handful on the Earth, and they have bankrolls the size of Warren Buffett’s, because that’s what it would take to survive the variance if you go seriously after lottery jackpots. To understand how professional gamblers beat lotteries, see below.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But this article is also a response to the emails I get every month from people who, it is clear to me, have a gambling problem, and are using card counting or poker or the lottery as an excuse to feed this addiction.]<\/em> An official spokesperson for the lottery commission stated that these high volume ticket buyers fall into two classifications \u2014 \u201ccompulsive gamblers\u201d and \u201cprofessional gamblers.\u201d It’s true that professional lottery players do, in fact, exist. They operate by finding lotteries whose jackpot payouts have surpassed the odds against winning, due to no players having hit the jackpot on numerous previous games. These international teams, as mentioned, generally maintain $100 million bankrolls, because they must purchase all of the combinations of numbers for the next game in order to assure themselves a win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even then, they often lose money, as they frequently have to share the win with other lucky player(s). If you are not maintaining a $100 million bankroll, and purchasing all number combos in lotteries with positive expectations only, you are not a professional lottery player. These teams, by the way, have been banned in some states and countries. State Lotteries: For the Pros and the Poor by Arnold Snyder(From Blackjack Forum, September 1987)\u00a9 1987 Arnold Snyder [Note from Arnold Snyder: There is such a thing as a professional lottery player, but there are only a handful on the Earth, and they have bankrolls the size of Warren Buffett’s, because that’s what it would take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
It\u2019s time once again for my more or less annual sermon addressing the compulsive gamblers among my readership. Since you really can\u2019t help yourselves, since you must place your money into action, I\u2019m more than willing to help you delude yourselves into believing that flushing your bank accounts down the casino toilets is intelligent, socially relevant, and a truly religious experience. And I charge very little for my consulting services.
Since the State of California institutionalized their usurious lottery a couple of years ago (50% house edge, like lotteries everywhere), the Golden State has been unwittingly providing me with an invaluable education in the lowdown, sleazy tactics of pushers who supply gambling addicts with an excuse for indulging in their drug of choice. A recent front-page article in the San Francisco Chronicle<\/em> revealed that nearly half of the lottery tickets sold in my beloved home state are being purchased by the same small percentage of buyers, who incidentally happen to reside in the depressed big city ghettos, with little education and poverty-level incomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I like that. Professional lottery players. That there is no logical approach to obtaining an advantage at this game that does not require a bankroll of $100 million+ does not stop the state from announcing on the front page of the daily papers that certain individuals whom demographics would lead us to categorize as poor and uneducated, are in fact a new breed of urban professional. Perhaps, it won\u2019t be long before our states universities begin offering classes like Big Spin 101, so that some of the more educated among us, who don\u2019t currently buy lottery tickets, can obtain a Bachelor of Lotto degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\nReal Professional Lottery Players<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Frankly, I doubt that the more educated citizens of this state (or any state) will buy that \u201cprofessional gambler\u201d concept when it comes to lotteries. That\u2019s why I\u2019m here. Since professional blackjack players really do exist, this game provides a natural excuse for the intelligent compulsive gambler. It doesn\u2019t matter that you\u2019re constantly over betting your bankroll as you steam to recoup your never-ending losses. You\u2019re a card counter! The few! The proud! The broke!
\u201cWhat If Your Numbers Came Up Without You?\u201d This warning screams at us from hundreds of Lotto billboards plastered along the state\u2019s highways. Of course, the lottery officials didn\u2019t invent this slogan. Bookies and numbers runners have been using it on ignorant suckers for decades. Sure, everyone\u2019s got \u201clucky numbers.\u201d God assigns them at birth. Once you\u2019ve figured out yours, you\u2019re a fool if you don\u2019t bet on them.
Does it violate the constitutional dictum that separates church and state for the state to foster unfounded superstitious nonsense in order to con its more gullible citizens into wagering on a state run \u201cgame\u201d that assures the state a 50% advantage over the players?
Of course not. No respectable organized religion would adhere to faith in lucky numbers. It\u2019s only the uneducated dolts who buy this concept in the first place. And they don\u2019t know the constitution from constipation. They\u2019re already signing over their social security checks to glittering televangelists who promise prosperity with salvation. So, why shouldn\u2019t they toss a few of those superstitious bucks towards the state of California?
Are you too intelligent to buy that? Yet you\u2019re still a compulsive gambler? That\u2019s why I\u2019m here. It doesn\u2019t matter how educated or intellectually aware you are, if you\u2019re a compulsive gambler, you\u2019re superstitious. Card counting again provides the perfect thinking man\u2019s cover. Now you can attribute your hot streaks and cold streaks to \u201cthe count,\u201d or \u201cstandard deviation,\u201d or \u201cexpected negative fluctuation,\u201d or scores of other built-in, intelligent-sounding concepts. Ignore the fact that your mortgage is about to be foreclosed upon. Hit the tables! You\u2019re another Ken Uston! A culture hero! David vs. Goliath! Just don\u2019t mention to anyone that you\u2019re wearing your lucky shirt. . . .
Besides, gambling is socially relevant. All of the California lotto tickets are imprinted with catchy little phrases like, \u201cIt\u2019s a good feeling for a lot of good reasons,\u201d and \u201cOur schools win too!\u201d (I\u2019m serious!) You\u2019re gambling directly contributes to the welfare of the underprivileged. Think of it as a donation to needy children.
Blackjack is even more socially relevant than any lottery. Look at how the Atlantic City casinos have lived up to their promise and given that city a new lease on life. Prior to the casino presence, the whole town was a depressing, hopeless slum. Now, it\u2019s a depressing slum with casinos! And no longer hopeless! Now, when the unemployed slum dwellers need money, they don\u2019t just wallow in self-pity. There are well-heeled drunks just around the corner, waiting to be rolled! And the illicit drug market has boomed! Suddenly there are tourists who can afford cocaine!
No longer are we blackjack gurus simply competing with mathematicians and computer programmers with Xerox machines as we attempt to tap into that lucrative compulsive gambling market. Now we\u2019re competing with state governments all across this land, as lotteries take over the country!
I\u2019m not going to sit still for this lottery scam! Blackjack is a far more intelligent way to waste your money and feed your addiction. It provides solid excuses for every embarrassing binge, all backed up by impressive scholarly research.
Lottery players are fools! Amateurs! Superstitious and ignorant cretins!
As a card counter, you\u2019ll never be categorized with those lowlifes! Sure you\u2019re a gambler, a risk taker, a man of action! Sure, you\u2019re a compulsive gambler! Go ahead, admit it! The important thing is that you\u2019re not an amateur. You\u2019re a professional compulsive gambler. And that makes all the difference in the world. \u2660<\/p>\n![\"Facebook\"](\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/96x96\/facebook.png\" "\\"Follow")
<\/a>![\"twitter\"](\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/96x96\/twitter.png\" "\\"Follow")
<\/a>![\"youtube\"](\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/96x96\/youtube.png\" "\\"Find")
<\/a>![\"instagram\"](\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/96x96\/instagram.png\" "\\"Check")
<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"