{"id":4979,"date":"2017-01-03T09:05:16","date_gmt":"2017-01-03T17:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamblingwithanedge.com\/?p=4979"},"modified":"2017-01-03T09:05:16","modified_gmt":"2017-01-03T17:05:16","slug":"another-matter-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/another-matter-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Matter of Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently I wrote a column about me growing up gambling-wise at the Cavendish West, which was a gin and backgammon club in the West Hollywood part of greater Los Angeles. If you didn\u2019t read it the first time, it may be found here<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

I mentioned that I lost my bankroll and had to get a job — and I didn\u2019t like it. I received this sarcastic response.<\/p>\n

\u201d . . . I had to go out and get a job to support myself. It was awful.\u201d Really? What was awful, not being top dog, or having to work for a living? I can dig it, having to support myself and a family really is a drag!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

First of all, as Richard says every week on the radio show, we welcome your comments. This particular comment, intentionally or not, brought up some subjects I don\u2019t often write about, so thank you for giving me an idea for another column!<\/p>\n

There are not many people who can make it as a professional gambler. For most players, gambling reality is that the house always wins.<\/p>\n

If you are bright enough and have studied hard enough and have developed the other habits necessary to succeed at this obscure \u201cprofession,\u201d there is a sense of pride about being able to do something that most people can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t believe this type of pride is unique to being a gambler. I believe most people believe they are better at something than are most other people. It could be that you are good enough to play in the National Football League, or have won the blue ribbon for best marinara sauce three years in a row at the county fair, or have never taken a sick day off, or all three of your kids graduated, or . . . something. And whatever this something is that makes you unique, you\u2019re proud of it.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it turns out that reality teaches you that you aren\u2019t as good as you thought you were — or perhaps you once were. The football guy loses his job to a younger, stronger player; somebody figures out a more popular recipe for the sauce; you develop a tumor and need to take several sick days off. Something. Whatever it was that you were proud of — that was part of the core of what made you unique — is no longer there.<\/p>\n

Coming to grips with this lack of uniqueness isn\u2019t pleasant.<\/p>\n

Having somebody who was never in the NFL sneer at you and say it\u2019s no big deal not to be at that level anymore is somebody who simply doesn\u2019t understand. There is a brotherhood among players that just doesn\u2019t exist with non-players. Being forced to give that up sucks. Although I can\u2019t speak from experience about being in the NFL, there is definitely a camaraderie among successful gamblers and I\u2019d rather be on the inside looking out than the outside looking in.<\/p>\n

Sometimes when this happens, you see the player work very, very hard to regain his abilities to play at that top level. Occasionally the player makes it back to the league, but eventually Father Time always wins. Sometimes the player shifts positions or becomes a coach to stay in the game.\u00a0 More often the player tries for a while to make it back and then eventually gives up that dream as unattainable.<\/p>\n

In my case, I was able to make it back — sort of. With a great deal of work, my backgammon skills improved — but not enough to support myself against the really good players. I learned blackjack and became proficient enough to make money there — although I was kicked out of enough places that I finally gave up that career.<\/p>\n

Eventually I found my niche in video poker. My fame, such as it is, is due more to being a writer and teacher than being a player.\u00a0 Inarguably, many of my player skills have been honed by helping others learn the game. \u00a0The majority of my wealth, however, comes from being a player. I\u2019m almost 70 years old and eventually Father Time is going to win this contest too. The house doesn\u2019t always win, but Father Time does.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never questioned that I needed to make a living rather than have things handed to me. In Frank Sinatra\u2019s \u201cI Did It My Way,\u201d he\u2019s proud that he got to succeed under his own terms. That\u2019s the way I feel as well.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a feeling that I\u2019m better than others. It\u2019s a feeling that eventually I was able to find the right small pond where I could be a big fish. It was neither a short nor an easy journey. Perhaps it\u2019s better described as a feeling of relief than a feeling of pride.<\/p>\n

For my readers, I wish they can each find their own small pond where they can be a big fish. It\u2019s a good feeling.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"youtube\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently I wrote a column about me growing up gambling-wise at the Cavendish West, which was a gin and backgammon club in the West Hollywood part of greater Los Angeles. If you didn\u2019t read it the first time, it may be found here. I mentioned that I lost my bankroll and had to get a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":[2,3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAnother Matter of Perspective - Gambling With An Edge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/another-matter-perspective\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Another Matter of Perspective - Gambling With An Edge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recently I wrote a column about me growing up gambling-wise at the Cavendish West, which was a gin and backgammon club in the West Hollywood part of greater Los Angeles. 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