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Most of you have seen people gamble in movies. You might see a mobster of sorts play cards with his companions and see all this money being thrown around. You might be wondering, what is so fun about risking your money and losing it most of the time? The answer is quite simple: the rush behind gambling is what creates the fun.
Everyone has played cards some time or another. It's fun for about 5 minutes but then it gets rather boring; there are no stakes so people start playing wildly and don't care if they win or lose. That's when gambling is fun; people don't play wildly with money; they play more discreetly. You're not going to see many people play haphazardly if they have $20 or $30 on the line with 5 pieces of plastic. At times, your heart races wildly as you raise the stakes gradually and see a huge mound of cash in the “pot.” You begin to sweat with anxiety. At last, your opponent calls your raising and the betting stops. Slowly, your opponent opens up his hand, revealing 5 cards in sequential order. In your mind you shout with joy as you lay your 5 cards down revealing 5 cards of the same suit! You just won over $75! This is the kind of rush that gambling can bring you. However, gambling is not for the weak hearted. Gambling is like taking hallucinogenic drugs; there are ups and there are downs. You can get “high” from winning and not care whether you lose a few games here and there. Even the almighty gambler can lose $100 or more in a single game and not care. Why would he care if he wins practically every other time he plays? You can also get a “hangover” if you start losing large amounts of money and can't stop playing, entering a state of drunkenness.
A true story: One time, on a field trip for a co-curricular club, the “grand master of gambling” won some $800.00 in a matter of two days from 3 major contributors. These three poor souls entered into a stage of hysteria-like behavior. If you think that these three “stooges” learned their lesson, you are wrong; in a matter of a week after the trip, these addicts were attempting to garner money by gambling again. If you cannot handle losing some of your money, then gambling is not for you. Gambling is also quite addictive. After playing for a few hours, people land in one of three major categories. People either a) win money b) break out even c) or lose money. No matter what the outcome is, most likely the person will want to play more. This feeling will eventually snowball until the person is an addict. If one wins, one either won petty cash or the person hit the jackpot. If the person won a small amount, that person will probably want to play more because they don't have much to show for their countless hours of playing cards. If one wins a lot of money, odds are that person's eyes have become green and they want even more money than they have. Another situation is that the person comes out without a win or loss. In this case, most people feel that they have wasted their time and want to continue playing, in hopes of winning some money. The final possibility is that the person who has played cards has lost. In this case, the most common reaction is to continue playing until all money that was lost is recovered. Eventually, this forms a cycle, and no matter what the outcome is from your gambling session, you will most likely want to play more cards.
I am forewarning you that gambling is very addictive and that you should know what you are doing. There are many people, experienced players like myself, called “hustlers,” a cynical few who will play anyone inexperienced naïve enough to play. Another tip is that you never mix friendship and gambling. It will cost you the former or money. I encourage all to try gambling at least once. You may be wondering why I am encouraging everyone to play. The reason is quite simple; if more people play, the more money will enter “circulation.” Hopefully in the end, that money will come to me.
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