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The Pyramid System For Gamblers - Part 2 Continued from Part 1

You really have to pin people down to get then to admit that they are in a casino because they’re having fun, in spite of the likelihood that they’ll lose. I believe this comes from the traditional image of gambling as a vice. Many people still feel guilty when they lose money in a Texas Holdem Game. We have a couple of friends who go to Las Vegas, stay in nice $35 hotel rooms that would cost them more than $100 in any other major city, eat $25 prime rib dinners for the cost of the tip to the waiter, and spend three days enjoying spectacular pirate battles, exploding volcanos, laser-light shows, circus acts, and unlimited drinks—all free. Then they moan about “wasting” (losing) $100 in the Poker Game. They just can’t admit that having fun was their primary goal.

Level 2—Enlightenment Strikes All it takes is a little shift in perspective to climb the short ladder to Level 2. Winning isn’t the name of the game. Entertainment is. I think we all know that at heart. You’ve heard the same comments that I have: “I spent all evening on the riverboat arid only lost twenty-five dollars—I had a great time.” And “We spent an entire week in Biloxi, Mississippi, this year and even though we lost $1,000, the vacation cost us much less than three days at Disney World.” These People don't bother to read Holdem Guides and they don't care. Recently, Brad talked to a dude from California who has been going to Las Vegas for 20 years. “I never really won,” he told him with good humor. “But I just love it there.” So the first thing you must do to raise yourself above the confusion of Level 1 is to analyze your goals for your casino excursions. Although beating the casino and playing poker to win might be at the forefront of your thinking, take care to factor in entertainment and give it its proper value.

“Okay,” you say, “I admit that, for me, casino gambling is a recreational activity.” Now, by keeping it with-in the entertainment context, you can better consider the money factor when heading the Texas Holdem table. That is, you realize that you get a lot of entertainment value for your money, but you would like your bankroll to provide more hours of this entertainment—which means winning more often and/or losing less during your time in the casino. A warning note is in order here. We’re assuming your gambling bankroll (the money you take to the casino to gamble) is money you can afford to spend (lose) on casino entertainment. This is not the rent or mortgage payment. This isn’t the baby’s milk-money. This isn’t money you’ve borrowed or should be saving. Your bankroll should come from discretionary funds—money that if it’s lost when playing poker, will not negatively impact your lifestyle or cause a financial hardship to you or your family, now or in the future. No - gambler at any level should enter a casino and risk money that’s needed for living expenses. To do so is to court disaster, not just financially, but emotionally as well. One can never be truly “entertained” when gambling with money earmarked for other purposes, and it doestn't matter how many Holdem Tricks he knows.

There is another group of gamblers within Level 1 that needs to evaluate closely what they’re doing in the Texas Holdem game. They’re not lust confused, they’re angry, too. They can never lose money gambling and chalk up the losses to entertainment. They cannot accept even a small loss in poker without being devastated. These players have told me, “When I lose, even if I can afford it, I get physically ill. I have this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach the whole time I’m in a casino.” if gambling can provide no entertainment value for you, then you should stay far away from casinos and from the Texas Holdem Tables, or start reading Holdem Guides. Even the pros at the top of the pyramid lose for long stretches at a time between their winning sessions. The only sure thing about gambling results is that they are streaky—if you’re susceptible to sickness, don’t get on the roller coaster.

...To Be Continued