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I was in Vegas three years ago. I stood and watched a man playing a dollar slot machine. He was playing $100 at a time. Not know anything about slots and wanting to learn, I watched on. I knew with that much money in, he would surly win a lot....wrong. He lost and was down $80, at which time he put in another hundred dollars. He was finally up $350, and I thought he would collect his winnings and leave. He was up at on point $700, and kept playing. Then he started to lose and kept loosing. A long story short, the poor chap, when I left him, was five hundred down and still playing. I figured he was trying to break even at that point. From that little study I learned: set a limit, when that limit is reached, cash out whatever you got and call it a night.

If you want to see the mind set of a gambler, go to any casino and watch the people playing the games. It wont take long to figure out who is there for fun and who is trying to make a pay day. It's not hard to tell who is having a good time and who is waiting for that one big hit. With some, you can see the desperation on their faces. It's like do or die, their life depends on the roll of the dice, flip of the card, roll of the ball, pull of the handle. You could walk around there all night studying people. The guy making the trip to the ATM is down, he has lost and trying to gain something back. I would no more use a casino ATM than I would use one at a convenient store. The fees or probably high.

Casino are in the business to make money, your money. If two or three people win a couple thousand dollars, that is good for business. If nine or ten people loose a couple thousand, that is very good for business.

The gambler thinks that he will win big. He thinks this is the night I make a killing. Chances are, it's the night the casino will make a killing off you. On-line gambling, casino's, and river boats, should be viewed as entertainment. It's no more than going to a movie or a night out. There is a limit to how much you're willing to spend on those activities.

I haven't been to a casino in over a year. I lost twenty dollars the last trip. Twenty is my limit. When I win, I cash out. When the twenty is gone, I leave with whatever I've cashed out. It's fun to gamble, but you have got to know when to fold. For me, it's twenty bucks.

Learn more about this author, Charles W Straw.
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