The dark side of "War"

I am talking about the card game kids. Not your mommy and daddy fighting in the kitchen about who cooks Christmas dinner and why the grandparents are coming so early.

You want to be a professional poker player or gambling player? To succeed is simple, as far as the gambling aspect, you must be a idiot and at times very compulsive, which usually only works 1 times out of 50. Like for instance if you would have bet on the Tampa Bay rays to make the world series, some Handicappers had the line set 100,000 to 1, so if you would have been extremely stupid and put 100 dollars, on them to win the AL, and just MAKE. the world series. You would now be living on a small island that you owned.

Okay, so here is my story, I consider myself to be as good as anyone at poker, however with a lot of room for improvement, I just mean I have sound fundamentals of the game and usually great timing on when and how to use them . I was playing sit and gos for like 8 hours. I ended up losing like 10 in a row, to weak players. I was just out of it, time to quit, I lost a lot.

So I go to Doyle's room Casino, which is a option always looming in the poker back ground. I look at the table games, and see "War". I started laughing because I played that in 3rd grade. Now just in case, you are well just a idiot, let me explain to you how it works. you get one card face up, they get one card face up. your card has to be bigger than their card(if it is: you win, if it's not: you lose). Okay. If the card ties, you lay 3 cards down on the table, and turn one up. Again your card must be better than their card, and you get all the money plus double the bet, if you tie a second time you win, table rules there.

Seems like a 50/50 game right? the house has a slight advantage of 6% or so, with ties.

Anyway I was lucky with my betting patterns, and ended up making 1100 dollars (going back on a hot steak at first won half that) in one hour. Not bad for a hour's worth of work, and it even surpasses any amount I have made as a poker professional in an hour.

So sometimes being stupid and throwing yourself out there, really pays off. However this was a pretty compulsive stupid thing to do. Now I realize my odds of going broke where very slim, I'd have to bet like a idiot. I do bet on sports from time to time, however, I usually do not play things out of the realm of skill.
Poker 90%, sports betting 10% that's it. Sure you only need to be lucky once if you gamble, but there is just no money involved in luck, because you cannot control it.

Now for those of you that think poker is a game of luck, you are massively retarded which is why, you will work 8 to 5 until death. For those of you that think Betting on sports is luck, you are just somewhat retarded, I'm not talking about mentally slow people, who cannot help it, that I love and respect so much. I mean you aren't legally retarded, as in you are a idiot.

The reason poker isn't luck? that can be proved with math, the reason sports betting isn't luck? it's no more luck than the stock market. If you were to bet 100 times on a team that would win 70 times out of 100 against another team, you would win in the long run, if you bet the same and also if you go against the betting public when they bet on a team over 79%, because the betting public loses in the long run to the house 55% of the time you would in in the long run, you see?. Also there is professional poker players, and sports betters, consider that as well.

So yeah, play games like war for fun, slot machines, why not. Sure I have 1100 dollars, and yes it was fun to win. However as a poker professional that was a move in the long run, that I would lose money on, I got very lucky and should be broke. You just can't be like that and expect to have success. Poker a game of skill gets you in enough trouble as in is.

So while it is okay to roll the dice once in awhile, with a marginal amount of money, win big, lose small. Without mental discipline and investing in games of skill, you go from cool poker professional to broke gambling addict pretty quick.
I mean everyone who plays poker seriously is addicted to it, usually for the mental warfare, almost like video games you get paid for but out of passion, not out of winning big that is just a plus.

So in closing don't do what I did at home, if you play emotionally out of anger, frustration ect. That leads to chasing loses, which leads to not being able to set limits, which leads to being a gambling addict.

Just say no, to compulsion and yes to skill.

Even though, I won and most people would be happy, if I ever ever let myself go off on another uncontrolled tilted gambling adventure again, I intend to quit poker for a year, as well as any other form of gambling cause I have a serious problem.

I think that may be why they have the casino link in the poker room. Smart business move to get poker players who go off on tilt, you know a spider catching a fly. Now you can't blame the good people at Doyle's room... you have to blame the flies for being stupid enough to get caught in the web. I won this time, next time......probably won't be so lucky.

Just be smart, like I Wasn't.