A Dilemma from a Reader – Gambling With An Edge

All types of comments get posted to www.gamblingwithanedge.com concerning the numerous blogs or podcasts posted there — which includes mine. The next remark was posted a week and a fifty percent after the first arrived out, and I suppose most of the visitors had presently moved along to later posts. Nevertheless, it occurred to me that I have some thing to say about the post, so I’ll do it below.

Bob…have enjoyed your blogs and publications throughout the a long time. At 75 I’d be pondering you have received plenty of and banked adequate to try one thing a lot less annoying. Like sq. dancing . . . or if which is as well a great deal possibly fishing!

I’m happy you’ve liked my producing. I’ve constantly captivated some blend of supporters and detractors. It seems to be my large amount in existence. Whilst I will not in fact be 75 years old until finally mid-February, I’ve been announcing “almost 75” for a thirty day period or two now. And indeed, I’m really significantly fiscally set so I’m not out there gambling for my regular rent. So why do I do it?

The section of the post that didn’t ring genuine was the implication that keeping away from gambling would be a lot less tense for me, and that would be a very good matter. I’m going to quibble with both equally halves of that implication.

Paraphrasing an previous expression, I believe that that stress is the head of the beholder. A shedding streak is stress filled, to be guaranteed, but distinct individuals encounter that strain in different ways, measured by this sort of factors as heart charge, mind waves, skin conductance, etcetera. (I’m no specialist on this. Google is a writer’s mate!) 

Whilst I never have scientific data to back this up, I think I am somebody who ordeals fewer stress thanks to typical wins and losses at gambling than a lot of other persons do. I’ve been gambling for additional than 50 decades. I know I have the very long-time period gain. I know there will be ups and downs together the way. And the point that these days has been down so much (or up so significantly) is just 1 far more knowledge issue. It will all work out. And if I have a down calendar year or three, my financial well-currently being is not threatened. So why pressure?

A little worry will come through, of training course. A royal flush feels great. Getting rid of 50 percent a royal flush in two hrs doesn’t. But we want certain quantities of strain. Living in a vegetative state is not my plan of bliss. It’s far more like hell!

A vital aspect of my determination to engage in video clip poker, worry apart, is that I however get pleasure from the activity. Organizing my perform and functioning my prepare properly gives me pleasure and a emotion of accomplishment. If and when that modifications, I’ll consider one thing else. But correct now, such a improve is not on my seen horizon.

All through the pandemic when I didn’t get out so a lot, I study much more to retain my intellect energetic. I joined Zoom teams of different forms to try out to get superior at a range of things. I advised stories throughout the place by using Zoom, which was a completely diverse appealing type of anxiety for me. I joined some on-line crafting groups to make improvements to my capabilities in that region. Maintaining my brain energetic is a vital element to my enjoyment in lifestyle. Netflix and Grub Hub were not important sections of pandemic survival for me.

In the dilemma to me, square dancing was mentioned. Bonnie and I have savored sq. dancing for many years, that’s the venue via which we fulfilled, and for the last a number of have participated in what they contact “Advanced” sq. dancing. We had a challenging time finding more than enough individuals collectively on a regular basis for that just before the pandemic in Las Vegas, and it’s been unattainable due to the fact.

They have other degrees of sq. dancing regionally, but it is become political. The most lively contributors listed here are loud anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers. Several of the dances devolve into shouting matches the place nobody is listening to any person else. That doesn’t strike Bonnie and me as a pleasurable way to shell out an evening, so we continue to be absent. No matter if I concur or disagree with your political see, dancing ought to be an escape from that type of discussion. If I want to argue about that, there are a lot of forums available in which I can do that as a great deal as I like — from whichever political stage of watch I like. There are other varieties of dancing we love and participate in, but proper now, square dancing is not 1 of them.

Insofar as fishing goes, which is hardly ever appealed to me. A range of persons really enjoy this passion, and a lot more electrical power to them. There are umpteen 1000’s of achievable hobbies that maintain no curiosity for me, and fishing is just a different one on that listing.