Atomic Habits

1 October 2024

By Frank Scoblete

I am not usually into self-help books or videos. I figure, and my wife the Beautiful AP figures as well, that I am perfect the way I am right this second. Oops, scratch that as the wife didn’t think that. I just thought she thought that. So, I was wrong there.

I guess you can never count on your wife to always confirm your obvious talents at various times – especially when others are listening. That is something I haven’t learned all these decades of our marriage. “Please,” she’ll say, “Just put the dishes in the dish washer. Is that asking too much?”

Still, this is a gambling column and it should in some way, shape or be applicable to the millions of casino gamblers out there trying to beat the house edge. Which brings me to the book “Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones” by James Clear.

Yes, this is a self-help book by a well-known self-help author. Don’t let that put you off. For casino players, the book has a lot of worthwhile information about changing small but deadly habits. Often these small but deadly habits are the root causes of our destruction when we gamble.

What do you think? Do you have some or many of these small habits that hurt you when you gamble; be it at the machines or at the tables? I am guessing some of you do.

Small advancements in one’s personal habits can combine in the long run (which is really not all that long) to make a player a better player. I think for many casino players this could be the book they crave – even though they don’t know they are craving it.

Okay, bottom line question here: Do you have some casino gambling habits that you wish you could jettison?

Is one how to decide when to quit playing? Many players suffer from the “should I leave now or wait until later?” Often they make the wrong choice; stay too long and (sad to say) take a hammering. The few times they don’t take the hammering, they conceive that they are on the right track when in fact they aren’t. They are just digging their trap deeper and deeper by small measurements too. Small is a key word for this book.

Let me share with you a concept on how small actually works out for a casino player. Here we go!

You want to look good shooting the dice. You set them a certain way. Aim. Then you throw them. They never go straight to the back wall. In fact, they spread out!

Indeed, the longer tables see those dice really travel in a way you did not intend them to. You may not be a dice controller but the Captain once said to me, “Everyone should want to look good throwing the dice. It’s like wearing clothes. Dress up for success.”

Did anyone ever tell you that you could not practice your dice throw at home?

How do you handle players at blackjack who criticize how you play? What about the speed you go when you play the slots? Do you know the basic strategies for video poker?

When you are home, alone, why not practice what we are preaching? It can’t hurt can it?

Perhaps you should give Clear’s book a read.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete’s books are available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books, libraries, and bookstores.