Good Friend, Bad Friend

31 May 2022

By Frank Scoblete

Human beings are social creatures. With some exceptions such as monks on mountain tops, hermits, or our strange neighbors in the apartment or house next to us, we delight in the company of others. The word “tribes” best reflects our inclinations to be with others.

We join the company of some parrots, wolves, dolphins, whales, elephants, lions, dogs, some fish, deer, buffalos and many more species too numerous to name. For good or ill, the history of the human race is written in the blood and the ties of our tribes.

The history of many a casino player is often written in the blood of those who accompany us to the casinos. It can also be written in our blood too.

Many folks enjoy the fruits of friendship when they enjoy Lady Luck’s palaces. Our friends can make trips to the casinos a more rewarding experience, whether we win or lose.

I do not dismiss the social aspects of casino visits. I have one playing partner right now and we are a casino team, if you will. We are also friends who go back two decades. Other than my wife, the Beautiful AP, this man is the man I trust and whose company I enjoy.

He plays the way I play; slow and conscious of the house edges on the games and machines he attempts to beat. He is an expert in certain video poker games and he knows from research what slot machines are your best bet. He has a handle on the casino world. You could easily say that we are a tribe of two.

However, other friends can make a casino player’s trips a miserable experience depending on these folks’ predilections and personalities. The influence of friends is great.

I am not a fan of players who are driven to play or who play excessively. I want my rhythm to be similar to the rhythm I have in my daily life. I try to go to bed about the same time as I usually do. I prefer to have leisurely dinners in fine restaurants. I don’t run to the games. They’ll be there when I am ready to tackle them.

I am not a comp warrior either. I play as I play and what comps come, they come. I look at comps as a reward for potential losses, not as “free stuff” that I deserve because I am a nice guy. My teammate feels the same way as I do. That’s a comfortable relationship.

In the world of slot machines, I have some strong recommendations. I think we should only play machines that give us a good chance to win or, more accurately, to lose less over time.

Many players do not agree with my assumptions. That’s fine. It’s their money they are risking. But those are not players I enjoy being around for any extended periods of time.

One simple reason is the fact that they tend to talk incessantly about their wins and losses. They make your ears ring.

We all know that slot machines have house edges, often quite high house edges, and players who bemoan that fact seem to not understand that they are going up a hill as Sisyphus did. You push that boulder up the hill but it is going to fall down eventually and then we have to start all over again. That is a fact of slot and table-game play.

Few players can get around that. Yes, if a slot player were to win millions on a machine, he or she might be able to play the rest of their existence without worrying about future losses. That winning contingent of players is quite small indeed. It’s a hoped-for group that almost no players will join. It is a fantasy world; fun to dream about but more than likely never to be achieved.

Instead of wishing and hoping for the BIG one, my teammate and I prefer to logically play machines that might not reward us too good but can keep us in the games for a much longer time with far fewer losses.

So, what about you? When you go to the casinos what types of friends do you hang around? Are they of your type and style of play? Or are they downers?

Do they push you to play more and more? Do they spend more time in a manic state than in a calm one? Do they try to pass that mania on to you?

Are they always playing for comps? Do they whine and moan incessantly about their losses?

Are they late for dinners and shows because they couldn’t tear themselves away from the machines?

Seriously, if you could go to the casinos without them would that be better for you or worse for you? I am guessing that it would clearly be better for you.

Casino play should be fun. Casino friends should be fun people with which to be. Sacrificing your fun to hang with people who detract from your fun seems to me to be a waste of one’s time.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete’s web site is www.frankscoblete.com. His books are available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books, bookstores and at libraries.