Relax and Play the Game

23 February 2025

By Frank Scoblete

Some people are so uptight when they play the games that I sometimes wonder why they play them.

The percentages are probably not so high but when you are at a blackjack table and one of the six other players is a nervous wreck, well, you feel their pain. At least I do. I find this at craps too. The nerves seem to grow as the game progresses, whether things are going just fine or not. Why?

I think this might be true of slots too but it is hard to get a good bead on a slot player without violating their space. “Excuse me sir or madam, are you a nervous wreck when you play the machines?” I don’t know if I should ask a question such as that.

Okay, so I don’t really know the percentages but those players are out there – 40 years of casino play has taught me that truth. And here is the truth too – when you first start playing a game, yes, of course, there will be some nerves. This would be especially true of blackjack where you must make decisions on every hand you are dealt.

Or craps seems to be moving so fast it is hard to keep up and that might jangle you a bit when you first start learning the game.

But after awhile that nervousness should fade and the player should get into some kind of rhythm when he or she plays. If not, why not? Why torture yourself by playing if playing doesn’t give you enough thrills?

Seriously, playing casino games should be fun whether you win, lose, or draw. Otherwise, why bother playing them?

Now, when you lose you will not feel so hot, I can say that with a true grain of truth. We play because we want to win. If we don’t win we don’t feel so hot. Fine. But that is not the nervousness whereof I speak.

Of course, there are players who play so long that they get into a kind of trance. My wife, the Beautiful AP and I met a woman who lost an entire day to playing a game. She couldn’t remember that she had played (of all things) on April 1st. She remembered March 31 and April 2nd – but she had no memory of April 1st! Yikes!

Can that be fun? Losing a day doesn’t seem to be fun to me.

If you are the type of player who does go into a trance-like state then ask yourself a question: Am I having fun when I am in such a trance? If you are fine with it then fine, keep it up; if not so fine, maybe play shorter spans of time so your waking mind has memories of what you are doing or did.

I do not know if the more nervous players tend to go into trances more often than less nervous-types of players. I actually play at casinos for me to have fun so I am a relaxed observer, not a specialist in my fellow players.

Here I am taking a guess: I do think that players who are nervous wrecks when they play don’t really enjoy their playing all that much. How could they? “I am a nervous wreck but I am having a load of fun!”

Do they really think that?

Seriously?

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.