The "I broke even" lie

25 August 2021

By Frank Scoblete

They lie. They are total and complete liars. Who are “they?” Maybe “they” are you but, for sure, they are our fellow casino gamblers. Maybe “they” are the majority of casino gamblers.

What are they lying about? Come on, that’s really simple:

• They lie about how they are doing at the games this trip.
• The lie about how they are doing in the long run.
• They lie about what skills they actually have at games where skill matters such as blackjack.
• They lie about how much study have they put into the games they play.
• Or they lie about how little study is necessary to understand the games.

Who are they lying to? Other casino gamblers, perhaps people from home who scornfully ask, “Yeah, well, how did you do this time?” To these they can just throw out, “I killed them again.”

The easiest one to unravel is the first one. Here’s the conversation:

“Hi, Jim, how are you doing?”

“Fine. I am almost even.”

Jim isn’t “almost even” because if he were ahead, even by a little bit, he would probably say, “Oh, yeah, I am ahead. I’ve won a good amount of money.” Therefore, “almost even” means he is down. maybe substantially down.

What if Jim says, “I lost a little.” What does that mean? It means he lost a lot because if he were only down a little he would say, “I broke even” or “I am almost even.”

You do have the out-and-out liars who will tell everyone they are ahead even if they are getting drilled. “Oh, yeah, sure, I am way ahead. I have a lot of luck in this casino – if you want to call it luck.”

I remember one player who was angling to get a name for himself in casino gambling circles saying he was an expert card counter. I believed him until another card counter and I watched him play a few times. He was nothing less then the opposite of a card counter. He always bet more when the casino had the edge.

When he finished a session, he’d always brag that he had won. Yes, he was a blowhard; a lying blowhard.

I am of the opinion that you should never ask a stranger how he or she is doing. That is private; even if the strangers are dying to share their good or ill luck with you. Spouses, yes; friends, maybe. Everyone else? Give them their privacy even if they don’t want it.

When someone asks me how I am doing, I usually answer, “So, so.” And they can figure out what so-so means.

When you play a sport, the final score stands for everyone to see. If you played particularly well then that might be mentioned in a sports article. There really isn’t that much of a chance that the announcers are going to say the losing team won the game.

Sadly, many casino gamblers do like to think of themselves as experts. Their expertise can come from some reading or, more likely, from their own usually bitter experiences.

I see this quite often at blackjack tables when a player scolds everyone about how they play because he (or she) knows the proper way to play the hands. By the way, these experts usually do not play the correct basic strategy.

The liars are legion in casino gambling. But I also think that many of these same people and many others beside are liars too.

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 and at bookstores.