“Use the force, Luke” (Star Wars).
Gambling
is like the force, it has a light side and it has a dark side.
The opening
chapter describes the light side. Video
Poker is rewarding for many reasons. The primary reason the game is reinforcing
has to do with the nature of the reward.
The reward schedule is uncertain (this is called a
variable interval schedule). This means that every time you hit the draw buttons,
you might win. Your brain anticipates the future reward (even if doesn’t
happen), and some chemicals in your brain called neurotransmitters are released. These neurotransmitters are a large part
of what makes you feel the way you do. Too little of one neurotransmitter
will leave you depressed, too much of another and you might start hearing
voices.
Of course, you
also get a big burst of neurotransmitters when you win something. The
larger the win, the more neurotransmitters get released. In addition, the
machine usually plays some kind of music, or flashes some lights every time you
win to increase the number of things you can associate with that win. Whenever
you win, the connection between the lights and the bells gets connected with
that neurotransmitter release which makes you feel good. So what happens two
months later when you see an ad for Las Vegas on TV? Your brain sees the
lights, hears the bells and you want to go gamble to get that neurotransmitter
release again.
With the variable
interval reinforcement schedule of gambling, you get some neurotransmitter
released with every hand. It is as
if your brain says “here comes something good... release the
neurotransmitter”. It is possible to
have a fixed interval schedule where you only get a reward after a certain
period of time or number of events. Getting a paycheck every two weeks is a
fixed interval schedule, but the fixed interval schedule releases less of the
neurotransmitters that give you the rush of excitement.
In addition to the
type of interval, the magnitude of the reward can be fixed or variable. Playing blackjack, most of your hands will
either be a straight win or a loss of your original bet (there are some
exceptions such as blackjack or doubling down, but these are not typical). In
contrast, the magnitude of the video poker reward varies tremendously. A royal straight flush gives you $1000. When
else in life can you make $1000 in the 5 seconds it takes to play one hand of
video poker? True, you will have to
play a lot more than one hand to hit that royal, but the part of your brain
that reinforces doesn’t really care that you’ve played 40,000 hands. It just
thinks, “I hit that draw button, and I won a thousand dollars, that’s
cool!!!”. In addition, you tend to
replay the memory of hitting the royal in your mind as you tell your friends
about it. Each time you tell the story, you reinforce the value of video poker
a little bit.
It is easy to be
seduced by the dark side of the gambling force. The fact that gambling is so rewarding also
presents a significant risk for some people. There is a fine line between a
passion for gambling and a gambling problem. There are many video poker players
who go to Vegas every month and play all weekend with little sleep. Is this too much? For many, it is not a problem, video poker is something that they
enjoy as a major way of letting loose.
But for others, gambling does become a compulsion. There are a number of
signs that gambling is getting out of control.
If you are losing
too much money, that’s obviously a problem. Of course, you have to decide
what is too much. Fortunately, if you play good machines with near-expert or
expert strategy, then losing too much money is less likely to be a problem, but
you can still lose a lot of money if you hit a streak of bad luck (see chapter
3 on variability).
Even if you are
not losing, you still may have a problem. If gambling is preventing you
from enjoying other parts of your life, then that’s a problem. If every time
you go to Vegas, you completely wear yourself out and need a week to recover,
you might want to cut back a bit. Of
course, only you can decide how much is too much.
If you think you
might have a problem, then you probably do. If you need help,
please call 1-800-gambler.
If you start
losing big, then there is a natural tendency to imagine that your luck must
turn around -- THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS THOUGHT. Because video poker is
random, each hand is completely independent of the previous hands. In other
words, the machine has no memory for anything that has happened. Therefore, if you are way ahead or way
behind, that next hand will be dealt the same way. If you are losing, you
must ignore this feeling that your luck has to change. This is easier said
than done, because although you may know this to be true, you will often feel
like you have to start winning.
If you find
yourself betting more when you are behind, then you may have a gambling
problem. People with gambling problems often find themselves “chasing”,
which means that they are trying to win back their losses by betting more. The
guilt and shame of losing big is so aversive that they will do just about
anything to rid themselves of that “loser” feeling. As a result, they will bet
more and a vicious cycle can occur. Fortunately, the positive expectation of
video poker makes this less likely, because, unlike most casino games, the odds
are in your favor that you are likely get back some of your losses. In
addition, you usually cannot increase your bet in video poker without changing
to a $1 machine (which might not be full-pay). Still, you need to keep in mind that a streak of bad luck does not
promise a streak of good luck in the future.
Set a loss limit
when you play. Decide
before you play how much you can afford to lose. When you lose that much, stop.
This is a simple rule but not an easy one to obey. If you play a lot of video poker, you can end up with enough of a
bankroll so that you can afford to lose quite a bit. However, most video poker
players will not build up such a large bankroll and will have to live with a
smaller limit.
On the up side, if
you have won a lot of money, there is no reason to believe that you are about
to lose. Again, the video poker machine has no memory. There are trips when you will have great
luck in the first few hours of playing and you might think that you should quit
because you can’t believe that things will stay good. But you never know how long a good luck streak might last, so
just keep playing with the knowledge that if you are playing full-pay versions
with good strategy, you can expect to be ahead in the long run.
Don’t fret about
someone hitting “your” royal. Many video poker players have had the
experience playing next to a person who hits a royal, and the player thinks “If
I had only picked that machine, I would have hit a royal”. This thinking is
wrong. Even if the player had sat at that machine, the royal would not have
been hit. Why? The video poker machines use a random number generator to deal
the cards that is determined by the very instant that the player hits the
“Deal” button. This means, that in order to hit the royal that the guy next to you
hit, you would have had to hit the deal button at the EXACT same time (to
within a millionth of a second).
This is simply not a likely occurrence. So the next time somebody else
hits a royal, you can think to yourself “I’m glad he hit the royal, because if
I had sat there, then it is not very likely that I would have hit it, and he
probably would not have hit the royal on my machine either”.
Root for your
neighbors. When the old lady next to you gets a straight flush, tell her
“nice hand”. She’ll feel better and so will you. Moreover, when you get your four aces, she’ll be glad to share in
your glory. Video poker can be a little isolating, and a little conversation
with a video poker buddy can make the experience more enjoyable.
Finally, always
remember that video poker is supposed to be fun. Don’t
be like the players who look like extras from “Night of the Living Dead”. Smile
when you are dealt a full house. When you draw that fourth deuce, make some
noise. When you hit the royal, dance around, scream and act like an idiot. In addition to having fun yourself, you will
be surprised how responsive other people will be. Everybody likes to see people
win. People may even shake your hand
(it has happened to me several times).
HIT THOSE ROYALS !!!