Let's talk about spending money.

I was thinking more about the lotto. I don't know if you have anything comparable in the UK, but in the States, each state runs its own lotto. It generates alot of revenue, which is obviously why those who would normally oppose it for ethical reasons end up turning a blind eye to it. I would agree that something such as Poker offers you a much, much higher chance of winning through card counting or even employing game theory. I still wouldn't do it. But that's just my personal opinion. I have an acquaintance that does video poker nearly everyday. I can honestly say that he's a good poker player, especially video poker where the "poker face" doesn't factor in. Even still, its pretty hit or miss. Some days he'll drop $50 and pick up $400. Other days he'll drop $400 only to pick up $50.

You can't expect to make money in the long term gambling against the house. The rules are rigged to provide the house with a statistical advantage; you literally have to beat the odds to win at those games.Poker (table, not video) is played against other players, not the house; the house is merely there to provide the table and the dealer, which they do for a slice of the pot. But they have no statistical stake in the rules. You can win at poker because you're on an equal footing, rules-wise, with everybody else.Video poker is just another form of slot-machine gambling; the outcomes are programmed to favor the house. Statistically you can expect to win 98 cents for every dollar you spend.If you want to beat the house gambling, you need to look for a game where the pot isn't the house's money, where the house takes a fee instead of winnings. (Like the poker example given above.) Just think it through. If the house stood an equal or worse chance to lose money instead of making it, how could they afford to run a casino? Why would they do it?

I agree wholeheartedly. I mean, Las Vegas wouldn't be multi-billion dollar industry if the house was losing as much as the average player who goes into their casinos everyday. The house always has an advantage. You could even apply it in biological terms. An individual might be successful on occasion, however, but if the population does extremely poorly, the specie will go extinct. This is ironic for me that everyone is talking about this subject because I just watched 'Rounders' last night and they went into this very subject. And the bars love having them because they generate a higher revenue than just alcohol or billiard tables could produce alone. People sit, smoke, and drink at those machines for hours, dumping a ton of money into it. They know the machines they bought have an advantage. Afterall, if it wasn't lucrative they wouldn't do it. I told this acquaintance of mine to write down the money he put into the machines vs the income who received from it. I asked him to tabulate those figures over the course of a month. I told him that if he was putting more money into it per capita than he was taking home, that he is losing at the game and why play it if that's the case?I think what happens is people win a few big hands and they start getting a big head about the whole thing. But until they can see the results over a long period of times, they'll continue thinking they are winning when they actually lose more money than they take home. Exactly. The casinos aren't there themselves because of luck. They are there because they have the advantage. Edited by nemesis_juggernaut, : edit to add

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"The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God." -2^nd Corinthians 10:4-5

What is this "money" thing you all speak of?Oh, wait ... oh yes, I remember that. Damn, it's been a while.

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I don't buy 'happiness' with my paycheck and 'the fruits of my labor' include much more than my paycheck.

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What counts is doing something meaningful, whether on the clock or off.

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Here here!I've never been happy in a job unless I feel that it is meaningful and contributes something worthwhile to the community it is in.

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I think what happens is people win a few big hands and they start getting a big head about the whole thing. But until they can see the results over a long period of times, they'll continue thinking they are winning when they actually lose more money than they take home.

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It is Operant Conditioning, actually.

Which is why online poker is such much better for the professional than going to a casino - you can keep very detailed records of your profits and losses. The type of people who play poker slot machines are the sort who come online and get cleaned out by people like me - they have no game plan, no sense of limits nothing - they work all that out after they have lost.Seems a common trait with..well..losers.. no forward planning.Edited by CK, : No reason given.

I use my money very impulsively. If I see something I want I'll just buy it. I buy a lot of games (2 per month but with my income it's a lot), PS2 mostly.I pay my bills when I "feel" like it Not that many of them go overdue though.I don't know. I usually just don't even think about money. I use 2,5 euros a day for food so that leaves more spending for other things.