Page 20 - February 2003 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Feeling Lucky Is Not All Bad by Jean Scott
Ihave long advocated choosing casino games that involve skill, such as blackjack and video poker, because you can study and improve your chances for winning. But the vast majority of players take comfort in the much more convenient—and much less
strenuous—concept of luck. And that’s not necessarily always a bad thing. I have seen some bene ts of appealing to that capricious beauty — Lady Luck.
tables of any bingo hall. I don’t have to wonder why everyone seems to be having a good time—it’s because there’s so much “luck in the air.”
And that’s the point. If your good-luck frog on top of a video poker machine or a picture of your grandchildren behind the coin slot makes you feel good, then it’s valuable, because that’s one of the goals
of gambling—entertainment, an activity that gives you a good time. Using “lucky” charms or rituals is harmless as long as you realize they’re just something to relieve the mental stress when you’re on the losing side of a gambling session. Only when you believe that they can change the odds of a game
and you depend on them for luck, instead of developing your skills, does it become a harmful thing. Did you ever notice that you don’t need them so
much when you’re winning?
Jean Scott is the author of the best-selling book The Frugal Gambler, a casino guide for thrifty low rollers, plus a sequel, More Frugal Gambling, to be published very soon. She stresses sensible, responsible gambling and shows how to stretch out casino fun time whatever your gambling bankroll. She is a popular speaker and writer on gaming subjects. She has a weekly Internet column called “Frugal Fridays” on www.lasvegasadvisor.com. Today, Jean Scott, who, inherwords,isjustan“ordinarygrandmother,”istheworld’smost famous low-rolling gambler and her fans are legion. Her web site can be found at www.frugalgambler.biz.
Some players like to ask a change person to point them to a lucky machine, that is, one that will hit a jackpot soon. Now, no casino employee knows that information—but many will give you their guess. And if you take their advice and lose? Well, you now have someone to blame for your bad luck. Some people feel better when they can think of a reason, a valid one or not, why they lost.
Often players don special clothes in which to gamble. Maybe you wore a particular shirt the last time you had a big win. If you feel lucky in that shirt, what’s the harm? I have a pair of gold tennis shoes I wear when I play in home poker games. I certainly don’t believe my shoes are responsible for wins and losses. But it sometimes psyches out the other players when I tell them that my golden shoes make me unbeatable.
I occasionally see people pushing the single credit button on a slot machine two or three or ve times, rather thanhittingthemax-coinbuttononce.Puresuperstition, of course, that this will help you win, but it’s actually a good idea if you’re playing a machine with a high house
edge. Anything that slows down your play will cut down on your losses and the less you
lose, the “luckier” for you. The same is
true of pulling a slot handle instead of
pushing the spin button or taking the time to change machines often.
I’ve seen players try to “control” slot
machines by certain actions. They’ll get up
and walk around their machine to “disturb
the aura,” rub the machine to “massage” out a
jackpot, peck on the glass to “wake up” the wild
cards, even kiss the machine (I advise against this for reasons of hygiene). A friend of mine uses one of the funniest techniques I’ve ever come across. She “punishes” naughty machines by putting them in “time out” while she plays an adjoining one. None of this fazes the mindless machine—but it seems to relieve player tension!
I’m fascinated by all the rabbits’ feet, four-leaf clovers, trolls, pictures, tiger’s teeth, prosperity potions, and assorted talismans that decorate, for example, the
Page 20 February 2003
Column: The Frugal Gambler