Page 15 - March 2006 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Breaking My Rule Aby Bill Burton
nyone who has read my columns in the Southern California Gaming Guide knows that I strive to be a smart, disciplined player. Many of them deal with money management and playing responsibly, and making the best decisions in the casino.
My Rules
Now, I am not saying that my losses at the casino are directly related to biorhythms or any psychic phenomenon. I am not really superstitious, and for all I know, they could just be a self-fulfilling prophecy. What I do know is that I made a rule for myself that I would not go to the casino when I was the least bit hesitant about going.
Last week I planned a trip to the casino. When I got up in the morning, I just didn’t feel like going. I sat debating and then finally decided to take the ride, breaking my rule. The results were terrible.
The dealer kept beating me at the blackjack tables and my session at the poker table was just as bad.
I am not upset about having a losing day at the casino as that happens many times. But I am upset about losing the discipline to follow my own rule. However, I will follow my other rule to be honest with myself (and you, my readers) and admit my mistake and try to do better in the future. What’s that saying? To err is human.....to forgive is divine.
Until next time, remember: “Luck comes and goes... Knowledge Stays Forever.”
Bill Burton is the Casino Gambling Guide and columnist for the Internet portal About.com, located at http://casinogambling.about.com He is the author of 1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets and Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold’em available online at www.billburton.com. He is an instructor for Golden Touch Craps, http://www.thecrapsclub.com.
My columns are not just ideas. I honestly practice what I preach. However, I am only human, and sometimes I make the mistake of deviating from my own rules. Since I also write about being honest with yourself when you make a mistake, I thought I would share a recent experience.
A Losing Day
Last week I went to the casino and I lost money. Alright, I know what you are thinking — what’s the big deal, we all lose money at the casino! Well, the problem was I knew that I was going to lose money
and I went anyway.
Now I am not claiming that I am psychic or have
mystical powers, but I did discover something several years ago that seemed to reoccur on a regular basis. Sometimes on the morning I planned to visit the casino, I got up and just didn’t feel like going. I might have had other things I could be doing or I just didn’t feel like going for one reason or another. Some days I did stay home, but other days I convinced myself I should go. On those days it seemed like I had more losing sessions than on the days I was really excited about going to the casino.
After a while, I made a rule for myself that I would not go to the casino if I was not one hundred percent certain that I really wanted to go. e times I disobeyed this rule, I usually had a losing day. I think that I just may know when I am not feeling 100 percent on a given day and will not function at my peak.
Biorhythms or Intuition?
We all have days when we feel better and perform better than other days. Some people attribute this to an inner cycle called biorhythms. According to biorhythm theory, our lives are a ected by three primary cycles: physical, emotional, and intellectual. e cycles start at a middle point at birth, and then go up and down at di erent rates over our lifetimes. I don’t get up each morning and check my biorhythms, but I do know that some days I feel better than others physically and some days I am more creative than others.
We all get intuitive feelings from time to time. Whether you attribute them to your inner cycles or some unseen outside in uence that your brain subconsciously evaluates, it is sometimes best to
listen to them.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
March 2006 Page 15
About Gambling with Bill Burton