Ban Gambling

[mistermack]

When I seize power, I'm going to ban gambling.

How the hell can anyone defend it as an industry?
These dumb fuckers who stand in front of a machine, and hand over their money to strangers, are so stupid that they NEED a big brother to protect them.
By definition, if you're that stupid, you aren't fit to handle money.
Anybody that stupid should be prevented from gambling. And gambling PROVES that they are that stupid.

Case proved.

[piscator]

So conversely, is it smart to sit in front of a machine and make money from others, or merely chaste?

[pErvinalia]

Pokies, as we call them here (Slot Machines in the US), need heavy regulating. This is an ongoing political football here in Australia. We are the highest consumers of these things, and have more than the rest of the world combined, if I recall correctly. The problem here is that local pubs and clubs makes so much of their money from them, and the pubs and clubs are a very strong lobbying group. Also, the states make bucketloads of cash from them in taxation. So even though everyone knows we have a major problem with them here in Australia, a political solution can never be found.

[Ian]

Slot machines are always the worst odds in the whole casino (craps being the best). I always feel sorry for people who sit in front of one, even if it's only the nickel slots. Actually, especially if they're only betting a nickel at a time - they don't have anything better to do than that? Such a level of desperation for excitement is beyond me.

[JimC]

Poker machines seem to have the ability to be addictive; it's not enough to have one bet, just for the hell of it... For many people it devours their money for living.

Other forms of gambling, like having a regular lotto ticket (which I do) do not seem so risky; they do not create the pressure to bet more and more and more...

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Slot machines are always the worst odds in the whole casino (craps being the best).

Not quite. If you play optimally and can count cards, Blackjack is the best. The odds are marginally in your favour!

And poker comes in a close second (unless the house rake is high) as the odds are theoretically evens for equally matched players.

[mistermack]

So conversely, is it smart to sit in front of a machine and make money from others, or merely chaste?

No, that's called going to work. It doesn't involve playing gambling machines.
It's smart to make money from others. You can't make money any other way, unless you're a forger.

[cronus]

So conversely, is it smart to sit in front of a machine and make money from others, or merely chaste?

No, that's called going to work. It doesn't involve playing gambling machines.
It's smart to make money from others. You can't make money any other way, unless you're a forger.

My head hurts. There's a contradiction, here.

[Blind groper]

Gambling is a zero sum game. That is : one person gains by exactly the amount that the second person loses. It is predation.

Normal commerce works on the positive sum game. Person A makes a gadget. Person B makes a widget. They trade, and both are better off than before, since person A can make more gadgets and person B can make more widgets.

Zero sum games equal theft.

[pErvinalia]

So conversely, is it smart to sit in front of a machine and make money from others, or merely chaste?

No, that's called going to work. It doesn't involve playing gambling machines.
It's smart to make money from others. You can't make money any other way, unless you're a forger.

Share trading is basically gambling, particularly if you are a small investor in the big shark pool.

[JimC]

Gambling is a zero sum game. That is : one person gains by exactly the amount that the second person loses. It is predation.

Normal commerce works on the positive sum game. Person A makes a gadget. Person B makes a widget. They trade, and both are better off than before, since person A can make more gadgets and person B can make more widgets.

Zero sum games equal theft.

Not as drastic as that, surely. People who gamble relatively small sums, which they don't escalate, are buying a form of entertainment. I happen to think that poker machines are an extremely boring form of entertainment, but horse racing can be made a little more exciting when you have a bet on one of the nags...

The real issue is addictive gambling...

[Tyrannical]

Vegas casinos by law have to pay out 90%-95% of what they take in. The real rip off is state lotteries where the payout is closer to 50%.

[Svartalf]

Slot machines are always the worst odds in the whole casino (craps being the best).

Not quite. If you play optimally and can count cards, Blackjack is the best. The odds are marginally in your favour!

And poker comes in a close second (unless the house rake is high) as the odds are theoretically evens for equally matched players.

I knew BlackJack had good odds, but you're teaching me something about poker

[Audley Strange]

Consider it redistribution of wealth from those who don't really want money to those who do.

[pErvinalia]

Slot machines are always the worst odds in the whole casino (craps being the best).

Not quite. If you play optimally and can count cards, Blackjack is the best. The odds are marginally in your favour!

And poker comes in a close second (unless the house rake is high) as the odds are theoretically evens for equally matched players.

I knew BlackJack had good odds, but you're teaching me something about poker

Poker is a game of skill and probability. If you have skill and know the odds, you will do better than most people.