On Gambling

"It's not as easy as willing it all to be right"

I stole that line from a Snow Patrol song.

So what does Snow Patrol have to do with gambling, you ask. I don't know.

Seriously, hear me out.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, considered by many to be the greatest novelist of all time (yes folks, it's not Dan Brown), aptly called one of his masterpieces "The Gambler". A chronic gambler himself (this habit lead to his ruin), Dostoyevsky theorized that "a gentleman's chances at the roulette or the card table is commensurate to his will to win". Now I know it's very difficult to take that from a man who didn't win very often, but you gotta give it to my man Fyodor for making some sense.

I was watching poker on TV last night and therew were three guys left on the table when I tuned in: TJ Coultier, the winningest poker player of all time; Paul Philips, a brash young hotshot dot-commer; and Mel Judah, an unassuming hairdresser from Australia (yes I know, he's not gay). The round that I turned on, TJ Coultier just took a big pot and the chip lead from Paul Philips on a stone-cold bluff. Philips, of course was disgusted. Meanwhile Judah, the hairdresser, being shortstacked, was just sort of sleeping and waiting for the right hand and moment to get in the action. Philips was first to act the following round and raised a hundred grand on an king-jack suited. Judah, went all in with a big slick, putting Philips in a trap. Not wanting to risk it, Philips folded. In the next round, Philips was dealt a pocket-sevens (a good hand by many standards) and raised a sizable amount (enough to draw the other players). Judah folded already and Coultier drew a pair-of-jacks. He re-raised Philips, and learning from the other round, Philips quickly called this time. He lost. The look on his face was priceless.

Paul Philips lost control of his game. He lost his focus and concentration. And with all these, he lost his will to win.

Of course poker, like most of gambling, requires as much luck as it does skill. People will tell you differently but you will see for yourself that there are good players, lucky players, and players who seem to have sold their soul to the poker gods for the benefits of both technique and coincidence.These are the guys you see on TV.

But more important than these two is the will as described by Dostoyevsky. The intense desire to be the master of both effort and fate. Ask Michael Jordan. Ask Tiger Woods. Ask Paul Philips. The moment I saw the cringe/grimace/wince (it's very hard to describe, trust me) on Paul Philips' face I knew what my man Fyodor was talikng about.

Will it - and watch the chips pour in.

Peace.