As I wrote about earlier this week, I made a few bucks buying aapl calls at intraday lows and selling them at their intraday highs.  Basically I would wait an hour into the trading day and let the calls (and aapl) establish a range.  Then I would step in and try and catch the calls (I was buying the july 180's) at their lows of the day with a buy limit order.  Once the order was complete I would put in a stop to protect my downside and wait and see the market action by mid afternoon.  Then I would put in a sell limit order at the day's high (as determined by the swings of the morning).  This worked really, really well two days in a row. In fact I was able to start with about $3800 and end up with over $5,000 in profit in total.  And then I got greedy...

It was bad enough I broke my rules by trading during the day, but I really screwed things up by letting my greed get the best of me. I went back for a bigger bet yesterday, ignoring a logical voice that told me this strategy would lose it's effectiveness at some point.   After all AAPL's stock, like every other, does go down sometimes.  And yesterday it did.

I put in my buy limit at morning lows on the 185 calls yesterday, but made a first of many mistakes.  The first mistake was betting the farm on this strategy.  This was akin to winning blackjack two hands in a row, and then betting everything you have that your "strategy" for winning blackjack would yield another 21.  Of course it never does. I did not invest or bet all of my money but I certainly went for it more than ever. My greed won that battle over logic. The second mistake was I left the order open even though I knew I would not be around to see it executed and even more importantly I would not be able to enter in a stop to protect my downside.   I was at lunch meeting for several hours away from a computer (and scottrade's mobile site is just awful...it's almost like working in dos prompt again).  So my buy order executed and then the market danced around unchanged until about 230pm, and then it started to head south.  This is when I would have gotten out, when a stop would have cut my losses.  But I didn't have a stop, I was exposed...and the calls fell $1.

This is where the 3rd and most costly mistake came to play, the one that erased my gains from the previous two days entirely.  First I panicked because I had more money at risk than I was used to.  So I set in a measly stop, one I knew would be executed because I wanted out.  I happened to time the bottom almost perfectly, getting out of the calls just as they rebounded.  Fear won that one.  Next greed started feeling a little more confident...I suddenly KNEW aapl was coming back, the market (this horrible, horrible, weak market) was coming back towards the close.  Buy now...buy low, sell high right?  So I put in another large buy limit order, thinking I could buy just above the low of the day.  I think this behavior requires a new rule...I can't buy and sell and buy again in the same day EVER.  When I'm doing that, it is a sure sign I'm being ruled by my emotions. Not good.  So I was back in, at a slightly lower price than I had just sold for a loss.  I held over night thinking AAPL would surge today.

This morning the market opened and I found myself watching the scottrade streaming quotes feeling like a gambler at the horsetrack who had bet his mortgage payment on the long shot horse...it was very scary.  This is why I started this blog..to stop things like this.  I set a stop and closed down Scottrade.  If I'm stopped out, I'm finished I told myself. Strangely despite a loss, I felt better clearing up the uncertainty.  I may lose, but at least I know how much I"ll lose and I'm ok with that.  That is a big key I'm learning...it's ok to lose money because quite frankly it will happen a lot in investing.  But you need to know just how much you can and are willing to lose.  I lost.  I was stopped out, ending down about $1K (after being up $5k) in this whole fiasco.  AAPL's stock recovered from the lows of the day, meaning my strategy would have worked today, nonetheless I am happy to be out.

No more gambling...investing only.

potential new rules from lessons learned:

-Can't buy and sell and buy (or sell buy sell) a stock in the same day

-always set a stop..if you are unable to set a stop then don't make the trade..OK to wait

-never bet the farm all at once

GOTTA SERVE SOMEONE Zack surprised us on the way out of Mass Sunday, announcing that he'd like to be a lector someday. We were really impressed by this because we've worked so hard to keep him interested in church. I was halfway to the car before I realized why he was suddenly so keen on getting involved ---and it had everything to do with first reading, Zechariah 9:9-10:

See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, Meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass.

Like every 12-year-old, he just wants to say ass in church.

ON THE INTERNET, NOBODY KNOWS YOUR A DOG I don't really have time for it, but I've gotten myself involved in another online project: Dog 365. For the next year, I will post one picture a day of Scarlett, the Australian Shepherd who can't manage to keep her tongue out of my mouth. I'd like to tell you that this is some sort of satire about the relationship we have with our pets, but like a lot of things I've done online, I didn't really put that much thought into it.

POST TIME Madeo couldn't quite get it done at the May 24 Alydar Stakes, losing by a neck to long shot Trevor's Clever. His owners and trainer continue to have high hopes for the three-year-old, who's entered in Saturday's $350,000 Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park. Madeo won't be the favorite this time. Among the entries are Kentucky Derby horse Colonel John, who will likely head to The Travers if he wins this race. Does that mean Madeo could end up in the Travers if he wins? Not likely, especially considering he's never run on dirt.

Addicts tend to present themselves as being addicted to one particular substance or repetitive behavior pattern. The primary addiction is one that feels most unacceptable to them for personal, cultural and other reasons.

Once treatment has started, client's often realise that addictive behavior is reflected in other aspects of their lives. Many people suffer with multiple addictions. After presenting with initial symptoms of alcohol and drug addiction, they may realize that equally powerful compulsions control their sexual and gambling behaviors. Sex addiction is often only admitted to, when it becomes an inevitable consequence of the rehabilitation process.

Addiction will be diagnosed if the following three points are true. New forms of addiction are recognised daily, often to things that other people use daily, for perfectly innocent and constructive purposes. Those with addictive personalities may experience problems with activities and substances that represent the very essence of life such as sex, body and food.

The problem is with addiction and not addictive substances although some have greater capacity for abuse. Whatever the addiction is to an addict follows the same pattern of behavior:

1. Loss of control
2. Continuing with the addictive behaviour despite the negative consequences
3. Pre-occupation with the addiction

In most cases addiction manifests through a whole range of compulsively obsessive patterns of behavior.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Executive Summary
1.1 Evolution of the gambling industry
1.2 Market opportunities
1.3 Major Market Trends
1.3.1 Significant growth in mobile subscribers
1.3.2 Virgin mobile gambling market
1.4 Legal issues
1.5 Market Opportunities
1.5.1 Rich picking looms ahead
1.6 Conclusions

Chapter 2 Introduction
2.1 Methodology
2.1.1 Organisation of the Report
2.1.2 Aims and Focus of the Report

Chapter 3 M-gambling market analysis
3.1 Market evolution
3.1.1 M-gambling is ready for mass-market
3.1.2 Structure of the remote gambling market
Table 3.1: Mobile gambling market structure
3.1.3 Well-known Bookies adopt mobile gambling
3.1.4 Success of mobile gambling depends on user experience
3.1.5 Issues around age verification
3.1.6 False negative
3.1.7 Age verification and the cash economy
3.1.8 Factors affecting gambling site deployment
3.2 Market assessment
3.2.1 Not such a global market
Table 3.2: Principal markets for mobile gambling, 2004-2010
3.2.2 GDP & Disposable Income
Table 3.3: GDP per capita ($), 2004-2010
Table 3.4: Disposable income ($), 2004-2010
Table 3.5: GDP year-on-year growth (%), 2004-2010
Figure 3.1: Propensity to gamble on mobile by country and region
3.3 Regional Trends
3.3.1 North America
3.3.1.1 The US - 'Dark horse' of mobile gambling
3.3.1.2 Native Indian casinos
3.3.1.3 Potential players are positioning themselves
3.4 Europe
3.4.1 The eyes of the world are on the UK
3.5 Asia-Pacific
3.5.1 An untapped market
3.6 Rest of the World
3.6.1 Flexible offerings will pay-up
3.6.2 Latin America: a market to watch
3.6.3 Africa by-passes the Internet
3.7 Legal Review
3.7.1 Current status
3.7.1.1 Europe
3.7.1.2 United States
3.7.1.3 Asia-Pacific
3.7.1.4 Rest-of-World
3.7.2 Remote gambling jurisdictions

http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=42949

The company of friends is the best remedy after a long and tiring workweek. Mix in some alcohol and music and you've got the potential for a great night. There are, however, a few interesting phenomena that seem to occur during these nights. (I am the first to admit I've been guilty)

"I got you next time." This deceiving line can be used in many ways. You walk to a bar and realize there is a $5 cover charge. Run and hide from your cheap friends. They may offer to buy you a drink once you walk through the door, but don't let their half-assed attempt to make even fool you. Sometimes you are lucky and get the drink, but most of the time you don't. Gyros, cab rides, late night plumber calls to fix empty pipes... It comes in many forms and it is 100% unavoidable.

What about those outlandish plans for next weekend? Trips to NYC, gambling treks to Windsor, boogie boarding at Myrtle Beach!? People seem to forget they already have plans for next weekend altogether! Weddings, concerts, and bachelor parties all seem to be wiped from memories and datebooks BlackBerrys (Does the brand name change in plural form? BlackBerries?). The ideas are usually so good that you don't care what you have planed. Imagine what would happen if everyone kept those promises. I would be extremely tan and extremely broke.

I do my best to not keep tabs when stuff like this happens. Everyone I hang out with is extremely generous with what they have so it always ends up coming back in one way or another. A beer here, some food there, it always works out. And "next weekend" is always amazing, in Columbus or any other city, so I have no complaints there.

By the way, anyone got an extra ticket to see Juelz and Jim Jones this weekend? I got you next time!

(Thanks to Mickey and Andy for the amazing photo!)

Although it’s definitely not for everyone, playing at more than one table at a time (or “multi-tabling”) online can have its advantages. The benefits will depend mostly on the individual player considering multi-tabling, along with some other factors that control the feasibility of doing so successfully. Ability, motivation, personality and stamina are just a few traits that will determine one’s candidacy for profitable multi-tabling. Stories abound of online pros who “make a killing” playing 10 or 12 games simultaneously. Logic dictates that these tales are not myths, as no player would willingly subject himself to consistently losing at a dozen tables at a time!

However, prematurely pushing the “multi-tabling envelope” to an extreme will undoubtedly have some very negative effects on the overall experience of playing poker online. Much of the “passion” and “fun” of the game will be replaced by rote mechanics. There simply isn’t any time to give due diligence to any one particular hand in progress, or make good reads and decisions. There is little chance to learn or improve one’s game during a hand that flashes by in a millisecond. The only motivation left for maintaining such a frantic pace is the hope of increased profits for the “type-A” action junkie. Their DNA allows them to accept the sacrifice of playing less optimally, as long as their bottom line is an ever-increasing bankroll. Just the idea of playing only a single table puts them into a coma, and the only possible way to sharpen their concentration is by spreading themselves thin. They disregard the argument that performance on any one table will suffer, as they have mastered the art of balancing counter-productivity with increasing their hourly profits.

There is a compromise between players who simply cannot cope with more than one table at a time and those that get anxious unless they have an “action button” to click every two seconds. In fact, after some online experience, most average players will fall somewhere in “a middle ground” and be able to competently manage two or three tables simultaneously. Only experience and practice will determine the degree to which your play is impacted (negatively or positively) by multi-tabling and where your “magic number” (of games) settles to make your online experience as enjoyable and profitable as possible.

One of the most important things to consider when attempting to multi-table two, three or more games is the type of game you choose to play. Try to avoid mixing up different (yet similarly formatted) games among many tables to avoid unnecessary confusion. For instance, playing 7-Stud at two tables and Razz at two others can easily cause too many mistakes. It’s just too simple (especially while playing at such a quicker pace) to inadvertently fold a strong Stud holding because you erroneously thought it was one of the Razz tables suddenly calling for your attention. Even Cash games vs. Tournament games deserve segregation during multi-tabling, as the style of play in each becomes increasingly different as the tournament enters its late stages while the ring game remains the same. In the cash game, you are consistently playing only premium hands, while the last few rounds of, say, a Sit and Go require much more aggression with a wider range of hands as the table gets short-handed and the blinds become more valuable. The same K9 you might normally push with in tournament play to steal the blinds could be folded by accident if you mistakenly think it’s the cash game that comes to the front of your screen asking for your decision. Throw in a HORSE table or two, and you can really go nuts keeping track of which game you’re on when the action at each table reaches you (in a sometimes-startling manner... “Beep beep”!!). Playing the same game at every table will enable you to get into a rhythm and improve your concentration.

In addition to keeping the games to just one type, also consider whether or not the game itself is appropriate for purposes of multi-tabling. Given the number of decisions you will have to make very quickly, you would much rather be playing a more “robotic” game of poker, where your subconscious can take over without sacrificing too much in the way of creativity. Games where you can apply a set “autopilot” strategy requiring less critical decisions are preferable for multi-tabling. Such games might include “low” or “micro” stakes NL cash games (where one mistake won’t be catastrophic to your bankroll), or the fast level (“turbo”) Sit and Go. In the small NL cash games, steady profits can still be earned by donning blinders and playing only premium hands fast (including perhaps small pairs for value only if you should hit a set). In the “Turbo Sit and Go”, you can also play a bit more “mindlessly” with a common sense, straightforward plan of – “tight early” and “aggressive late”. In both these examples, you will be facing fewer “marginal” decisions based on a quicker multi-tabling strategic criterion.

On the other hand, high(er) Limit cash games might require the application of some basic math (odds-figuring) during a hand, a halfway decent knowledge of your opponents, and more awareness of what is going on at the table even while you are not involved in a hand. Similarly, large MTTs (multi-table tournaments) warrant even more attention as the event evolves, blinds increase, players come and go, etc. Results in these types of game situations may suffer dramatically while multi-tabling.

There are also some logistic considerations to multi-tabling. The most obvious would be your actual computer hardware and set up. You will want to be sure you can clearly see each table without them overlapping (too much) and/or constantly appearing and disappearing as each requires your immediate attention. (The software of most sites offering the ability to multi-table will usually keep bringing to the front of your screen that table which most urgently needs your decision.) If you are going to be multi-tabling on a very regular basis, invest in a quality monitor capable of up to 1600x1200 resolution. At this setting, 4 typical online poker tables can be viewed without any overlap. If you aim to become one of the “extreme” multi-tablers, you will eventually be facing a “dual monitor” configuration. Common sense also comes into play while keeping your eyes on so much action simultaneously: Come up for air once in a while! Frequent breaks will go a long way in staying focused. The games aren’t going anywhere, but your eyes just might throw in the towel without a rest now and then.

When considering the idea of multi-tabling, remember to weigh in two important factors before you become overwhelmed and totally burned out: How much fun are you having(?), and how steady is your game improving? These “intangibles” go far beyond simply maximizing your profits. Completely sacrificing any enjoyment of the game and potentially becoming stagnant in your playing ability because you’ve chosen to be a “profit robot” are risks that can negatively impact the over all online poker experience by taking multi-tabling too far. On the positive side, undertaken in moderation, it can be a good way to maintain your interest, keep things exciting and perhaps add a little extra boost to your bankroll.

"Old Enough"

Paige Lockhart

I once read that the DOOR CLOSE button on elevator keypads is merely an illusion. The button marked with two equilateral triangles with their points facing inward towards a plotted line is only a pacifier. The sole purpose of its existence is to place people as pilots. We have to be in control even when we are much further from reality than we could believe. The button isn't even attached to wires.

I'm walking down the sidewalks becoming embedded into the traffic like a seven layer dip. Me, Bicyclists, drivers, produce stands, then me again all evenly distributed for the perfect city-like appearance and mass produced taste. I only cover the smallest fraction of a taste-bud. I only matter for a decimal of a second. Walking down the sidewalks, I blend in.

Today, unfortunately, I am walking slowly to the dentist's office. I haven't been to Dr. Teeth in 42 years and I'm not joking. Doctors, all doctors, freak me out. Thank God I haven't even reached the realm of a gynecologist. The purviews of those metal sticks haven't reached me and I’m glad never will. Fortunately, my teeth aren't rotting out. In fact I'm thinking soon auditioning for a Crest billboard will be a must.

The last few steps to the unfriendly building are the most difficult. Each step is shaking the levels of ground until my perception feels like a circus mirror. My hands are cold, collecting sweat, and all that is running through my brain are clams and fluoride. I've opened the door for at least 3 people, one even tipped me. I know this ordeal is ridiculous, but it's my ritual for anxieties like these. The elevator is in view. The dentist is a normal routine- clean, rinse, dry, and repeat- it should be on every sixth month of refrigerator calendars. I've come to the realization that it's the dentist’s poking around that bothers me. Dentists seem to play with teeth like they are the human marionette wires with each group attached to a major artery or nerve. Dentistry is an art-form, and I am a template.

I'm waiting until the business women and men file into the elevator so I can make my own way. As I'm walking in my shoulders drop back to my normal height; it's their way of thanking the fact that I am alone and I won't have to interact in the intensity of the tiny elevator. Turning around, I (out of habit) jabbed at the DOOR CLOSE button not noticing a woman sprinting in. Goddamn-it, she is opening her mouth.

"Hey, thanks for waiting." -I couldn't stop staring at her tits.

"Yeah, no problem."

"What's your name?" - I cannot stop staring at her.

"Helloo, really? You only have to deal with me for 3 more floors."

"Oh, sorry it's Steven."

"Okay, Stevey pleasure to rise with you, my name is Emily."

We both hadn't noticed that the elevator wasn't doing its job. An elevator breaking isn't as dramatic as I had imagined it to be. She's sitting down.

"Shit! This is no fun. Sit down. Come to my level."

Kneeling into what could potentially be a sitting position, I can see that her cheeks are red, and I am staring again.

"How long do you think we'll be in here? Should we find a way out?" - I'm not really worrying about getting out of here. This elevator is way better than a thorough teeth cleaning. I just want to know if she's panicking, there's a certain charm to a girl who's in need.

"Someone will notice eventually."

She is taking short breaths pulling out a magazine. She examines magazines like anatomy books, not even reading. She is just letting the words blend in with the diagrams.

"Really, you think someone will care?"

"Everyone cares about someone, even someone like you Stevey."

I am becoming annoyed with her nicknames and false presumptions.

"But we are so miniscule. Right now cooking dinner is more important than us."

She is flushing.

"You sound like an idiot Steven, completely. Don't talk like that."

I am really staring now.

"Emily, if you don't mind, we are only nuts and bolts. We, you and I, are bacteria. You replace someone in the ground, who replaced someone growing into tree roots, who replaced the leaves. We are cheap fertilization."

She isn't even looking at me.

"I know someone is going to notice that I am gone, I can see why nobody notices you. I wouldn't want to notice you. God I hope the doors open soon."

I'm not sympathetic, because what's the point? She will forget, and I am already asking myself what I'm going to eat for lunch, but I can sense by the way she's glaring that she isn't going to let me off soon.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but we disagree. I just think that I am the older model. You know? You, for example, are new enough, you get the job done. I, on the other hand, am constantly being reminded to train new employees. I have grey hair, therefore I am obsolete."

She is beginning to stand up, using the wall for support.

"You sound like you need a new job."

Jerking forward, from the elevators sudden movement forward, I am standing close to the door and almost heaving myself onto the door open button. Stepping outside, I'm noticing that my shirt is penciling my stomach sharing my ribcage with the office. Sweat is repulsive, and I didn't even notice it was hot in that container. Thank God that whole ordeal is over.

The office is wide I'm trying to reach my entire vision around it, but I can't seem to pull in the sides. I forgot how many file cabinets are packed away in these places. I want to turn and leave but what the hell-I'm at the counter.

"Sorry I'm late, the elevator was jammed."

The secretary looks like a lunch lady from a late 80's sitcom. She's smacking her gum and I'm zoning in on her facial hair.

"Down the hall to the right."

What an awful sounding voice. Her nasal passage sounds blocked.

Down the hall stacks of identical rooms fill my periphery. I reached the end of the hallway before noticing I had missed the room. Entering this room is teleporting me back into my childhood in a manner that I'm not feeling attachment to. I'm sitting in this leather death chair listening to smooth jazz and all I can think about is metal tools and sex. How fortunate that there are metal tools within my reach and my dentist's ass is two feet in front of my face bending over the X-Ray machine. I didn't even notice until now and I can't hold myself from staring. Turning for a second I forget the face, but only a second. She flips through her legal pad and her eyes are widening.

"Steve! looks like I'm your dentist, and I'm in control now, huh?"

I cannot even begin to grasp this. This is more of a reason now, as if I didn't have enough already to never visit the dentist office.

"Your mind is so polluted I wonder how bad that mouth of yours will look."

"Hurry." - No really, Hurry.

Adjusting my chair up and down, I think she is having too much fun and this is stretching out far too long.

"Higher? Too high? Lower? Too low? Neck rest? Too soft? I'll go get you a pillow."

Christ! She is doing this on purpose.

"Look, I don't care."

"You haven't seen a dentist in 42 years. I just want to make you as comfortable as possible."

She's smiling. I want to change rooms.

"Can we just get on with this; today has been a long day."

"For the both of us, I'm sure."

Her new approach to our disagreements is obnoxious. She is the dentist, I am the patient and I know this, but I am old enough to be her father. I was pulling out my own kid's baby teeth when I was her age. The poking is making me twitch, and I'm certain I saw one corner of her mouth curl upward. The rolling wheels on her chair haven't moved since she approached me, and I want to know if she holds a legitimate concern. Finally, it's over.

"Welp Steven you need a root canal."

"Why?"

"Because you do. It's the result of negligence I'd assume."

She's not being the least bit professional.

"Here's the cut, I can do it now. I am free, and it will be free, but only if I am the one who performs it. Only me, and you have to do whatever I say."

"Door two…"

I hate the way she is rubbing her hands together.

"Or you can let someone else do it. There's money involved in this option, and you won't get to stare at his breasts."

That's a valid point.

"Door three…"

She isn't speaking.

"Isn't there a door three? There is always a door three which involves a car and a beach condo, right?"

"no."

"oh."

This is tricky, This is the worst day I've had in a while. For some time I've thought that it could be impossible to live a day that isn't mediocre. She's throwing off my balance. But, I am retiring soon, and I cannot pass up a free operation.

"One."

"What was that?"

This bitch…

"I want you to do my root canal."

"Oh, okay then, lean right back into your chair here."

After drawing out her words as long as possible she puts a mask over her mouth which makes me slightly more comfortable. Her eyes are grey, and I don't have to associate them with that large gap below. Her eyes are surprisingly relaxing. I can hear her prepping machines and sterilizing something. She's shuffling behind me. Emily is trying to be secret, but this day nothing else is sneaking up on me. This day is just a glitch, a mechanical malfunction. I can see her stretching latex gloves in the reflection of the lamp on top of my head.

"Ready?"

"I guess."

"I want you to do three things for me. First, I want you to turn off your brain."

The light above me isn't on anymore and I have a mask on my face, which is better for the both of us.

"Second, I want you to think of yourself as a tree."

I cannot stop laughing, and it's not anesthesia. I'm certain this Emily character is a nut. Emily is the biggest nut I have ever touched.

"Steven, I can charge you for this."

Tree, tree, tree, tree, tree, tree, got it.

"Relax, you are roots, you are trunk, you are leaves."

I am laughing, I didn't even realize it.

"Steven, one more time and this deal is off."

At least she's halted the throwing of nick names, so I'll play along.

"Okay, I apologize."

"It's okay. Now, you are being fertilized by the retired. You are the retired. Think Steven, goddamn-it for once in your life just think. You are them. You are the malfunctioned. You are in the ground unable to move. But your purpose is clear, you have to breathe. This system depends on your skin. Cheap fertilizer is your caviar. Just eat and breathe. Deep breaths, that's it Steven, breathe. Now, the third."

 

———————————————————————————————–

 

Walking out of the office, all I remember is signing an appointment card in heavy black ink. Under the column “Date of next appointment” I have written Soon.

I've decided on taking the elevator back to ground level, as I'm breathing, surrounded by everyone.

Lady Eve, The (1941) A card-sharp gang picks their next target, Charles Pike, the son of a wealthy brewer but one of them falls in love with him and vice versa. 8/10 Here's the odd thing about great films: they don't appear to do anything different from the rubbish films. Well, aside from great lines such as "I need him like the axe needs the turkey." Therefore, this appears to be an entirely standard-for-the-era fast-talking romantic comedy but it has a deftness of touch that renders the surprisingly bitter storyline wonderfully palatable. The insta-happy ending comes as a bit of a shock but carries the message that we don't always know when we've got something good. Our duo in the movie got a second chance but off the silver screen we rarely do. Maybe you'll get a different message. Well, perhaps that's something else that separates great films from the rubbish. There's more to them: more thought, more skill, more depth. Appearances can be deceptive.

Someone Always Loses in Betting
By: Tyler James Ellison, www.perferctbetting.com

As they say, gambling is a game of chance. This means that nobody is sure when one will lose or win.

However, there is only one fact that remains. In gambling, there is bound to be a loser. In fact, most people contend that a game is not to be considered as gambling if it will not have losers. This goes to show that when people gamble, they are bound to lose than win.

Today, more and more people are getting hooked up with gambling. They see this kind of activity as an outlet of their problems, a place where to get unwind from a hard day's work, or simply a form of recreation. What they don't know that when somebody starts to get hooked up with gambling, chances are he or she is bound to lose great things in the end.

So, how does it feel to lose gambling? Is losing really a part of the game? There are so many questions, yet, just a few answers. This is because people are not aware of the probability of somebody's chance in winning the game of chance.

Here are some facts about gambling and its losing characteristic:

1. If people gamble more, chances are, they will lose more.

This is one great way how to lose in gambling. People just have to continue gambling and they will continue to lose more.

2. Because gambling entails a lot of money, most people tends to think that gambling is more about winning. They just don't realize that losing in gambling has more impact and has more probability of getting it.

3. People will never win in gambling.

Statistics show that most of the people, who play gambling, will never be able to win because of the little chances that they have.

For example, in a game of card, there are 52 cards in a deck of cards, thirteen of which are four suits. A person's probability of drawing the card that will make them win the game is only 1 in every 52 chances, and the chance of having a perfect hand of cards is 1 in 635,013,559,599.

Other examples are the games that use dice. Normally, each dice has six sides. This goes to show that for every 6 attempts people will throw, they will get 1 chance to get the number that they want. Though, there's only 1 in 216 if the person will be using three dice.

Indeed, gambling is really a game of chance, even if some people contend it uses skills. With gambling, people are really bound to lose.

Back stage passes, free airline, free hotel, what's next on the quest to force Obama into the White House?

State is asked to clarify Web solicitation
By RANDY FURST, Star Tribune

July 9, 2008

The head of the Minnesota Gambling Control Board said that a solicitation for funds on the national website of the Barack Obama presidential campaign may constitute a raffle, which is a violation of Minnesota gambling laws.

Tom Barrett, executive director of the board, said he will ask the state Department of Public Safety to look into the matter.

The Obama campaign said Monday night that the solicitation does not constitute a raffle. "We are not conducting a raffle of any kind," said Nick Kimball, a spokesman for the Obama campaign in Minnesota.

The Obama website, which is soliciting funds of up to $2,300, says anyone who makes a contribution to the Obama campaign of $5 or more between now and July 31 "could be one of 10 supporters chosen to meet Barack backstage" in Denver.

It further says that the 10 selected supporters can bring a guest and will be flown to Denver to spend two days at the Democratic Party national convention, including hearing Obama's speech on Aug. 28. Read the rest of this page »