Commentary | Gamblers Armaments

These are SavySeph's armament list.

• Keeping Records is Compulsory.
• Sizing is the Name of the Game.
• Conduct Post Game Study.
• Abstain to Take a Break.
• Find Brief Moments of Biasness.
• Rely on Luck to Salvage Losses.

I am not disappointed that they are mostly defensive weapons. Look at Tip 7 (House Edge), Tip 8 (Randomness), and Tip 11 (Distraction Tactics) it should not come as a surprise that the gambler is on the defensive. If you choose not to use these weapons because they lack finesse, then you will be at the loosing end.

As guerrillas, GGC is no overly concern about state of the art weapons or tools. We have always pride ourselves for "sawing down a big tree with a small knife" (Chinese proverb).

Commentray | Gambling & Intuition

From the chapter introduction, I had said this tip would be my favorite. I rely on intuition for bet selection all the time. From SavySeph's Tip 4 the intellect or educated selection is nothing but another wild guess because randomness discussed in Tip 8 will end up bashing the most educated prediction. I call this betting base on feel which I had shared in various post on GGC at lowyat threads. Once you begin to make money with it then you will begin to appreciate Einstein's quote in the picture.

Commentary| Gambling Covet

Sharing is the purpose of our Battle Report or BR (a summarized account of our gambling session - for detail account of GGC BR format see our terminology page.) Many times I have seen a fantastic BR followed by several devastating BR. Instead of being encouraged by the success of a fellow comrade, we have the tendency to outdo each other. This covetous attitude of human is a great pitfall in gambling that SavySeph tried to point out in her 17th Tip.

Commentary | Gambling Indecision

As baccarat (an even money game) is the main game for most GGC members, coming to a split decision is common. For one moment we are damn sure it is banker. Then a sudden fear strike us. We have doubt and then we switch our selection to player. As we lay down the wager fear hold as back again. The selection then ding-dong between banker and player. When the outcome is revealed (banker or player), we will think we are right because we were too engrossed with the ding-dong decision that we had selected both choice. If this is a familiar feeling check out the dangers of such phenomena in SavySeph's Tip 16.

This reminds me of the Chinese metaphor known as the "two headed snake". When it serves your advantage you will take a bite at the good guys. If you have more to gain the other way, you take a bite at the bad guys. Should both parties eventually see your agenda, you will be an enemy to both. So, it is like "player cannot, banker may not work also". In the end "no bet, no win".

Commentary | Over Confidence

SavySeph describe overconfidence with the metaphor being endowed with the heart of a lion. Our version of fearless is eaten tiger's guts. It is the opposite of kiasu (fear of losing). We just need to find a balance of the two. There is the right time to eat the tiger's guts or take a kiasu stand. Our discernment is on when to be bold and when to fear is the key. This would either come from experience of gut feel or a combination of both.

Commentary | Gambling Fear

For most of us fear had no place in gambling. We would often say, "if you have no balls don't gamble". Yet so many times we find our self stricken by many losses until we are scared to make the next wager. Clinging on to "no balls don't gamble" ideology is only going to bring swift destruction to our bankroll. This is the time that fear can save you ass. Look at Savyseph's 14th Tip for an account of the fear cycle in gambling. As a reminder the casino is "kiasu" as seen in SavySeph's Tip 8. I don't see why gamblers should not adopt a kiasu (fear of losing) mentality at the appropriate moment.

Commentary | Gambling Impatience

In our emphasis on guerrilla tactics we had overlooked the importance of the gambling emotions. Reading SavySeph'sGambling Impatience I realized that it had surface in many of our unsuccessful Battle Reports or BR (a summarized account of our gambling session - for detail account of GGC BR format see our terminology page.) Fellow GGC, please take heed of this tip and wish you guys good hunting in your next gambling session.