I should have expected an email like the one I received the other day. It was only a matter of time. But I must admit that when it arrived, it took me by surprise and made me laugh out loud.
It came from a guy named Donald B. in Atlanta, GA. Here is how it went:
'Dear Geno: Have been following the articles on LatestPokerBonuses and LatestCasinoBonuses.com for quite some time. I like your websites and appreciate what you guys and gals are doing for the membership. But there is something about your stories that bugs me and I decided I would go to you for the answer. You write a lot of entertaining stories about playing poker in various places like Arizona, California and the Caribbean. But I noticed something that, if you'll pardon my expression, sort of stretches your credibility. Almost always when you write about an experience at poker, you end up winning! Now I play poker, usually at casinos in Florida or Mississippi. And I know I certainly don't win all the time. Tell me the truth and give an honest answer: Do you always win.'
Bless Donald's heart. He sounds just like my late mother.
There is one person a son can't lie to and that is his mother.
Mom knew I was spending a lot of time in Las Vegas even when I worked in Phoenix, AZ. She also knew when I moved to Las Vegas to work as a staff writer for a gambling magazine. When I would make my annual journeys back to Pennsylvania to spend some valuable time with my family, Mom would wait until the time was right and then ask me the same question Donald posed: do you always win?
No amount of hemming and hawing could get her to leave the subject until I gave her an honest answer. Here is what I told her.
Mom, when it comes to gambling, nobody wins all the time.
You can be the second or third greatest gambler in the world, and there will be times when you have losing sessions. It's like a perfect summer day. The sky is flawless, the sun is shining, there isn't a cloud to mar the sky. And then a dark cloud will appear and then a few drops of rain and before you know it, you are being drenched by a cloudburst.
I went on to tell her that I, fortunately, won more often than I lost. And when I was on a winning session, I would not leave the table until my winning streak had come to an end. That meant I often spent some long hours playing poker.
There were some days, I admitted to my mother, that nothing I did seemed to turn out right. On those days I would do my best to limit my losses, even though sometimes I would hang in there longer than I should. Being Italian and Taurus gave me a stubborn streak and stubborn people sometimes have a rough time giving up on a project.
I remember when I was back in Pennsylvania staying with my brother, Legs, and his wife, Marie. I would make daily trips to the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, PA., 20 miles away, and had 13 straight winning sessions at the poker table. I was making between $500 and $1,000 a night. I thought it would never end.
A couple of the other players knew my brother and complained to him that I only played the 'nut' hands. That's the way it seemed to them but the exact opposite was true. Good luck simply ran over me and it seemed like every hand I played was a nut hand. I was pushing my luck and the cards kept coming to me. My lucky streak finally ended and to be honest, it was almost a relief when it did.
So to answer Donald's question, yes, I sometimes lose. It hurts to admit it, but it's true. But -- and this is a big but -- my losing sessions don't last very long.
When I get into a losing streak, I take some time off, re-read my strategy books and try to find out what I have been doing that is causing me to lose. Once I get that settled in my mind, I do some physical exercises, get myself in a good frame of mind, grab a good night's sleep, and head for the casino in a winning frame of mind. It works 95 percent of the time. And if you don't mind I don't want to talk about that other five percent.
Thanks for the question, Donald. Enjoy Atlanta. It's one of my favorite Southern cities.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
