Ways ARTT and Other Singer Constructions are Useful

[redietz]

I had a mental breakthrough in another thread.

The key to understanding Mendelson and Argentino (and others) is to grasp that nothing about their gambling is actually about the money. Now as a lifelong gambler, I should have understood this immediately, but I am so divorced and insulated from the emotions of it, that I didn't see the obvious.

Their way of gambling is all about emotion.

Anyway, here's the gist.

First, let's compare regular losing gamblers to those employing "Singer's" systems. Singer's systems are designed to have one leave the casino with a profit 85% of the time. And then sometimes, one gets annihilated. Regular video poker players, on the other hand, lose the majority of their sessions. So if both budget the same amounts annually, what benefits does the use of "Singer's" systems provide?


Well, emotional well being, self-defining as a "winner," and perceiving oneself as having self control are, from a percentage of time perspective, enjoyed by Singer more than a regular gambler. If he plays just a handful of sessions each year, some with wins and a minority with massive losses, then the bulk of the time he walks away a "winner." He can maintain his self narrative of being a "winner" until those days when he gets martingale crushed. That self narrative includes perceiving self as having control, of being a winner, and of having the proverbial "money in the pocket."

If the individual playing like this derives a great deal of satisfaction, emotional reward, and self-perceptive boosts from the times he wins small amounts, then there is value. If the individual is able to shrug off the monster losses quickly, or goes all depressed, then quickly reorients and recovers, then the time spent weeping and gnashing teeth may be short. It could be brutal, but if the recovery is quick, then the person spends very little time in recovery mode without his self perception being damaged.

So someone who ties his self perception into results, but for whom the TIME spent in one mode or the other is important, benefits. And if the severity of the large occasional financial losses isn't matched by proportional emotional devastation, then that kind of person also benefits from the martingale approach.

It's all about emotion. The martingaler, to simplify this, spends 85% of his time in an emotionally positive state. That's compared to the regular losing player, who spends most of his/her time as a "loser."

One could make certain projections from this. The martingaler would avoid detailed overall records, as that infringes on the status as a "winner." There would probably be an amped-up sense of superiority. And, I suspect, if the martingaler has a devastating losing session, it would be important to "get back on the horse," so one of those 85% winning sessions could regenerate one's emotional mojo. In addition, "training people," using other's money, could be a substitute for actual playing and reinforcing one's self-definitions, especially after a devastating (financial) loss.

[Barney]

This is Barney,

I do not play the video pokers devices, it is the LIDs area of focus. I just play the slut machine devices. Howver, I think I see what you saying but you left off one important factor. Using the ARTS, and RTTC and such, the Singer type poker personages sometimes hit the most biggest wins at the highest level of the nightingale so not only is he biggest winner he also has lots of monies for casino dates.

Personages should remember that the most greatest Mr. Singers nightingale betting strategies are not open ended. They just go up a few denominations higher than the normal pokers personages play then yo yo back down and up again depending on if he wins or loses. If player personage is most lucky and hits biggest win at higher denominations than he normally plays it is most greatest win. However, if he is unlucky, which is most likely to happen, a smart personage will quit when he loses monies which he would normally quit at if played at constant denomination. What this does is get personage such as the LID off his ass earlier so he can quit and go play the game of the craps where he has a slight advantage because of his most amazing toss of the dices.

[Rob.Singer]

barney makes more sense the obsessive compulsive redietz because barney makes no sense.

[Bill Yung]

barney makes more sense the obsessive compulsive redietz because barney makes no sense.

Have to agree with you on that one. I didn't know that turning out corn was so labor intensive.

[slingshot]

barney makes more sense the obsessive compulsive redietz because barney makes no sense.

Red just got mixed up. He meant to say mental breakdown- not breakthrough.

[Rob.Singer]

"Better Dead Than Red"

Some people poop and look for corn. We've got the source right here.

[slingshot]

OK- for the serious side- how I have increased my free play returns. Just taking $10 free play for an illustration. Playing full credits only leaves one with 8 hands if all goes bad. A flush or straight that doesn't fill just about kills any hope of even getting half back. But playing artt style at 5-10-25¢ gives a 40 credit trial that has lasted as many as 20 hands and at least a good portion of the original freeplay-resulting many times in twice the amount- not to mention an occasional quad. It usually pays the gas when I come to pick up my freebie meals. ALSO, at the casino I hate- playing 10- 15 hands ( or whatever luck gives me) at 1,2,&5 credits because this casino I s DEFINITELY short term biased on it's vp- has allowed me to play EVERY machine in the house with hardly any change in my bankroll. When and if I get a quad I leave this place. No- I'm not always a huge winner, but the Horseshoe just recently gave me back my Diamond status after a year of similar play.

[redietz]

To continue, if gambling is not about winning money, but about generating good feelings and positive affect, then martingaling makes sense. The majority of time is spent with a winning session as the last gambling trigger affecting one's emotional state.

It's worth exploring what the likely reporting style of a martingale player would be:

1) One would avoid any references to long term results. No tax return reporting. No referrals to how many hands played. No accounting of number of what kinds of hand per sessions played. A complete avoidance of long term accounting.

2) Taken to its extreme, one could see a complete denunciation of the long-term, since that would put a spotlight on financial results rather than emotional results. Instead, one might expect constant non-mathematical references to being a "winner," which is true enough from a non-financial perspective.

3) A need to derive positive affect from winning sessions could lead the martingaler to offer "training" to students after a martingale crash session. He would then have the emotional boost of "generating a win" without personal financial risk.

Now, I am not denigrating the preference of the martingaler for emotional versus financial results. Non-material resources are just as real as material resources. Feeling good about oneself, being able to positively self-define, cannot be underestimated as motivators. If other family members can shoulder the financial repercussions, so much the better. There is nothing that suggests, much less proves, that martingaling is more of a financial burden than normal play styles. If identical amounts are budgeted for loss each year, the martingaler may be at an advantage in terms of avoiding addiction, since the seat time is less.

[slingshot]

OK. I admit. I got suckered into another discussion. I just thought- well, maybe I didn't.

[Moses]

"Better Dead Than Red"

Some people poop and look for corn. We've got the source right here.

Wait. If you eat corn, there is no need to look. NO? You crack me up. LMAO

[Rob.Singer]

The question is....how long before "crack" detective redietz latches on to this true meaning of corn?

[redietz]

To continue, the martingaler may have certain styles of communication that tie directly into his/her need for sustained emotional positivity. Any attempt to examine the gambling in terms of an actual financial bottom line is likely to be met with non-evidentiary responses. Criticisms of the martingaler seem likely to be met with data-less responses and ad hominem proclamations. This is all eminently logical, as the martingaler both gambles and reports on his gambling (in a non-mathematical way) to fulfill emotional needs. An outsider trying to frame the gambling in a financial manner is likely to be perceived as an attempt to undermine the martingaler's positive affect. An emotional response is therefore to be expected, perhaps even an intense one.

The needs and communication styles of martingalers versus regular gamblers is certainly a topic worthy of further examination. With the advent of modern simulators and the easy access to probability calculators, martingalers may be experiencing much more stress now than 30 years ago. Fewer people superficially accept the claims, and everyone can do the math. It's possible that older martingalers, facing a culture that asks more math questions, may have to retreat to communicating styles that avoid mathematics altogether. Older martingalers in today's culture may have to become increasingly insulated to preserve their positive affect. All the while, the ubiquitousness of modern probability theory would seem to shrink the venues in which martingalers may feel comfortable. One would expect them to defend those few remaining venues from non-emotional exposes at all costs. In fact, one could almost predict a cluster of older players with martingale styles (and possibly also without) as retreating to "safe" non-mathematical venues and defending them from younger generations, in a sense.