The seven deadly sins of Christianity are generally well known. They are pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. They can also apply to video poker – indeed to all casino gambling.
This article looks more closely at how they apply in the hope that the reader will avoid each of them.
Contents
- Pride
- Greed
- Lust
- Envy
- Gluttony
- Wrath
- Sloth
- Summary
Pride
“Pride goeth before a fall” is adapted from the Book of Proverbs. According to dictionary.com, it means “people who are overconfident or too arrogant are likely to fail.”
This adage applies to video poker as well. I suspect many, if not most, serious video poker players have experienced pride and its negative impact on play.
Experienced players can play tens of thousands of hands in a few days in the casino. When they were not as experienced they would brush up on proper playing strategy at home and possibly even in the hotel room before each playing session.
With the added experience, players become overconfident in their abilities and feel they have the strategy down pat so there is no need to brush up on it anymore. After all, they have played possibly hundreds of thousands of hands. They know what they are doing.
I was guilty of exactly this feeling. I was wrong. Slowly, unnoticeably, small mistakes entered my play. Mistakes that, while minor, still took their toll – and noticeably over scores of thousands of hands.
I learned. Before every trip to casinos, I brush up on the strategy for the games and pay tables I will be playing.
Greed
Greed is defined in Merriam-Webster as “a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (such as money), than is needed.”
Greed can cause a normally stable and rational person to lose all discipline. Having had a taste of success, players become gamblers by pushing for more, more, and more wins. They fail to realize (or forget) that the casino has the edge on virtually every game on the floor. Chasing more and more wins can bankrupt the greedy gambler.
Players must be careful they do not become undisciplined gamblers potentially causing them to lose it all.
Lust
Quoting from Merriam-Webster once again, lust is “usually intense or unbridled sexual desire,” or “an intense longing or craving.”
When it comes to playing video poker, the second definition is obviously the correct one. Preying on the same selfish human instincts as greed, lust can cause a very similar reaction in video poker players.
Players having an intense desire to hit a very large jackpot can push aside their normal guidelines concerning money management. Care is cast to the wind and they risk all in a mostly futile attempt at scoring the object of their lust.
Envy
Merriam-Webster says envy is “painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage.”
This is the “green-eyed monster” so common today. “I should be able to have a great house like others do.” Or more closely related to video poker players:
“I have played video poker much longer than the person who just sat down beside me and they got a royal flush. I want that.”
Also: “I just moved from that machine. I got nothing. She just sat down and got MY royal flush!”
Envy can cause video poker players to lose the concentration required to play properly. This lack of concentration causes errors in video poker strategy, which in turn, causes winnings to suffer.
Envy has an even greater risk to the player. It can cause feelings of pride, greed, and lust to manifest themselves. These emotions will cause a loss of self-control which can eventually bankrupt the player.
Gluttony
Merriam-Webster defines gluttony as:
- Excess in eating or drinking
- Greedy or excessive indulgence
This is a very close cousin of greed. In fact, greed is used in its definition.
Gluttonous players do not know when to quit. They continue playing long beyond the point where they should stop. They become tired. They make mistakes in playing strategy. They must constantly have more; more hands dealt, more hands played, more chances to win.
Unfortunately, the house edge ultimately depletes their bankroll. The casino will win all that player’s money with enough play.
Wrath
Wrath is defined as “strong, vengeful anger or indignation” by Merriam-Webster.
Wrath can come from many different playing experiences that are common while playing video poker. These can include:
- Long losing streaks
- Closely related to the above, bankroll depletion
- Other players nearby having good luck
- Hearing other’s winning shouts
- Others smoking nearby blowing smoke in the player’s face
- Constant interruptions from players nearby
- Loud and boisterous players
- Numerous other irritations.
Eventually, all these irritations swell to the point where wrath erupts. The effects are like those of envy, but they are much stronger.
Sloth
The seventh and final deadly sin, sloth, is defined in Merriam-Webster as “disinclination to action or labor” or “spiritual apathy or inactivity.”
Sloth that affects casino play can be exhibited at home (or in the hotel room). Most serious video poker players know that the best results come from perfect playing strategy. Strategy that must be practiced while not in the casino. Slothful players tend to avoid practicing strategy at home. If they do, they do it for very short periods of time.
Perfect strategy cannot be “perfected” this way. It takes active and lengthy practice to “perfect” the playing strategy.
Summary
The seven deadly sins are not only deadly in general life, they can be deadly in video poker play (or while playing any game in a casino).
Each of the seven deadly sins can have an effect of video poker play.
Whether it causes loss of discipline, allows errors to creep into playing strategy, or simply causes the player to lose more money in the casino than necessary, each of the seven deadly sins should be avoided.
Have fun playing video poker, but also, be smart. Avoid the seven deadly sins of video poker.
