Oct
26
Why you don’t win the Florida Lottery
Filed Under Gambling | Leave a Comment
You didn’t play the right numbers.
What did you expect, some convoluted conspiracy theory about how Jeb Bush and the ghost of Lawton Chiles got together with a bunch of other He-coons to take pre-dawn walks and figure out a way to screw YOU?
Anyway…
Did you know that the Florida Lottery publishes a frequency chart for winning numbers?
Me neither.
According to the chart, as of today the six most frequently chosen numbers in Lotto are:
28 - 30 - 15 - 18 - 38 - … and then we run into a problem. 27 and 28 are tied. So you’ll have to play two tickets this week, until one of those two numbers makes a move.
Remember, though, it’s all for the kids.
Jun
29
To paraphrase late-night talk-show host Craig Ferguson, it’s a great day in Florida.
For those that want to get their gamble on, a new law goes into effect on Sunday raising the betting limits for poker played within parimutuel facilities from $2 to $5 per bet for limit games, and allows no-limit games to be played with a maximum buy-in of $100.
I’m an avid low-limit poker player with a modestly successful poker blog, so obviously I’m in favor of this new law. Opponents of expanding gambling say it increases the potential for compulsive gambling, but the fact is that the data does not support their argument. Harvard just published a study of 40,000 gamblers and found that gamblers moderated their behavior based on losses, amount of time played, and several other factors. In other words, the more people lose, the less they play.
Unlike booze, where the more you drink, the more you drink.
Personal experience: I’m a winning poker player over my lifetime. For a period last year I moved up in stakes and continued to win with an ROI that was as solid as at lower limits. After less than two months, I cashed out a winner.
Why?
Psychologically, I was uncomfortable with the swings. Most people assume that people on win streaks will keep gambling because they can’t help themselves, and people who lose will chase losses to bankruptcy. This is simply not true.
Perhaps they are projecting their own weaknesses and addictive personalities?
I don’t know. What I do know is that no one has ever put a gun to my head and said “Gamble”. Compulsive gambling, like other addictions, has been shown to have medical roots and should be treated as such.
Dopamine agonist therapy was associated with potentially reversible pathological gambling, and pramipexole was the medication predominantly implicated. This may relate to disproportionate stimulation of dopamine D(3) receptors, which are primarily localized to the limbic system.
The argument should be about personal freedoms.
And with personal freedom comes personal responsibility:
Florida Times-Union:
Barlow, who started playing as a way to stay in touch with friends, offered a more blunt suggestion over a round of poker.”Anyone who plays with rent money shouldn’t be playing with cards.
It’s nice to see the government begin treating it citizens like adults, for once. It’s nice to see the “Nanny” mentality amongst our lawmakers dissipate a little.
Make smart choices. Hope to see you at the tables some day. Fun stakes only, of course.
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May
2
Will I be able to play poker for more than $2 a bet in Florida soon?
Filed Under Gambling | Leave a Comment
From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:
But the bill (HB 1551) is just one of a host of gambling measures that appears likely to be approved by the traditionally gambling-shy Legislature this spring. Just four hours after the council vote Monday, the House also approved a series of gaming measures, including bills that would raise wagering limits in poker rooms and loosen regulations at the four Broward County facilities allowed to operate Las Vegas-style slot machines.
Critics called the combined package a testament to the influence in Tallahassee of the gambling industry, which annually showers hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions on state candidates and committees.
Records show that horse and dog tracks, jai-alai frontons, Indian tribes and other gaming interests funneled more than $2.5 million to Florida’s ruling Republican Party during the 2006 election cycle and more than $1.2 million to the Florida Democratic Party.
Technorati Tags: Gambling, Florida
Jun
1
Publishers & Authors
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I am always looking for new books to review. With regard to reviews posted on this site, I will accept review copies of books written by Florida authors, or books with a significant portion of the setting in Florida. I enjoy the following genres:
- Mystery
- Cracker Western
- Historical Fiction
- Humor
- Biographies
- Thrillers
- Select non-fiction (just ask, I won’t make you waste your postage if I’m not interested)
Occasionally, books may fit a target audience addressed by one of my other two blogs: Diet/Exercise, and Poker (gambling). When books reach multiple audiences, I cross-post the review on all applicable websites. I am also willing to post my reviews at amazon.com, if asked.
Visit my other blogs: My Weight-Loss Blog & My Poker Blog
Email: floridayarddog (at) yahoo dot com
May
29
Just finished reading Deadman’s Poker by James Swain. I’ve written reviews of Mr. Swain’s other books previously for a poker-related website, and will re-post them here in the coming days and weeks.
Swain’s main character is Tony Valentine, a retired police officer with a casino consulting business that specializes in catching cheaters. The series is built around Valentine, who lives in Palm Harbor, near Swain’s own home in Odessa, FL and the books move between Florida, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City
I have to say that I enjoyed the book quite a lot. I enjoy poker and gambling narratives, and have an appreciation for authors that are able to build a series of books around a central character, and then mature that character and his supporting cast as they move through time. There is nothing worse than a main character who never progresses emotionally, morally, or physically, a sure sign of laziness in a writer. Fortunately, Swain keeps developing his characters further in each successive novel, making it infinitely more interesting to read.
The plot in Deadman’s Poker involves the fixing of the World Poker Showdown, a fictionalized version of the WSOP, utilizing an unrevealed (in this book) cheating scam. A character reminiscent of Amarillo Slim makes the cheating accusation after busting out on Day 1 of the tournament, and Tony Valentine is called in to investigate. Along the way we’re treated to a number of prop bet scams, the workings of which are revealed in due time during the story - great stuff for the degenerate gamblers among us, fascinating for those of us that enjoy figuring out how magicians and conmen do their tricks.
Valentine’s son is along for the ride, and Swain has continued to mature Gerry and the relationship between father and son. Of course, while Gerry shows more flashes of being able to think on his feet in dangerous situations, including a gritty, distasteful sequence of events leading up to the climax, it still takes Valentine riding to the rescue with the infantry in tow to save the day in the climax of this first-of-two-parts story.
Two parts? Yep. The story continues in the next novel, Deadman’s Bluff, released only one-month after Deadman’s Poker. Up next on my reading list, of course.
Anyway, this is an action story that moves right along. Having read the previous books in the Tony Valentine series, I knew what to expect and was not disappointed. Great stuff!
Visit my other blogs: My Weight-Loss Blog & My Poker Blog
More "Book Reviews" Posts
- Book Review: Deadman’s Poker by James Swain
- Book Review: Deadman’s Bluff by James Swain
