Three Lessons You Can Learn from Movies about Gambling
How often do you find yourself watching a movie and thinking:” Yeah, right, like that ever happens in real life…”? If often, you are not alone. Doubting a movie plot is pretty common, and many of us truly enjoy finding plot holes. However, even movies that are based on actual events are still just that – based; they do not follow the real-life story 100 percent.
This skeptical attitude is rather healthy, but we should also keep in mind that a lot can be learned from movies, as there can be great educational moments. Situations and scenarios that happen to the characters on screen might not be something that will happen to us, but that should not stop us from learning from the experience we see.
Movies about gambling and casinos are usually very popular because they are packed with action, anticipation, and beautiful to watch. If you enjoy gambling, you could also use them to learn certain lessons the easier way: the characters will live through it, so you do not have to. Here we give you three opportunities to learn that attracted our attention the most.
There is science behind gambling
Lady luck is a very important accomplice when you gamble; we will not argue that. But we must add that, while beginners’ luck can earn you a lot of money at the start and there are those people whose lucky charms almost always work, the key to winning in gambling is understanding the game and knowing the rules and the statistics.
As seen in the movie “21”, a group of scientists from MIT uses a book of strategies written by a math professor. So, they use math to make accurate decisions while playing blackjack, hence limiting the house’s advantage and making the player the one who has got the power for once. Being based on real-life events, it only emphasizes what we can learn here: knowledge can be the key to winning.
But, this is not the only thing we can learn from a movie like “21”. The other fact is equally important: casinos call this type of math and strategy usage Counting cards, and they consider it cheating. So, by the looks of it – the house wins again.
Slots are tricky little machines
Slots are a very attractive game, both in online and brick-and-mortar casinos. As in movies, so in real life, they seem quite simple to use: not much to think about while playing and not a lot of money to spend, because what’s a quarter when your winnings can be really huge. Not to mention the excitement of it all.
Scenes we often see in movies and TV shows are the comedic ones: our character is there, playing endlessly on slots and the moment he stops for whatever reason, someone else takes over his machine, pulls once, and wins, leaving our beloved hero desperate.
Scenes like this confirm the logic behind the slots many people have: the more times you try, the higher the chances are to get that winning combo. While this makes some sense, and the fact is there is no such a thing as the correct strategy to always win and slots: You might want to research some tricks to winning on slot machines, rather than waiting for the luckier gal or guy to take over your slot and win at the first try, as the movies suggest.
Do not do drugs and alcohol while gambling
One of the cult movies about Las Vegas is “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”. And Vegas is a synonym for gambling and casinos, of course. If you have not seen this movie, though, you should know it does not tell a story about gambling but about drug abuse. Although there are just a few gambling moments, from the things they go through, we can learn a valuable lesson: the disaster for them would be even bigger if they tried to gamble, so do not do drugs while gambling. In fact, do not do them at all.
As for alcohol, characters in movies are often seen arriving at a casino and planning to get drunk and enjoy some gambling while there. Right after that, we usually see that too much alcohol in their system clouds their judgment, and they are unable to decide when to stop, as they keep going thinking every next round will be better and they will get their money back.
Situations like this often do not have a happy ending, and we either see our characters going home broke but satisfied because they had their fun, or in darker plots, they are in a big problem now as they are penniless. What we can learn is that a small amount of alcohol might help us relax and enjoy the games. If we do not know how to stop after one or two drinks, it is better not to start at all. Enjoying the games with a clear, sober mind might actually bring us some money.
Final thoughts
In the previous lines, we tried to point out some of the most useful things we can learn about gambling and casinos from a movie. Of course, there is more and you will for sure be able to identify them yourself. But remember, you should always take them with a spoon of doubt and never fail to use the power of the Internet to check the facts.
