Applying CPR to Your Game

Since the late 90's I have played the game of craps and studied its many dimensions. I have held fast to the idea that a lot of what goes on in our life can be directly reflected in our game and that the person you are in life, is the person you take to the tables. I have heard many savvy players refer to the game as a metaphor for life which I have always found to be very true. For me, everything we experience in life can be a metaphor.  So, as in life, sometimes when things are not going so well in our game, it is time to reflect on how we can optimize our winning potential.

Having played all these years, I have always made it a point to study the game with its many players who seem to win consistently with this game. I interact with the dealers at the table and get their observations of what makes the difference between a player who wins and one who loses. I ask myself the question: what do winners do to remain a winner? And, I figure out what they have that losing players don't seem to have. What I have concluded is that they possess three keys to help them post consistent wins.  Those three keys can be summed up as CPR: Confidence, Perspective and Resignation. And, these three keys can be carried over into any zero sum game or sport where based on your performance, the outcome will always have a winning or losing experience.

Confidence - Confident players enjoy the pressure and risk of the gaming situation. The monetary risk to the game is a given and they maintain composure even when their dice toss is sub optimal or the game seems to head in an opposite direction than they felt. They don't "freak out" when things don't go their way. They know this: one bad string of tosses does not make a bad game, a bad game does not make a losing session, a losing session does not make a bad player, it just makes a session played badly. You see, the good winning craps players I associate with check their ego at the casino door. They take each game as it comes and learn to assess the flow of the game. You can spot winners by just looking at their body language at the table. They are upbeat and simply possess this winning and confident attitude even in the face of adversity or loss.

Perspective - with the fact that no two craps sessions are ever the same. As much as we would like to think that we bring to the table all the tools necessary to win, we simply cannot remember to bring every weapon in our arsenal. Players can practice the game all they want and in the casino craps pit, some days we have a great toss or apply strict discipline and we win.  Still, on some days, as hard as we try, sometimes it is just not our day and you know what that means. Players who have perspective on their game and the current situation at the tables are able to evaluate what is going on with their play. The winning players do this objectively and unemotionally. They don't curse the dice gods and blame everything outside of themselves for their losing session. They just live to play, another session, another day, into an the unlimited playing horizon. I know they know that losing can be unpleasant. Yet it does not require emotional charge because it is just a lesson and they embrace the opportunity to learn.

Resignation - to the fact that, as players, it is up to us to place our selves at the right place during the right time at the craps tables. There is a time to enter the game to optimize our winning potential. Sometimes that right time is forced upon us by our overwhelming intent to play. Sometimes we have to resign ourselves to accepting there may not be a game at the time we wish to play. Backing away from the craps pit is a good thing because losing is always a great possibility when a player enters a game that is not in its optimal state for him or her to enter. It is always best to clear your mind of the chatter that goes on debating and rationalizing why you should play when the game is not flowing your way.

With the game of craps, the lessons to be learned will never cease and the player’s journey is never finished.  

Learning to win is a process that will constantly evolve. Mistakes at the tables are inevitable and these mistakes are learning tools.

They are not a reflection of you, just your decisions at the table. There will always be another game waiting for you.

Happy Holidays to each and every player out there I have had the honor and privilege of connecting with this year. Best wishes for a positive New Year.

Soft Touch