Discipline, Character & Consistency
Part II

An old cowboy went into the Fontana Lounge at Bellagio and ordered a drink during the recent National Finals Rodeo in Vegas.  As he sat there sipping his Kentucky sour-mash bourbon, a young lady sat down beside him.  She turned to the cowboy and asked, "Are you a real cowboy?"  He replied, "Well, I've spent my whole life on the ranch, herding horse, mending fences, and branding cattle, so I guess I am". 

She nodded her head, and said, " I'm  lesbian.  I spend my whole day thinking about women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about women.  When I shower, watch TV, everything seems to make me think of women".   A little while later, a couple sat down at the bar on the other side of the old cowboy and asked him, "Are you a real cowboy?"  He replied, " Well, I always thought I was, but I just found out I'm a lesbian".

In Part I , we looked at:

ü      Playing your best game all of the time.

ü      Keeping things in perspective and accepting small wins.

ü      Learning as much as you can about this game, and then using it.

ü      Planning your work; then working your plan.

Before we proceed, I have to ask you a question.  Are you prepared to put in the necessary effort that is required to succeed? 

I didn’t just walk into a casino one day and decide that I would make it into a lifestyle-changing career.  It took a lot of hard work.  Most of that hard-work is made up of discipline, character and consistency.

Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness rips you off now. 

If you are looking for an easy way to do this, I have a reply for that too.  There is no easy way.

This is all about discipline, character and consistency.   And first we have to determine how much of each that we have, then we’ll look at how to top-up our levels.  To do that, we’ll have to take an inventory.

Let’s look at a scenario.  Let’s say that:

ü      You just walked into the casino.

ü      You just walked up to the table.

ü      You just reached into your pocket for your bankroll.

ü      You just peeled off $300 for your buy-in.

ü      You just tossed it onto the table and asked for change.

ü      You just placed a bet on your “favorite” spot.

ü      The dice are in someone else’s hands.

ü      The shooter is not a Precision-Shooter.

ü      The shooter just threw a number that wiped out your bet.

ü      You just shook your head, and thought to yourself that this is not a good way to start a winning session.

Gee, what went wrong here?

EVERYTHING!

ü      When you walk into the casino, DO NOT make a bee-line for the craps pit.  Go to the washroom, wash your hands, and take in the general ambiance of the casino.  Get your heart-rate and your anticipation down to a controllable level.  Don’t act like an anxious kid on his first date.

ü      Take your time as you approach the craps pit.  It’s not a race to see who can get there first.  The first pioneers of this great country were easy pickin’s because they were unfamiliar with what they were getting into.

ü      You have to acclimate yourself to the climate at the tables.   There is no cost to watch what is happening.   That preparation time will give you a sense of where the game is going.  You can politely ask someone what has been happening at the table, but you can also survey it all for yourself.  I wrote an insightful article on that subject called, And The Survey Says.....  If you don’t know where you are going, you probably won’t get there.

ü      Once you find a table that suits your game plan, then, and only then should you reach into your pocket for your bankroll.  If your buy-in is, let’s say $300; then you should have it separate from the rest of your cash.  This not only shields the rest of your money from larcenous-eyes, but it shows a certain level of determination, professionalism, and dare I say, discipline.  It’s discipline because you are not wishy-washy about the amount of buy-in.  Your game-plan determines that.  Now you have to have the discipline to stick to it.  That’s one small incremental step forward.

ü    Don’t be too anxious to place your first bet.  You’ve already sized-up some of the shooters.  In continuing to survey the table, you are determining in “real-time” what is happening, and how your betting method will best suit those events.  Only then should you be putting money at risk.

ü      If the dice are in someone else’s hands, and they are not a Precision-Shooter; then you have to be extremely cautious.  I personally employ the Captain’s Five-Count, and if the shooter seems erratic, then my reluctance to “gamble” will prevail, and I may take a pass on that shooter altogether.

ü     Your first series of bets at the table are risky ones.  They are risky for two reasons.  The first one I explained above.  Since you are not as in tune with the game as you would be if you were involved with it for thirty or more minutes, your decisions are based on incomplete information.  Second, that first series of bets will sometimes set the mood for the session.  You don’t want to start it in a negative mood, or with a major dent in your bankroll.  Either of those two things will sometimes sway you from your disciplined game-plan.  I guess it’s like a boxer.  Everybody goes INTO the ring with a game-plan.  It’s what you do after you get unexpectedly hit, that determines where you will take it from there.   That is what separates a true professional from a club-fighting Palooka.

In Part Three of this series, we’ll look at exactly how to employ a Game Plan that will help you:

ü      Build character at the tables.

ü      Rely on consistency instead of luck.

ü      Apply discipline to your game-plan.

Until then…