Learning the game theory and how to play the long game was a lot of fun but the biggest thing I took away from it was definitely not to let short term loss affect you and realize how much risk you can afford.

In regard to gambling, it's supposed to be fun and light because . . . well, you're going to lose most of the time. Maybe not at first, but it'll happen. It's designed to.

Funny that you should mention game theory. I saw a guy I had been good friends with while growing up, not too long ago. His wife had just had a baby and it was the first time we'd really hung out for a while. I was surprised that he asked me to hang out and watch a football game with him, since I didn't remember him liking it at all. He explained later, that his interest was largely due to sports betting.

He's always been a math guy and he approached sports gambling like a math guy: all stats, odds, theories and calculations. I have no problem with gambling. In fact, it's how I paid rent for the better part of a year when I was in my early 20's. The thing I have noticed with math guys who gamble, is that they tend to think that they have everything figured out and that they are almost always right. I have also noticed that these kinds of gamblers often are very dismissive of feel, which is how I gamble. My friend was explaining his process and his strategy and confided in me, ("this is not to be repeated to my wife") that he's had a 95% return since he started gambling, which was fairly recently.

I know I can't convince him that this is bullshit, because in the 26 years I have known him, he has never been willing to say to my face that I am right about something. This of course, resulted in me punching him a lot when we were younger. Yes, gambling is numbers and it is odds but it's also luck. I know lots of people don't like luck because it smacks of fate, but luck in gambling most definitely exists. Why? Because there are too many variables to account for.

Anyway, I liked this guy's attitude too. For me, the only money that's "mine" is the money I walk in with and the money I walk out with. Even then, it's not really mine either, but gambling money. I wish more people could understand that to be willing to win, people need to be willing to lose.

You might enjoy this episode of Radiolab titled Dealing with Doubt in which Annie Duke and her Brother talk about the long game etc. It's a really entertaining and informative listen and I'm not even a poker player.