Gambling

I have a cousin (Gwen) who's married to a poker player, we'll call him Ray. She gambles herself and I'm not sure how good she is, but I do know her husband isn't. We also have an aunt (we'll call her Quatro) who is an addict and never, ever wins. She's lost hundreds of thousands.

Anyway, I got into it with Gwen about Ray's gambling and that he should go out and get a job because he sucks at gambling. Her argument? "He's a really good poker player. Ask anyone who he's ever played with and they'll all agree that he makes all the right decisions."

You know who else made all the right decisions but still got shot down? Iceman. "It's the way he flies, ice cold, no mistakes. He wears you down, you get bored--frustrated--do something stupid and he's got ya." He still got shot down flying with no mistakes.

Also, asking the guys he always loses to whether Ray is good at gambling is dumb. If they see him as an easy kill, wouldn't they just say whatever is necessary so that he keeps feeding their kids?

Now, Gwen says that Ray is no Quatro. To me, he's worse. Quatro loses and loses all the time, and loses big all the time. We know she sucks and she should give it up. Ray may win a grand one day and drop 5 large the next. He is getting teased, giving him an idea that he may win. I liken this to being led on by a girl or guy. They never let you get to first, but may put a hand on your arm or flick their hair or something to give you the idea they may be interested. In the end, you just go home with blue balls.

Ray just needs to give it up.