Gambling

THIS year's Chinese new year is so different to me. I saw gambling in a different light. Now I think gambling is the most powerful driving force that makes people want to visit each other. I have never seen this side of gambling before.

I know gambling has always been around during this festive season. It is the main activity that keep adults occupied and kills time for them. Second is the angbao(for receivers), third is the food, fourth is cultural instincts, last is to see each other and talk. The ranking is unbased.

Gambling is the simplest form of language.

Black Jack/Er-shi-yi-dian/Ban-luck
Big Two/Da Lao Er/Choh-dai-di
Mahjong
Bridge
and some other means of gambling that I have no idea what it is called.

Somehow, all of these gambling games are easily picked up by even the most illiterate adult. Observe while others play, ask a few questions(which is usually enthusiastically answered; probably to entice easy money for the pros), have money, and you are in the game.

I myself do not gamble. I detest the idea of gambling. It is just not productive. I'll elaborate my insights on this later.

Usually in a game of gambling, money is the main stake. One's goal is to win as much money as possible without losing too much. The judge to determine who wins and who loses is the deck of cards or tiles that players are required to either skillfully complete a certain criteria or simply have the best hand. The winning criteria are agreed upon before hand and once the winner is determined, money changes hands.

While I was watching my relatives gamble, I observed their expressions, gestures and words that they spoke, and I realise that they are obsessed by it.

Money can make them exhilarated and it can also make them sulk and bad tempered in a short span of 10 minutes.

One uncle of mine was observed to be in high spirits in the early game of cards where winning is determined purely by your luck in getting a good hand. He was smiling and teasing other aunts and played the game enthusiastically. Reason being, he had won quite a sum of money while he was the banker(banker was rotated every 3 rounds). But after a while, I saw him sitting there with stern eyes and down cast lips, shaking his legs impatiently while the cards are being given out. He must have lost big. He left the game soon after and announced that he has lost $170.

That was the story of a loser, now winners have ugly stories too. Some people are conscientious about winning other people's money. They are afraid that others will resent them for winning their money. In one case, the person kept winning, till a point where she felt that she should leave the table. But she couldn't bring herself to leave until she has lost some money back into the game. So she waited till it was her turn to play banker. The first 2 rounds, she lost, but it wasn't so bad. On her third round, she got a good hand and won back all the money she lost in the first 2 rounds. Now she is in a dilemma. To leave or to wait till her next turn of being banker?

As a child, I used to look up to adults. But I remember one time when I was young, it happened at my grandmother's house. There were lots of relatives. The television was showing a movie or something that I was quite engrossed in watching. Suddenly, one of the aunts took the remote control and switched to teletext. THEY DISRUPTED MY SHOW TO CHECK THE STUPID 4D!

I flared. I cursed them to lose all their money (which was impossible for everyone since the money is circulating) and ran out to the playground. It was this incident that started my resentment to gambling and a certain disrespect for adults, I also started to dislike watching TV when there are other people around, I rather catch interesting shows online, without inconsiderate channel hoppers and advertisement.

All my logic point to the fact that gambling is useless. You end up losing more than you will win. This year you might have won $300, but you forget that last year you lost $400. The banker always wins. It was just circulation of money and there was no creation involved. Somebody loses a lot of money and gets emotional, a small conflict becomes family feud. What is the point?

But this time, I saw the purpose of gambling. It is this simple act of rotating your money around one another that brings excitement to the dull and boring life of most people nowadays. It is the only thing that many people can do together and find joy in doing it. A game of cards will soon bore the hell out of you when there's no stakes involved. I realise the magic of money in this aspect. Even though I still resent gambling, I will respect it for being able to bring joy to many people whom I know.