Do Stubborn Players Win?

Stubbornness is a trait that runs in a lot of families. Especially mine.

My father was stubborn when it came to a point of view. And my brothers -- when they had an opinion, you couldn't dislodge it with a Howitzer or a pit bull.

Then there was my mother. She and Dad got into these incredible arguments. It was fun to listen to them. I always wondered whose logic was going to prevail, his or hers. In the long run, I think it came out to a draw.

Being stubborn is a trait that can help you in gambling as well. I am thinking of the games of blackjack and poker, but I suspect being stubborn helps in nearly all the other games as well.

Babe Ruth, probably the greatest home run slugger of all time, said it was very, very difficult to beat a team that wanted to win. Ruth wanted to win so badly that he led his team, the New York Yankees, so many victories, even after he became ill and his career fell into decline.

I can recall several occasions when my stubborn Taurus Italian nature helped me make an almost miraculous recovery from near defeat.

Early in my marriage, I took my wife to Las Vegas for a second honeymoon. I wasn't much of a poker player in those days. My game was blackjack.

Of course, I had my copy of Edward O. Thorp's best-selling book, 'Beat The Dealer,' in my coat pocket. During my breaks away from the tables, I would pore through the book and try to memorize Thorp's strategy and rules for card counting.

We arrived in Las Vegas Friday evening and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the Fremont Street Experience. They were presenting a rock show, along with solar scenes that could take your breath away.

After a good dinner at Binion's Horseshoe, I settled down to some serious blackjack. I must have still been foggy from the long drive from Phoenix, but I couldn't seem to do anything right.

The next day my bad luck at the tables continued. We broke up the day by having lunch at the Mt. Charleston Inn on scenic Mt. Charleston about 25 miles from Las Vegas. By 7 p.m. that night I was down nearly $500.

'Are you ready to give up?,' Nan said, smiling sweetly.

She was carrying the money. 'No way,' I said firmly. 'Let me have another $100.'

She handed it over. It took me about 30 minutes to lose it. Another $100, please I said, and she shrugged and peeled off a C-note.

I lost that one, too. The dealer was a friendly guy who seemed to have my best interests at heart. I made my decision.

'Look,' I told my wife, 'I have been playing miserably. Let me have another $100 and if it doesn't work this time, we'll call it a night and head back to Phoenix in the morning.' She agreed on the plan and I headed back to the blackjack table.

As the dealer shuffled the cards, he said, 'I'll say one thing for you. You're pretty stubborn.'

I tried to smile. 'Runs in the family,' I said.

He dealt me two 8s. I split them and he came up with a third 8.

'Can I split that, too?'

He shrugged. 'I don't see why not.'

I had three 8s on the table and he dealt me a three. I went down for double on it. On the next eight, he peeled off a deuce. The dealer was showing a six, a bust card.

'Go down for double on that,' I said, shoving out more chips. On the third eight, he gave me an ace. I went down or double on the soft 19. The dealer turned over his hole card, revealing a king. He promptly busted with a jack and I collected on all three hands.

From that point on, I could do no wrong.

He dealt me two blackjacks in a row, followed by pocket aces that I split. The cards ran wild over me. By midnight I had recouped my losses and was about $600 in the black. We delayed our trip back to Phoenix the next morning and spent half the day exploring Hoover Dam. Then we took a nice leisurely drive back to the Valley of the Sun.

Another stubborn time for me came in a tournament at The Orleans Casino. For the first hour, a player could make rebuys. The entry fee was $25 and the rebuys were $15. I had made 10 rebuys before my game improved.

I won the tournament and collected $1,248.

Now I know there are members on this website who will say, 'You got lucky,' or 'What if you had just tapped out and lost all that money?'

Well, poker happens to be a skill game. When you apply your skills and knowledge of the game correctly, good things can happen. For some people, being stubborn pays off while for others, I guess, it can be costly.

My younger brother, Legs, and I often argue about who is the most stubborn. He insists he has never lost an argument to me. All I do is smile and say, 'Wanna bet?'