Why play for money if you keep losing?

Bardi · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 22

Sometimes when I go to Vegas I play blackjack or roulette and I don’t mind that I lose all the time because I don’t do it for the money. I do it because it’s entertaining and fun. It’s exhilarating to be around all the sounds of the casino with real people surrounding me and real chips on the table.

However, I just can’t get this same feeling when I play backgammon online for money. I play because I win consistently and not because it’s entertaining (although I do enjoy it which is a nice benefit). But I think that if I started losing consistently I would immediately stop playing for money.

I don’t understand people who continue to play and lose money. Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions by thinking that most people are losing, but it seems to me that they must be as backgammon servers are making quite a bit of money from their rakes.

Why would someone prefer money to non-money play if they lose all the time? I just don’t get it.

Liss · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 30

I have a lot of friends who play backgammon online for money and they don’t care when they lose. They play for low stakes and do it because they find it fun and exciting. It’s a low enough amount of money that they don’t care if they lose but the prospect of winning makes the game a lot more exciting. Playing backgammon without stakes can be fun, but once you add money to the equation there is no denying that the game becomes much more exciting as a “purpose” is formed.