After diving into the murky world of “sucker” games and the wagers that offer the very worst odds in the house, I found myself wondering who exactly these “suckers” really are.
Obviously, the clearest connotation refers to wholly ignorant and uninformed players, the fabled tourist looking to let loose. But over the years, I’ve watched well-educated businesspeople and tech geniuses lose piles of cash playing trash games like the Big Six wheel and keno.
To figure out why they do it, I found five personality traits that can turn even the smartest souls into simple suckers.
1 – Arrogance
First and foremost, I believe smart players who know the odds down cold—and still back the worst bets anyway—suffer from the syndrome known as “having it all.”
When you’re making a six-figure salary at work and have plenty of dough saved up, it’s only natural to look at a measly $5 chip and let it rip. After all, these players know they can afford to lose that bet, and many more enjoy that they can take risks without suffering any noticeable damage to their financial situation.
Typically, these high-rolling gamblers tend to bet big bucks. But they limit that “real” action to two types of games:
- First, you have your skill-based affairs like blackjack, poker, and video poker. This is where a sharp mind and master strategy can put you on even ground with the house.
- Second, high-rollers tend to gravitate towards games of chance like craps and baccarat which still offer relatively low house edge rates.
But when wealthy gamblers are taking a break from those endeavors, they tend to blow off steam by blowing a few small bets in a game like Big Six. The stakes are low, the stress is diminished, and these players arrogantly believe that the results really don’t matter.
They’re just having a little fun, and even if losing a few hundred bucks in a few minutes might sting us mere mortals, the well-off hardly even notice the dent in their wallet.
2 – Boredom
Along the same lines, many gamblers—rich, poor, or in between—gravitate towards the sucker games out of sheer boredom.
Maybe they’ve played blackjack for 10 years and have seen every conceivable starting hand vs. dealer up-card scenario under the sun. Or perhaps they just can’t send another slot machine reel spinning without falling asleep.
Players who grind it out on the casino floor day in and day out have every right to get bored with their “work.” The games are repetitious, the wins and losses tend to balance out, and the surroundings all tend to look the same after a while.
When regulars get bored with their usual routine, branching out to explore the bingo hall, keno parlor, or Big Six wheel just seems like a good idea at the time.
And even if you don’t gamble regularly whatsoever, stepping foot inside a casino can also inspire feelings of boredom. For folks who don’t know a lick about blackjack, and don’t care to for that matter, a casino can feel akin to a glitzy and glamorous prison. Everywhere you look, people are engaged in their games, celebrating wins and commiserating over losses.
But there you are, sitting sullenly at the sports bar, nursing a warm beer. When you know you’re never going to tackle a serious pursuit like video poker, killing an hour or two playing a mindless slot machine like Megabucks can seem like a fine idea.
And hey, who knows? You just might become an instant millionaire if the ultimate lightning strike rains down from the heavens.
3 – Vanity
Another major motivating factor which explains why sucker games still attract so much action is vanity. Known as “the fruit of ignorance” to fans of writer Alexander Ross, vanity is a natural human emotion which all of us succumb to at one point or another.
And in the gambling community, vain players who succeed in other games manage to convince themselves that they can do what few others have ever done—beat sucker games consistently.
These victims of vanity see a bet with terrible odds and tell themselves every sort of lie:
“I know these other guys keep losing on the Hard 8, but I’ve always been lucky… Watch and see.”
“Everybody else is just doing it wrong, you’ve got to have a system when you’re picking keno numbers.”
“I can’t believe nobody else has figured this Big Six thing out yet, the right strategy is right in front of their face and only I can see it.”
These delusions of grandeur can compel even the sharpest of gamblers to go for the gusto. Hoping to prove their doubters wrong, to show the world a display of their own natural prowess, these players develop a “me against the world” mentality.
Inevitably though, the cold and hard reality of statistical probability sets in to vanquish vain gamblers. No amount of confidence can change the fact that certain games and wagers are simply unbeatable over the statistical long run. And despite seeing themselves as something special, players like this eventually come to a rude awakening when the losses invariably begin to pile up.
4 – Recklessness
Yet another subset of the casino gambling community are those brave fools who have no problem throwing caution to the wind.
Perhaps they lack basic impulse control a la most toddlers, or maybe they’re just adrenaline junkies who thrive on living dangerously. In any event, reckless players abound on the casino floor, drawn like moths to a flame whenever a high-risk, high-reward wager presents itself.
For this type of gambler, it’s almost as if winning small payouts consistently can’t quite match the excitement of pocketing the elusive jackpots.
Reckless players will add every available side bet in a skill game like blackjack or Three-Card Poker, knowing that a lightning strike deal just might produce a huge progressive payout. They prefer betting the table maximum over the minimum, and placing one big bet for everything they have left is always preferable than simply walking away.
If you’re a roulette player by trade, you’ve probably seen your fair share of recklessness when it comes to those single number bets. With a massive 35 to 1 payout on the line, but only a 2.63% chance of cashing in, roulette’s signature single number action is perfectly designed to attract table game daredevils.
So, while everyone else at the table wisely limits their single number action to just a chip or two per number, reckless roulette regulars bet entire stacks instead. They’ve likely turned a handful of these extremely bad bets into truly tremendous returns. At 35 to 1 odds your stack of 20 $1 chips would bring back a whopping $700. And those memories far outweigh all the other “one and done” losses.
Remember, recklessness is all about removing the role of consequences from the equation. Reckless drivers might know that swerving, speeding, and DUI can cause deadly accidents, but they just don’t care enough to curb their own bad behavior.
The same scenario applies to reckless gamblers. They know betting it all on a 1 in 38 shot is a recipe for a wrecked bankroll, but they don’t care enough to stop.
5 – Masochism
This one might be counterintuitive to most gamblers, a group of folks who ostensibly want nothing more than to taste the thrill of victory. But somewhere out there in this wide world of ours, you’ll find players who actually enjoy the sting of defeat.
Indeed, the Spectrum of Human Desire Is So Vast That Many People Derive Pleasure From Pain
And while masochism is most often associated with peculiar quirks, the casino is a perfect place to visit when pain is what you want most. I’ve known many a poker player who will refuse to leave their cash game if it means breaking even.
Rather than chalk up the middling session and call it a day, these gluttons for punishment resign themselves to one of two distinct fates. They’ll either run up a stack and cash out up, or they’ll keep playing until every last one of their chips has been lost.
In fact, plenty of poker players out there readily admit that they remember—and even relish— their cruelest “bad beats” over big-time wins.
The masochistic streak isn’t limited to poker by any means, as you’ll find gamblers who seem to thrive on resentment and getting revenge on the house on the machines and in the pits, too.
For them, winning wagers are met with nary a smile or celebration. But when the dealer delivers a losing hand, the masochist’s face finally lights up and becomes animated as they spit invective at the sadistic gambling gods.
Conclusion
Delving into the psychology of why seemingly smart gamblers can’t seem to stop backing bad bets is always an interesting detour. But it’s a necessary one, as the casino industry thrives on the five personality traits described on this page.
Without players willingly risking their hard earned money on statistically unwinnable wagers, Las Vegas would still be but a dusty outpost between Phoenix and Los Angeles. Thankfully for residents and visitors who love “Sin City,” however, a steady stream of suckers can always be counted on to take a seat.
Michael Stevens
Michael Stevens has been researching and writing topics involving the gambling industry for well over a decade now and is considered an expert on all things casino and sports betting. Michael has been writing for GamblingSites.org since early 2016. …
