Well, I know some of you are wondering where I have been. Having said that, let me just say that the “meandering thoughts” include forgetting, daydreaming, getting distracted, etc. etc. But I’m here now, so let my mind meander.
Jesus and the Art of Blackjack. Well, posting a name like that and I am assured of three things.
#1: My more Conservative Evangelical Brethren (read that “KJV ONLY) will NOT read this
#2: They won’t get it if they did
#3: They wouldn’t read ‘Poached Egg’. ‘Ratio Christianity’, ‘Appologetics Alliance’, ‘Hally’s Bible Commentary’, ‘Biblical Archaeology Review’, ‘Christian Research Journal’,’ or pretty much ANYTHING that isn’t in ‘Christianity Today’ or the ‘Lookout’, so maybe I’m in good company
As for the rest, here we go.
So Susan and I finished up the 2nd of our Civil War events and we found ourselves in Wasioja, Minnesota. (Don’t bother looking it up. Mapquest assured us it doesn’t exist). With nothing else to do until next weekend’s Pirate Fest in Put-In-Bay we headed over to Red Wing, Mn. to the Treasure Island Casino, where our friends Bruce and Lin were camped for a Kansas City Barbecue sanctioned cookoff. (Bruce placed with his pulled pork, which means he is now an award winning bbq chef in pulled pork, ribs, and (Susan’s personal favorite) chicken. Well done, my friend!
So while we were there I spent a bit of time in the casino. (Here is where I lose the last of my Conservative Evangelical Christian friends who didn’t read the title).
Now the first thing you need to understand is one of my favorite things about casinos is the smell. They all smell of stale cigarette smoke. My grandmother was a lifelong smoker, so that aroma reminds me of her house, where there was love, care, good humor and a lot of card playing around the kitchen table. It really takes me back. But what, you might ask, does this have to do with Jesus and blackjack? Bear with me…
Most people are pretty smart. Until they walk into the casino, at which point all their good sense goes out the door to be replaced by greedy self-delusional thoughts. That somehow they are better, smarter. luckier or just plain deserve to win. So they sit down and plop their money into a slot machine, or onto the roulette table or even the occasional craps. Not me. I like my money and I’m smarter than that. I bypass all this to go straight to the blackjack table.
Now before you say ‘aha! You TOO are one of those greedy, self-delusional thinkers that think they can win!” Well, yes and no. No in that I’m not self-delusional, and yes I know I will win. Because it’s all math. And yes, I suck at math. But this is where it becomes so simple even a moron can win.
You see, all of the games except one are based upon a principle called ‘random number generating’. Because no matter what happens right now at this roll of the dice, or pull of the lever, there is no way of determining what is going to happen on the next. If you roll a 2 in craps-well, not only have you immediately lost but the chances on your next roll of rolling another 2 are EXACTLY the same. Nothing has changed. Same with the slots. A peach comes up on this pull and you have exactly the same chance of it coming up on the next because the peach doesn’t go away. It’s all random because NOTHING CHANGES. The two-or the peach, whatever-goes right back into play. Because of that in the end you will lose. Oh, sure. Some of you will say ‘I have a system’ or ‘well my great Aunt Fanny ALWAYS won’. But lets face it. It’s a random chance that never changes. The house has a 12-22 percent favorability so in the end, you will lose.
Not so with blackjack. Because it has a FINITE possibility and because of that you can predict what will happen. Because when a 2 shows up on the table, it’s gone. There is NO chance you will ever see that 2 again until the next game because it is gone. (And contrary to some belief, a 2 is the WORSE card to see on the table!) So, because it’s gone you can figure what your chances of winning are for each hand that follows. (Yeah, I know I’m simplifying things, but bear with me).
Now because of this FINITE opportunity, blackjack can be beaten. Actually quite easy, simply by following ‘basic strategy’. (Forget card counting, I’ll mention it later. Right now just read…) Basic strategy is based upon BILLIONS of computer simulations and because there is that FINITE outcome, each and every hand you are dealt has an exact way to play it to win. So much so that if you follow the ‘basic strategy’, the house advantage is completely wiped out.
And here’s the interesting thing: YOU DON’T HAVE TO LEARN IT!
Nope, just look at your handy-dandy pocket size ‘basic strategy chart’. You can get one on line. You can get one in every ‘Bicycle’ brand deck of playing card that says ‘poker size’. Heck, ask at the casino. They’ll GIVE you one. And let you put it out on the table to follow! No need to memorize. Just lay it out there and LOOK at the stupid thing!
Why does the casino allow this? BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE WILL ARGUE WITH THE CARD AND WON’T FOLLOW IT! Yep, I’ve seen it. They’ll look at their 16 and look at the dealer’s hand and say ‘I ALWAYS hold this hand’. Or they have the dreaded 12 against a 3 and say ‘I NEVER hit my 12’s’. Even tho the card-and BILLIONS OF SIMULATED HANDS tell them to do just that.
Because they know more than the card. Why follow the card when their INSTINCTS-their GUT-their PASSIONATE BELIEFS tell them otherwise? And in the end they are going to lose just as surely as if they had thrown their money into a slot machine. I don’t get it. Here is HOW to win, and you don’t have to do anything but follow the simple instructions.
I know a LOT of good people. They tell me they believe in the Bible, in God, in Jesus. But they just KNOW that they are going to heaven because they are GOOD PEOPLE. Most people are pretty smart. Until they walk into the realm of ‘belief’, at which point all their good sense goes out the door to be replaced by greedy self-delusional thoughts. That somehow they are better, smarter. luckier or just plain deserve to go to heaven. Their GUT tells them they are. Their INSTINCTS say it’s so. But they just won’t follow the simple instructions Christ gave in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father but through me.’ And we have BILLIONS of bits of evidence-historical, hermeneutics, writings, research, 2,000 years of learning and growing-only to toss it all aside because of what we decide is a better way than what the simple instructions say. And in the end, they are going to lose.
Seriously. I don’t get it. Here is something that you say you believe-Jesus-but you won’t follow His simple instructions? Can you explain why? A bit of research shows why ‘basic strategy’ is real in blackjack. A bit of research will show the vast amounts of proof in the Biblical claims.
And it’s not ‘all about us’. It’s not ‘us vs. the dealer’, it’s not ‘all religions are equal’. In the end it’s me against the dealer, and me against where I spend eternity. Doesn’t matter what anyone else does. And at both times, all I need to do is look at the simple instructions.
The casino allows ‘basic strategy’ cards at the table because they know that most people believe in them, but won’t follow them. Maybe that’s why Satan never really throws up much of a fuss about people ‘believing’ in Jesus. He knows most people believe in hHm, but won’t follow Him.
In part II maybe we’ll compare ‘card counting at the blackjack table’ and ‘appologetics in the church’. Or maybe my Conservative Evangelical Christian friends will brand me a heretic for playing blackjack and I won’t get to write it. Or maybe I’ll meander my thoughts into another path and forget about this blog for another few months. But I gotta do something to kill time, won’t be at the beach for another 5 months!
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