This might be close to Voodoo...

[davidpom]

What's the difference between praying in a church and praying in a casino? In a casino you really mean it!!!

Ok, that's a joke - but it might have some merit. Has anyone here had first hand experience of praying in a casino, and experiencing an answer to prayer there and then? Has anyone formed a "system" around this?

Also, I notice many Chinese players in my local casino wearing Jade / Greenstone to "ward off evil spirits". Is this just coincidence, or again do players here have real experience of the evil spirits leaving the cards, just because some jade is worn on the body?

This theorising is probably as close to Voodoo as it gets. Thoughts?

[zengrifter]

Sort of, there's this -

Zengrifter on Luck -

(excerpted from ZGI page-32)

Many times you’ve told me about your ‘New Age’ philosophy. Are there any ways in which
these beliefs have helped you at the blackjack tables?

Well, I once went through a phase where I only played blackjack at pre-determined times
throughout the day that had been calculated by a nationally ranked astrologer, but my results were
inconclusive.

Seriously though my beliefs, which I occasionally use as cover, it never impairs the accuracy of my
counting or bet sizing. I do, however, embrace a Buddhist-like paradigm of ‘universal mind’ by
recognizing that all manifestation is consciousness. I prefer to call it ‘higher consciousness’ or
‘quantum reality’ and my leanings toward a more Eastern philosophical awareness stem from over
300 LSD trips, and from studies I’ve undertaken for over 30 years including Zen, Taoism and the
teachings of the Ruchira Avatar Adi Da Samraj, Alan Watts, J. Krishnamurti and Sri Poonjaji,
among others.

Beyond the intuition factor discussed earlier, we get into some heady stuff that re-acquaints us with
the gamblers’ penchant for the so-called ‘superstitious.’

Some readers who have studied quantum-physics will recall the hypothesis of “Dr. Schrödinger’s
Cat.” Schrödinger posited that a cat placed into an electrically wired black box which, in turn, was
randomly electrified - only sometimes with enough juice to kill the cat, with the random charges
unknown to the observing experimenter - would result in neither a dead nor a living cat until the
box is opened and the animal’s state observed.
Along similar lines, the next card dealt from the shoe is not pre-determined, at least not in
‘quantum-reality.’ Thus a gambler’s beliefs may very well indeed affect his results.

I once employed my friend and best-selling ‘higher-consciousness’ author Marilyn Ferguson (The
Aquarian Conspiracy, Brain-Mind Bulletin) to channel the late Kenny Uston.

Marilyn channels many “gone-yonders,” as she refers to them, including Joseph Kennedy, John
Rockefeller, Buckminster Fuller, Timothy Leary, and even ‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ whom she
endearingly calls “the J of N.” Her son is a semi-pro poker player, so at his urgings she has even
channeled the late poker legend Johnny Moss.

During the channeling session, Kenny stated that since the time of his “last incarnation,” he has
become “increasingly convinced” of the “connection between state and luck.” Such connection
between ‘state’ and ‘luck’ has been suggested by many mystical and scientific types, alike. This
suggests that a gambler may actually be able to ‘invoke’ a ‘lucky-state’ through meditation, prayer,
self-hypnosis or even neuro-linguistic-programming, perhaps. I don’t know, but I’ll ask my friend
Tony Robbins the next time I see him.

Do you have any concrete results that would justify these concepts?

My results are totally inconclusive, statistically speaking, although chanting Buddhist good-luck
mantras at the blackjack table is certainly good for cover! One of my biggest wins was at the old
Reserve in Henderson while loudly chanting ‘Nam-Myo-Ho-Renge-Kyo.’ Afterwards, a teammate
stepped within earshot of the pit-critters who had been in attendance and overheard them
discussing, “What do you think he was chanting?” to which the other replied, “He was probably
putting a curse on us.”

Does this ‘quantum-reality’ stuff bother your teammates?

A few years ago I was playing in Reno, and there were five of us having a team meeting and I
suggested that perhaps we should all try playing sessions timed according to our daily bio-rhythms
and/or astrological charts. They all got angry and told me to “stop scaring” them! After a bathroom
break I returned to the meeting and challenged them: “Is there anyone here that is totally without
superstition?” In the next moment, one pulled out his rabbit-foot key chain, another produced his
lucky coin, a third had just splashed on his lucky aftershave. A fourth teammate showed his rosary
beads.

As it turned out, I was the only one in the group who wasn’t carrying a ‘talisman’ into play that
night.

Do you really believe in this ‘cosmic consciousness’ stuff?

Oh yes! Fundamentally, the seemingly ‘separate’ and ‘external’ universe is a holographic illusion,
not truly composed of inanimate rocks and matter, but is rather a ‘paradigmatic-realm’ of
unbounded mind and consciousness wherein all things and events are interconnected in infinite
possibility through the eternal here-and-now via the engine of third-dimensional creation: one’s
own cerebral cortex!

By the way, I’ve considered using an expert with a dousing rod to walk the aisles of the BJ pit to
select my table - a potentially great cover ploy... and it just might work!

You are one strange dude, Zengrifter!

Yes, I know, everyone tells me that.

---end of excerpt---
__________________

[ihate17]

Originally Posted by davidpom

What's the difference between praying in a church and praying in a casino? In a casino you really mean it!!!

Ok, that's a joke - but it might have some merit. Has anyone here had first hand experience of praying in a casino, and experiencing an answer to prayer there and then? Has anyone formed a "system" around this?

Also, I notice many Chinese players in my local casino wearing Jade / Greenstone to "ward off evil spirits". Is this just coincidence, or again do players here have real experience of the evil spirits leaving the cards, just because some jade is worn on the body?

This theorising is probably as close to Voodoo as it gets. Thoughts?

Let me try to understand your post.
You are praying to a greater power to provide you with more money that will be gotten through gambling. What if the casino is praying to the same greater power because it wants greater profits. So God gets these prayers from two greedy sources and at best I would think God would ignore both of you or perhaps say, "the hell with both you and the casino for even thinking I would take interest in such prayers." Be very very careful!

I have also noticed Jade worn by many Female Asian dealers. Perhaps this is to counteract the jade worn by Asian players. Here I think the answer of what to do is extremely clear. If jade has ran off the evil spirits of the other players cards and of the dealer's cards but you are also playing and are not wearing any jade, the evil spirits have no place to go except into your cards. Buy some jade, NOW!!!!

ihate17

[davidpom]

The question then is "how much jade to buy"? Is it sufficient just to wear jade, or should my own jade be bigger than the dealers? Or if both player and dealer are wearing jade, do they cancel each other out regardless of size?

Talking strictly in Voodoo terms... if the evil spirits have run off both sets of cards because of the jade, where do they then go? Will they simply hunt out the next blackjack table, or will they chance their luck on roulette, knowing that the players have simpler minds that would be easier to overpower?

With no evil spirits present the game of blackjack would then come down to odds - and the casino therefore wins. So maybe even with Voodoo it's unbeatable? Aaaargh.

[davidpom]

PS: ZenGrifter, I liked your post a lot. It gives pretty damn good explanations of this whole superstition / voodoo / lucky card stuff. :-)

[Martin Gayle]

Correct me if I am wrong but I beleive it was J-J Rousseau who said, I paraphrase, generalise, abstract and probably brutalise,

- Belief in God is a gamble. You spend time thinking about God, praying to God, going to church and giving money to the church for the hope that God is real and you will go to Heaven at the end of your miserable existence here on Earth. If you are wrong and there is no God, you have wasted your life and therefore made it more miserable than it already was. -

[Martin Gayle]

Originally Posted by ihate17

What if the casino is praying to the same greater power because it wants greater profits. So God gets these prayers from two greedy sources and at best I would think God would ignore both of you or perhaps say, "the hell with both you and the casino for even thinking I would take interest in such prayers."

Very simple anwser here. God has and always will take the side of the victor. In gambling, God will always, in the long run, whether you pray or not, favour those who have mathematics on their side. After all, everyone knows God invented math and it was good!

I am sure the casinos ask, "Why have you forsaken us Lord" when they get hammered by Hyland. And at the same time I am sure Tommy Hyland says "Praise be to God" when he and his team have been sequencing aces all night.

[ihate17]

Originally Posted by davidpom

The question then is "how much jade to buy"? Is it sufficient just to wear jade, or should my own jade be bigger than the dealers? Or if both player and dealer are wearing jade, do they cancel each other out regardless of size?

Talking strictly in Voodoo terms... if the evil spirits have run off both sets of cards because of the jade, where do they then go? Will they simply hunt out the next blackjack table, or will they chance their luck on roulette, knowing that the players have simpler minds that would be easier to overpower?

With no evil spirits present the game of blackjack would then come down to odds - and the casino therefore wins. So maybe even with Voodoo it's unbeatable? Aaaargh.

This being the Voodoo board, you could go to a Santaria (spelling?) shop and find the proper charm. How about Indiana Jones finding the amulet of Uston or something like that.
Or: Since most of the Asian players who have I witnessed with loads of jade seem to be consistant losers, just make sure you wear no jade at all.

ihate17

[ihate17]

Originally Posted by Martin Gayle

Very simple anwser here. God has and always will take the side of the victor. In gambling, God will always, in the long run, whether you pray or not, favour those who have mathematics on their side. After all, everyone knows God invented math and it was good!

I am sure the casinos ask, "Why have you forsaken us Lord" when they get hammered by Hyland. And at the same time I am sure Tommy Hyland says "Praise be to God" when he and his team have been sequencing aces all night.

Yes, I do believe God looks at the long run but I tend to think Davidpom is looking short term. Perhaps a deal with the devil is appropriate for short term winning?

ihate17

[zengrifter]

Originally Posted by ihate17

What if the casino is praying to the same greater power because it wants greater profits.

The casino is a SOULESS corporation, so it not praying. Instead, its using a panoply of statistical and psychological weapons.
This is a David and Goliath thang. zg