I went to the casino yesterday after work. It was a Friday and I just had nothing to do (I still had my regular gym session afterwards, but just had time to kill).

I didn't gamble, mainly because I didn't have access to my money to gamble. I went there to watch, and what I saw was actually quite therapeutic.

Don't take this as a 'tested' method, because I'm no expert, but watching others gambling really made the whole gambling thing seem stupid to me.

This is what I saw:

1. a man scrambling like mad between two roulette tables to place his bets in time. If someone was in his way, he'd push them aside just to get his bet onto the table.

I remember feeling that same sense of urgency. I am usually quite a polite person, always holding lifts open for people, being the last one to board a bus etc, but gambling actually made me into someone who would push others out of the way just to place a bet.

The other thing this showed was how this man was getting his kicks. Of course, gambling at one table wasn't enough - he had become 'de-sensitised' to gambling at one table only, so to get more kicks he had to double his odds of losing by playing at TWO tables.

I was shaking my head.

2. A guy in his 40's, wearing a suit, placing chips around the roulette table, but always putting a huge pile (worth about $160) on the number 23 on each spin. It never hit 23, but he would win on his other numbers from time to time. Looking at his face, he had no emotions at all - just kept placing his chips onto the table like a robot. I remember feeling like that - you don't really see it as money, you just keep pulling money out of your wallet to get more chips, put it on the table, lose it, and repeat. But it's good for the casino - imagine if you had a business and someone came in and in a trance-like state just kept giving you money. Wow, I was a fool.

3. A man holding a beer, rushing towards a table to place his bet. When someone 'cashed in', it delayed the spin, and he uttered some profanities. He went somewhere else, and came back when the dealer was ready to spin again. He placed his bet and lost. He swore again and walked off. On the same spin, I watched someone lose the last of their money. The look on his face was one of sorrow and regret.

I remember feeling like both of them. I was happy enough to place a bet and not realise the risk, yet when I lost, I wondered "why the hell did I do that??"

A lot of people in the casino are really in a trance-like state. Maybe one day, empty all money out of your wallet and go take a look. It's kinda like basketball, which I play. You can only learn so much as a player, but when you are watching from the sidelines, you realise there are a lot of things you never saw while playing on the court, and it helps because you're learning.

So go as an 'outsider' next time, have a look at everyone and think about the similarities they share with you (but empty your wallet before going :) )