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My Gaming Preparation:

A reader asked me how or if I prepare before playing. Do I just throw caution to the wind with an expectation of winning? Here is my reply.

I do not differentiate between how I play casino games and the way I play the game of life. Throwing caution to the wind is not empowering. There are few things in life that can be controlled, so I like to focus on those things that I can control, namely my self!

When switched on to perception, you will usually pickup the information that you need to know. Not always, but usually. The first thing I check into before playing is how I feel about playing and then how the thought of playing feels. A person has to be honest with their feelings. That is to say, differentiating between, "yeah, now is a good time to play", as if convincing one's self, allowing the emotions to engage, instead of your true feelings.

In my early days of playing, I use to do some energy exercises that I learned from Stuart Wilde. Later I added some of my own creative processes. Sometimes, these things seem to help, while other times they seem to have no effect. Over the fifteen years of playing, and more than twenty years of the metaphysical experience, I have come to accept that cards are cards and dice are dice. The game is going to play the way it is going to play. The rest is about the energy. The challenge is, then, to position myself in a winning game by using my skills of perception. Peering behind the veil as I like to say. (more on behind the veil at Craps Fest) The idea is to perceive the information coming at me before it manifests. I acknowledge it, accept it and have the discipline of responding correctly to it. I do not hope that it will be different, or pretend that I can overcome it, or anyway change what I perceive. I only have control over my actions and not the actions of others or a casino game.

"Sometimes the game
does not go your way
and you have to submit,
to the one that got away.
Pick up your chips,
and call it a day.
Remember that walking,
may be your best play."

I prepare myself, before playing, using a trance meditation that I taught myself. Call it creative visualizing, seeing yourself as empowered and perceptive. It is very effective and sharpens my awareness in a game. I still use this technique, but not as much. I now tend to call upon the energy to guide me in the present, rather than going though the process of a meditation. I think this is in part, because I have done the process that many times, I am able to pull it up without having to take 30 minutes out. Again, this does not work every time. It is like dice setting and everything else that I teach. If it contributes to having an edge, count me in.

Here is a partial list of what I may do before playing:

Checking in with myself before playing. Am I up for a game?
I push my feelings out ahead of me, to the casino that I plan to play, and I feel the energy that comes back. Yes? No? Maybe so.
On the journey to the game, I am switched on to perceive any subliminal messages that could have meaning. (Several messages can seem to have importance and do not. The intellect hates to be left out of this game and it wants to make mountains out of molehills. Do not get trapped sorting out too much information.)
Walking into the casino, I am intensely aware of everything and how it affects me.
At the table, I want to feel welcoming energy, a feeling of "it is all right". (Rare as it is) If I feel ugly energy, I am out of there.
There are two sides to my game that I observe, the mechanics and methods, and then the metaphysics. Notice all things.
At the table, I want to feel welcoming energy, a feeling of "it is all right". (Rare as it is) If I feel ugly energy, I am out of there.
Buying in is like entering the water. I know that I am going to get wet and I may have to swim if it gets deep. The method I play is mathematically best, so there is no trepidation when entering a game. I am prepared with a plan.
The metaphysics is my read on how "cold" the water might be. It is the difference between what I teach and how other players gamble.
Playing the method, I am always alert for the subtle messages that foretell the direction of the game. It is a powerful mix of obvious signs. The more subtle signs must be perceived through your feelings. This does not mean I win every time, but I do keep the losses in check.

So, in many ways it is a meditative preparation and process, focusing on the energy, and noticing all things. Searching for the winning game is as much a part of the process as recognizing a loser. It is all part of the hunt. It is a game within a game.

Preparing for a game is like a scene from an old Clint Eastwood movie. Clint is going into the saloon. He may have a smoke and a drink inside or he may have to shoot his way out. Either way he is prepared. Either way, Clint knows going in, what he feels. He perceives every signal and it's meaning. Never commit your troops without being prepared for what lies just ahead.