no such thing as luck going forward . looking back you could have had more than your share of good or bad breaks.

garczar said:

Some ARE wayyyyy more lucky than others and that's just how it is.

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I've never won a raffle of any kind in my life. I see people clean up - pool cues, golf clubs, guns, trips. It's a foreign concept to me.

8intheside said:

Skill wise? No gambling won’t make you a better player. You still need to execute your skills regardless, however I will say gambling may make you a better player as far as handling pressure.

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But what is really the source of the pressure? It's not really the money because few people are playing for life-changing money, or meaningful amounts of money at all. $10 $20 sometimes a $100. And that's entirely their choice.

I think it comes back to the ego and the embarrassment of losing some money to somebody. You don't have any excuse such as "Well, we weren't playing for anything".. Fact is you are playing for something and as little as it might have been I doubt you wanted to lose that $80.

So you were on undoubtedly trying your best and you didn't win. Hard for some people to swallow losing money to somebody even small amounts.
It's much easier to just say I don't gamble. The truth is they don't like submitting themselves to the possibility of losing..

Once every week or after a really long day of tournament.

Wiping down my cues is just as important as you're pre shot routine .at times I'll wipe down the shaft if I feel something may be on it while playing , table grim if you would .