[MBTI General] Do you have a gambler spirit?

[Vasilisa]

SPs and everyone are welcome to reply. I want to know if you recognize any signs of a gambler spirit within yourselves. This doesn't necessarily equate to frequenting casinos or anything like that. I am more interested in your relationship to taking chances, risk taking, and even to gaming or gambling if you have one. Do you feel that your intuition or a personal luckiness has helped you in situations that others would have found too risky to chance? Can you depict what your logic is like in respect to the chances you take? Even small examples of chance in daily life are encouraged for the purposes of this thread. I am especially interested in xSTPs, but all stories are appreciated.

 

[miss fortune]

Enjoy the occasional risk, especially if it comes in the form of a horse race

Dangerous physical activities and ordering food off of menus that I can't read are also enjoyed activities that I enjoy... Even if I lose, if I've had fun I feel that I gained something!

 

[Jaguar]

Enjoy the occasional risk, especially if it comes in the form of a horse race

Horse racing!

 

[Stanton Moore]

I've taken risks in sports that resulted in broken bones and lost skin. Is that what you mean?

 

[guesswho]

I will gamble occasionally, just to see what happens. Sort of an experiment...with people, to see what they'll do, small stuff.

I like poker, but I don't play that much though, because I'm not very good at it, but it's very amusing to see how the people you play with distort their odds of winning. For instance, if 8 people play hold'em they don't seem to be aware that the win odds are 12.5%. Some are actually surprised when they lose their money , I don't play for the money, I just play for fun.

Most risks I take are unnecessary, but sometimes it's so fun I can't help myself.

I've taken risks in sports that resulted in broken bones and lost skin. Is that what you mean?

I also have broken bones, probably because sometimes I'm not aware of the risks.

 

[miss fortune]

That'd better be mint juleps in those glasses!

 

[Such Irony]

SPs and everyone are welcome to reply. I want to know if you recognize any signs of a gambler spirit within yourselves. This doesn't necessarily equate to frequenting casinos or anything like that. I am more interested in your relationship to taking chances, risk taking, and even to gaming or gambling if you have one. Do you feel that your intuition or a personal luckiness has helped you in situations that others would have found too risky to chance? Can you depict what your logic is like in respect to the chances you take? Even small examples of chance in daily life are encouraged for the purposes of this thread. I am especially interested in xSTPs, but all stories are appreciated.

I'm not an SP and not much of a risk taker in general.

I'm certainly not a gambler. You go to a casino and the odds favor the house always. They have to- otherwise the casinos would go out of business by losing money. I just don't see the point in gambling if you are going to lose in the long run. If you are a master blackjack player and can count cards, you might be able to come out ahead but casinos put hefty security measures into place to watch closely anybody they even suspect of doing this. So even if I had the ability, I wouldn't chance it because I'd always be worried that someone was suspicious of me.

The risks I take are always calculated. I imagine the worst case scenario and ask myself how probable that is. I also ask myself, if the worst case scenario happened, could I cope with it physically, emotionally, and financially? Using a combination of these factors I determine if the risk is worth it or not.

Enjoy the occasional risk, especially if it comes in the form of a horse race

Dangerous physical activities and ordering food off of menus that I can't read are also enjoyed activities that I enjoy... Even if I lose, if I've had fun I feel that I gained something!

I don't gamble away my money on races or do any dangerous physical activities but I love trying unusual new foods. I figure with that sort of risk the worst thing that will happen is that I'll dislike it and I'll lose a small amount of money.

 

[violaine]

Yes, I most definitely do. I like taking risks in life because I don't like doing something the same way over and over again. And I don't want to have the same experience repeatedly. In the past it's been really difficult for me to hear the word "no" from a more cautious partner when I know I've already thought about the risks involved in whatever it is I want to do. My one motto in life has been, please, never let it be boring. I mostly express those things in quite productive ways though - moving around, changing careers and exploring business ideas. I don't always win but I would rather have the adventure and nothing has ever turned out too terribly. I am the daughter of a risk taking ESTP (and a fun loving ESFP) and I am definitely my father's daughter.

 

[Sunny Ghost]

I don't know... I feel as though I'm prone to bad luck, so I don't go out of my way to take risks... however, I can often be quite impulsive and not think things through before moving forward. That's somewhat risk taking, right?

 

[kelric]

When something is just for fun, and I don't deem the consequences likely to be *that* bad, I'm generally up for it. So I'm generally up for riskier sports like skiing, remote wilderness hiking, etc. But when the perceived potential loss is significant, I'm fairly risk-averse. Gambling, risky driving, etc. don't have a lot of appeal, and in more practical areas (jobs, relationships, etc.) I tend to think "hmm, what could go wrong here?" and if the answer's anything much more than "nothing", I'll be pretty conservative and cautious.

 

[Quinlan]

I'm not much of a risk taker and when it comes to gambling I make sure I don't spend more than an amount I've decided in my head before I go. I don't believe in luck or superstition or "being on a roll".

 

[Beorn]

When I think of XSTPs and gambling I immediately think of Paul Maclean from A River Runs Through It. It seems likely to me he was an ESTP. His older brother, Norman, wrote the following about him:

When you are in your teens—maybe throughout your life—being three years older than your brother often makes you feel he is a boy. However, I knew already that he was going to be a master with a rod. He had those extra things besides fine training—genius, luck, and plenty of self-confidence. Even at this age he liked to bet on himself against anybody who would fish with him, including me, his older brother. It was sometimes funny and sometimes not so funny, to see a boy always wanting to bet on himself and almost sure to win. Although I was three years older, I did not yet feel old enough to bet. Betting, I assumed, was for men who wore straw hats on the backs of their heads. So I was confused and embarrassed the first couple of times he asked me if I didn’t want “a small bet on the side just to make things interesting.” The third time he asked me must have made me angry because he never again spoke to me about money, not even about borrowing a few dollars when he was having real money problems.

We had to be very careful in dealing with each other. I often thought of him as a boy, but I never could treat him that way. He was never “my kid brother.” He was a master of an art. He did not want any big brother advice or money or help, and, in the end, I could not help him.

 

[Rail Tracer]

Not that I know of.

If the chances of failing is high, I most likely will not. If the chances of succeeding is a good amount, I will probably do some risk taking. There is also the question whether the consequences are bad or good for the risk taking.

But hey, we are gambling our lives each time we use the car to drive somewhere.

 

[jixmixfix]

I might gamble and take risks against odds I know will fail, but only to challenge myself.

 

[Amethyst]

I love taking risks, but I know when to stop. Usually I measure up the consequences beforehand, and if it's something that isn't a big deal, or the probability is on my side, I won't hesitate.

 

[Jeffster]

Yes.

 

[highlander]

I can take pretty significant "intelligent" risks if I think the odds are in my favor and I can afford worst case scenario in terms of outcomes. I hate taking stupid or uninformed risks however and avoid those like the plague.

 

[A window to the soul]

I do!! My parents told me I was born lucky.

 

[Vasilisa]

Still interested in your stories...

 

[RedAmazoneFriendZone]

I hate playing with MY money