Fu - that wasn't hard to say was it? Fu is the Chinese word for luck. Did you know that during the Chinese New Year, people put up a poster with this word on it. And they hang it upside down, the only time that a Chinese word is posted upside down. Perhaps it works because the Chinese are quite lucky when it comes to making money.

Luck is such an important aspect of a gambler's psyche. Personally if I am feeling unlucky, there is no way you can make me play. If I feel I am jinxed (maybe from the wife not getting her way) again there is no way I will play. I once met a guy that before he would hold the cards he would have this big bundle of rabbit's foot, toss it in front of him and mumble something (might be a spell???). Another had various good luck charms (or talismans) bundled together and just about the time the dealer would deal he would throw it up in the air. All expecting the same result, favor from the gods. These i call superstition, believing that certain actions will influence how fortune will favor you.  

There are others that believe that those who believe in luck is a result of poor reasoning or wishful thinking. You must have heard of the "gambler's fallacy." That if you tossed a coin 5 times in a row and heads showed up you believe that the next one must be heads too. When in fact, the odds never change. There is always a 50 -50 chance every toss of the coin.

There is the "post hoc, ergo propter hoc" fallacy. A thinking that because two events are connected sequentially , they are connected causally also. For some,a slab of concrete falling on a person walking below, does not have anything to do with luck. That statistically everyone walking near the area had the same chances of getting hit.

Whatever your belief is, a gambler should have one thing to calm his nerves, that feeling that the universe favors you. So wish one "good luck" because it expresses positive feelings toward that person. And who knows maybe the next time you see each other, that person, will hand you a tip.

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