ABSTRACT
The question addressed in this chapter is simple. What do gamblers expect to achieve in the casino? The almost instinctive answer, "to maximize their winnings," is obviously not correct. One of the alternative answers is that people violate axiom 5 discussed in Chapter 1, which implies that taking a risk has a utility of itself. It is not unreasonable that gamblers gamble instead of going to theatres or sports events, just because they enjoy running risks, and are willing to pay the price. Still other answers are related to the very complex reasonings that may accompany gambling behaviour. It is, for instance, possible that players discount previous losses, assuming that they can in some miraculous way be compensated by future winnings. In conclusion, the reason for studying players' objectives is that we want to answer two closely related questions:
1) Why do players use inferior strategies? In particular, why do they fail to acquire Basic either by learning from experience, or by buying one of the many simple guides?
