Please Don’t Rush by Frank Scoblete

The encyclopedia salesman stood at the doorway.

"Don’t you want your children to have easy access to a world of knowledge?"

"Yes," said the neighbor.

"Don’t you think it is important for the children to have a reference that they can look up when they need important information?" asked the salesman.

"Yes," she replied.

"You wouldn’t want to deprive your children of knowledge, would you?"

"No," she said.

"Then you’ll definitely want this encyclopedia set," said the salesman. "And we have a special price just for the next 24 hours. That’s right. Instead of paying $350, you just pay $250. You’re saving one hundred dollars. But you have to act now."

"Oh, I don’t know...."

"Your children are the most important people in your life, aren’t they?"

"Yes, yes, of course...."

"How could you ever deprive them of something this special?" said the salesman. "But you have to act now!"

The neighbor acted. Fast. She bought those encyclopedias and gave the salesman cash. ("And if you pay cash, you only pay $225 -- a savings of $125!") The encyclopedias arrived in a few weeks, but in those few weeks the neighbor discovered that another neighbor had bought the same set off the internet for $150. That other neighbor had been pressed by the high-powered salesman as well, but she hadn’t budged. She too liked the idea of having a set of encyclopedias in the house, but she wasn’t going to be rushed into buying it.

That other neighbor was smart.

Most things in life shouldn’t be rushed. Take your time selecting your meal in a restaurant; linger over the decision of who you should marry, or whether to marry at all -- and never buy any gambling system where the seller puts a time limit or a cap on the sales in order to speed along your decision.

"The Super-Duplex Slot System is guaranteed to win you millions! But you must act within the week to get the special discount!"

Or...

"The Oblong Blackjack Master Craft No-Count Star System, guaranteed to bring the casinos to their knees, will only be sold to the first one thousand people who order. So hurry, hurry, hurry. This is you last chance."

If some salesman insists that you should hurry -- don’t hurry. Be perverse, do the opposite. Rushing is fine if a sabor-toothed tiger is about to jump on you; then taking your time could cost you your life and speed is of the essence.

But most things should not be hurried. If something is worth having, it is also worth investigating and then waiting for. Decisions made in the heat of high-powered sales pressure are generally bad decisions. Good salesmen, even for legitimate firms such as your local chain stores, know that by putting a time limit on something, by rushing the potential buyer, the sales pitch becomes just that much more effective. That is why stores have sales in the first place! They know they could sell their items for the "sale prices" all year long -- but that wouldn’t give the customer the incentive to "rush" over and "buy now."

Slot, blackjack, and other casino systems sellers also use the "bum’s rush" to get you into a buying frenzy. They want you to think that if you don’t drop everything you’re doing and buy their products right now, you’ll eventually kick yourself for missing out on an opportunity of a lifetime. In truth, the kicking of yourself usually occurs after you’ve bought the product, which turns out not to be the magic road to riches, but a big waste of money.

But the "bum’s rush" is not limited to hyperenergetic salesmen. Often dealers at casino games, especially blackjack (and other card games such as Let it Ride, Caribbean Stud, and Three Card Poker), want to impose their rhythms -- which are often fast, faster, and even faster than that -- on the players. Doing so can often cause the players to make mistakes in their hitting, standing, doubling, and splitting strategies. A rushed blackjack player is a less than optimal blackjack player.

If you are a basic strategy player at blackjack, you should always take your time when deciding how a hand is to be played. The dealer can harrumph, stomp her foot, utter sarcastic remarks, or even attempt to play your hand for you -- but she can’t pass you by until you make your decision. Never let a dealer impose his or her rhythm on you.

To readers of this column, it is no secret that the faster a casino game goes, the better it is -- for the casino, that is. The slower the game, the better it is for the player. This is true of games where you make decisions that count, as in most casino card games, and it is even true in games that are totally based on luck such as slot machines.

Remember what Benjamin Franklin said: "Necessity never made a good bargain." Take that saying to heart and you’ll never fall for manipulative sales pitches or fast dealers.

Frank Scoblete is the #1 best-selling gaming author. His books and tapes have sold over a million copies. He is executive director of Golden Touch™ Craps dice-control seminars. His websites are www.scoblete.com and www.goldentouchcraps.com . For a free brochure or more information call: 1-800-944-0406 or write to: Paone Press, Box 610, Lynbrook, NY 11563