ReflectionsChinese will gamble on almost anything – chess, card games, fights between animals. It’s why beheading was the punishment once for those found placing bets
- Fights between crickets, roosters, quails and other birds, horse and dog races, chess, card games – Chinese people have bet on almost anything down the ages
- The problems caused by excessive gambling were long known, hence the Chinese emperor who decreed beheading as punishment for Beijingers caught placing a wager
I do not have a gambler’s disposition, but I would buy the occasional lottery ticket if the prize money is worth the trouble, and I happen to come across a betting shop without any lines. I always tell myself that it is for charity.
I can count on one hand the number of times that I have entered a casino, but I have won at the tables twice. The first time was in Macau a few years ago, where I won HK$3,000 (US$380). My recent, second win at Genting Highlands in Malaysia made me richer by 800 ringgit (US$170).
At the risk of offending punters who frequent casinos but seldom win anything, I must admit that I cannot even remember the names of the games that I played and won.
All I know is that playing cards were involved, and that the rules must have been so simple that even a novice like myself could quickly understand how the games were played.
On both occasions, I prudently left the table and cashed in my chips after I felt that I had won enough, and that my streak of beginners’ luck was about to run out.