Why you should learn poker and game theory (LONG READ)
Hello everyone! I have only been on Reddit for a few months but I learned so much from it that I figured I should try and give back to the community. English is my second language and this is the first time I ever write a full-length article, I hope you will enjoy reading it and I would be very thankful if you could provide some feedback about my writing, about the topic, or about anything else really… So here goes! Why you should learn poker and game theory: My story is similar to that of many: I learned about the game 10 years ago (during the golden age of online poker) when some friends of mine invited me to play a home game. Although I initially thought of poker as just another game of chance akin to playing slots or roulette in a casino, I quickly came to realize that there is a lot more to it as my more experienced friends would repeatedly get the best of me during these home games, which led me to start watching videos and reading strategy books to improve my skill… Little did I know it’d be the start of a journey that would impact many different aspects of my life way beyond the game itself, as most of the fundamental principles learned through poker can be applied to your decision-making outside of the game, especially when it comes to money management and investing. Now, let’s dive into a few of these principles: - Risk management (i.e. Bankroll management) When learning about how to be successful playing poker, the first big piece of advice most people come across is bankroll management or BRM. To understand BRM, you must first realize that poker has a lot of variance: you might be vastly ahead in a given hand but there is almost always a slim chance that you will lose in the end if one specific card hits. This implies that you will sometimes lose even though you were a 99% favorite, and that you will sometimes get unlucky and lose 2, 5 or maybe even 20 such encounters in a row. THIS is variance. It doesn’t mean that you played bad or that you made bad decisions, but rather that you got unlucky. Over time you will have lucky streaks and unlucky streaks, and these will average out in the long term… It’s just the way the game goes. Now that we understand variance, let’s get back to BRM. What is it exactly? Let’s say you are the best poker player in the world but you only have 1000$ that you can EVER use to play with. Taking your whole 1000$ on one table and multiplying your stack at an exponential rate might seem like a good idea. Surely nothing can go wrong since you’re the best player in the world right? But variance can be a bitch ;) Even if you’re the best you will lose regularly and you will sometimes get unlucky, it’s just part of the game. The correct move here is to apply BRM, which means only using a small % of your available capital for each game you play in order to reduce the risk of going broke. Using only 100$ per game would already be a lot safer, but you still run the risk of going under on a streak of bad luck. If you only allocate 10$ per game you play, then it becomes virtually impossible for you to ever go broke, even on a huge streak of bad luck. Sure it’s not as exciting and you won’t be making money quite as fast as you could, but this is the way to go to make sure you don’t go broke… This approach to risk management translates very well to investing: - Only invest what you can afford to lose. Once the money is on the table it’s as good as gone, which is why you should only use your “spare” cash and never invest with your living expenses or worse, borrow money to invest. - Diversify your investments. There is always a chance, however slim it might be, that you will lose most of your investment. This is why going all-in on a specific investment is generally a bad idea (this applies particularly well in the crypto space). Proper BRM allows you to make sure that you will come out ahead in the long run if you play well, which basically comes down to making more good decisions than bad ones. But that’s assuming you don’t let emotions come in the way of your decision-making, which brings us to our next point… - Emotional management (i.e. Handling tilt/Positive mindset) Nobody likes losing… In the same way we enjoy winning because of the dopamine rush, we feel bad when we lose which is totally natural. Overcoming this and avoiding tilt (irrational decisions made out of angefrustration) is an essential skill for any successful poker player. You might play a sound game of poker and apply good BRM, but you will still lose if you let your emotions get the best of you. After a loss, rather than being angry and frustrated, you should evaluate your decision-making. If your decision-making was good, you just got unlucky and you shouldn’t worry about it since you are playing for the long run (remember that variance teaches us that anything can happen in the short-term). If your decision-making was bad, you need to learn from your mistakes and move on. The key here is to always have a positive mindset: making mistakes is part of the learning process and should be seen as an occasion to improve. Being angry and ranting, on the other hand, rarely result in anything positive. Again, this translates very well to investing: - Don’t be impulsive, don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment. You should not FOMO because the price is pumping, nor should you sell because of FUD or price corrections. If you believe in a project, short-term price changes (did I hear someone say “variance”?) shouldn’t bother you. - Don’t get stuck up on losses. You bought the top and it crashed immediately after? You sold the bottom right before a huge rally? Don’t let this bother you: what’s done is done and you just need to move on and make the best of your current situation. - Have a positive mindset. Anger and frustration lead to nothing. Yes you could have bought in 2009 when you first heard about it, hindsight is always 20/20. Stay positive and keep learning/improving yourself. The good thing about all this is that it goes way beyond poker or investing. Being aware of your emotions and how they affect you, learning how to handle losing even when you were “supposed” to win, etc… All this can tremendously help you in all aspects of life by making you less impulsive and more rational in your decision-making. Now, this leaves us with our last fundamental principle of a sound poker strategy: - Basic stats and probabilities (i.e. Expected value/Odds) To become an accomplished player, you will inevitably have to learn about these simple mathematical tools that poker players use all the time in their decision-making process, such as odds and expected value. To make it very simple, the expected value (EV) of any bet is (REWARD \ WinRate - RISK), meaning that if you can bet 1000$ with a chance to win 10k$ half of the time, your EV is *(10000\0.5)-1000 = +4000$**. Obviously these are great odds to take as long as you have enough capital to overcome variance. But things would be very different if the odds of winning were only 5% as your EV would then be negative *(10000\0.05)-1000 = -500$.*** Now this is clearly a bet you should not take… Now that you know probabilities, statistics and game theory are useful decision-making tools in poker, guess what? They are also extremely useful in investing! Even better, the study of game theory with problems such as the “Byzantine generals” or the “Three prisoners” has been, along with cryptography, the foundation on which blockchain technology was built, enabling the trustless and decentralized services that are about to revolutionize our world… Assuming this was enough to pique your interest and make you want to dig deeper, I’ll just add that just like the other topics we discussed and as you might have guessed, this translates very well to investing and also to pretty much anything in your life: - Learn how to break down complex situations. Logical thinking paired with a statistical approach will help you break down any complex problem into several easier problems, making the whole thing a lot easier to approach/comprehend. - Base your decisions on a methodical and rational approach. List every possible outcome along with its associated upside/downside, estimate the probability of each outcome to occur and make the best decision based on the information available. My point here is that risk management, emotional management and statistics/game theory are all awesome tools that you should definitely add to your arsenal. Not only will it improve your money-management and investing, it will also be beneficial to your decision-making and to your life in general. Of course poker is not the only way to learn about these, but I personally found it to be the best practice ground to refine and improve them, which is why I strongly encourage you all to try it out and study the game. I hope you enjoyed the article, and I wish you all a happy 2021 bull run! May we all come closer to retirement and financial independence! TL;DR:more than a game, poker is a school of thought. It teaches you to be reasonable, to assess the risk of every single choice you make, to overcome you emotions, to play the long game rather than the short game, to make informed decisions, etc… This has made me a lot wiser in every aspect of my life, which is why I strongly encourage to try it out and read about poker strategy.
While my car is getting worked on, I started to make a BCKY ETF and wanted to share it with you all. I welcome any additions or feedback!
TECH
AAPL - Apple Inc. - Becky never leaves her iPhone behind BMBL - Bumble - shhh don’t tell Becky’s husband 🤫 FB - Facebook - they own Instagram, Becky’s most-used app MTCH - Match - Tinder for the casual fling ☺️ NFLX - Netflix - for those nights in 💜 PINS - Pinterest - inspiration central PYPL - PayPal - makes online shopping soooo easy once you figure it out! 🙌🏻 ROKU - Roku - Bridgerton is on Netflix, but The Bachelor is on Hulu! Having a Roku built into the TV makes it easy to navigate SHOP - Shopify - online shopping 🛍 SNAP - Snap - Becky prefers IG but loves Snap for the selfies and group messaging (and the secret disappearing messages 🤫) SPOT - Spotify - music fuels the soul 🎶 SQ - Square - CashApp makes splitting the bill sooooooo easy Z and ZG - Zillow - for daydreaming and snooping on the neighbors ZM - Zoom - in these trying times Becky has used Zoom to stay connected with her parents 💕
Entertainment
ABNB - AirBNB - For the little getaways, staycations and girls weekends AMC - AMC Entertainment - Becky went to second base for the first time in the back of an AMC theater (didn’t even watch any of Along Came Paulie) BALY - Bally’s - Becky likes a night out at the casino DIS - Disney - for the kids 💕 LVS - Las Vegas Sands - bachelorette party, anyone? MGM - MGM Resorts - can’t wait to get back to the clubs to do some DANCING 💃 MSGE - Madison Square Garden Entertainment - nightlife, dining, girls night??? MSGS - Madison Square Garden - Becky dated a basketball player after college (don’t tell dad! 🤫) MTN - Vail Resorts - Becky’s favorite winter destinations WYNN- Wynn Resorts - classy casino and hotel - Becky wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere else
Food/Beverage
ABT - Abbott - Baby formula was so helpful when Kai wouldn’t breastfeed. Pedialyte for when you have one too many proseccos 😜 APRN - Blue Apron - Soooo helpful to make Becky’s once-a-week meal or when Carla the “help” is sick. BUD - Anheuser Busch InBev - those Bud Light seltzers are NECESSARY CAKE - Cheesecake Factory - who doesn’t love Cheesecake? 😍 DASH - DoorDash - for those quarantine takeout meals with Greg 😍 GRUB - GrubHub - tapas delivered for girls night 😻 SBUX - Starbucks - there’s 4 seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and PSL SFM - Sprouts Farmers Markets - organic only 🍃 SHAK - Shake Shack - for the cheat meals 🤫 STZ - Constellation Brands - wine 🍷 anyone?
Lifestyle/Shopping
AXP - American Express - Becky’s black card never stops 🤪 BMWYY - BMW - for the Beckies with an X5 BURBY - Burberry - 💁♀️👜 CHWY - Chewy - Becky’s frenchie needs food, duh COTY - COTY - Becky secretly (or not so secretly 🤪) loves Kylie, Dolce & Gabana and Chloé DFS - Discover Financial - Becky likes getting cash back 😍 DMLRY - Daimler - For the Benz loving Becky DOGZ - Dogness - luxury goods for the Frenchie EL - Estée Lauder - cosmetics company founded by a fellow woman 🙋♀️ ELF - e.l.f. Beauty - makeup 💄 what else needs to be said? ETSY - Etsy - omg so many cute things to buy FLWS - 1-800-Flowers - I mean who doesn’t love flowers 🌸 FTCH - Farfetch - designer clothing ONLY GOOS - Canada Goose - Much needed during winter when walking around Manhattan and taking selfie’s at Rockefeller Center. A little trendy but still loving it. HOME - At Home - cute stuff for the house and cheap enough to throw away after getting that perfect pic for IG HTHIY - Hitachi - the magic wand is Becky’s little secret JWM - Nordstrom - designer brands ONLY KNL - Knoll - luxury designer furniture that is so cute and so comfy. IYKYK KSS - Kohl’s - Kohl’s Rewards are practically a currency right? 💵 LULU - Lululemon - quintessential Becky. The leggings don’t just make her butt look good, but they’re comfy and perfect for the IG flex LVMUY - LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton - this just speaks for itself M - Macy’s - ugh kinda for the poor people but they have good deals so Becky will shop online MA - MasterCard - when the farmer’s market won’t accept American Express MLHR - Herman Miller - super expensive furniture for the home and sooo comfy PFE - Pfizer - why is this in the lifestyle category? Because Becky would have a breakdown without her Xanax TEVA - Teva Pharmaceutical - Becky runs on adderall that is prescribed to her son PTON - Peloton Interactive - the ultimate Becky item - if you didn’t post your workout on your IG story did you even spin?! REAL - The RealReal - Cartier, Chanel, Christian Louboutin, LV, Gucci, Hermès, Prada, Tiffany’s and more! REV - Revlon - some of Becky’s fav actresses promote their products RH - Restoration Hardware - only the best for Becky’s home SFIX - Stitch Fix - Becky took the styling quiz and gets emails from them all the time, but still hasn’t placed an order (but she really wants to to support a company headed by a woman CEO 👩🏼💼) (S)TIC - Northern Star - Becky’s frenchie gets soooo excited for her monthly Bark Box TCS - The Container Store - Becky just CAN NOT walk by without going in TGT - Target - 🎯 this one is self explanatory- Becky doesn’t leave until it’s dark out TSLA - Tesla - for the more environmentally conscious Becky that still needs to flex TUP - Tupperware- perfect for packed lunch boxes and leftover tapas 🥰 ULTA - Ulta Beauty - looks are everything and Ulta sells everything Becky needs V - Visa - Becky recognizes that name from the front of some of her credit cards WSM - Williams-Sonoma - Becky buys a lot of her home goods at Pottery Barn and West Elm
I love New Vegas, its my favorite game of all time. And it is for a lot of other people too. This unfortunately means that its almost impossible to say anything negative about the game on Reddit without getting massively shat on. The only point you seem to be allowed to criticize is the bugs, which gets rebutted by "but they only had 18 months to make it" or "Bethesda was in charge of QA", as if any of these things excuse it for you as a customer. So now that the game is 10 years old and most of us have played it tons of times, I thought it would be a good time to make a thread where we can actually criticize this lovely game. I'll start, now bear in mind this is of course all degrees of subjective so don't throw "uR nOT obJEvTiVE" at me just yet:
The bugs has to be meantioned first. The game ran horribly at release and still did for a long time after. Its first many years later with patches and mods that we reached something that can be called mostly stable. I'm playing it right now only with stability mods on and it still crashes about once every 1-2 hours, and its still very buggy and janky.
Caravan, this game's made up card game, is horrible. Firstly its very buggy somehow. I am surprised they couldn't even bug fix a solitaire-like card game, but here we are. Secondly even when it works its not very fun. It takes minimum 3 cards to make a caravan and only one king or jack to ruin it. It means it heavily favors just fucking up your opponent and hope you win the war of card attrition. The game used to be stupidly easy but was then patched so now the AI will spam kings and jacks constantly. After I got the 30 games achievement I dropped it. Lastly the game doesn't do anything with Caravan. There is no quest to become the Mojave champion or such. I get this isn't needed but it would have helped make it interesting. The only other games in the game are casino games which all depends on your luck stat. I would love being able to play high stakes Caravan.
Cut content. Roleplaying is best when you actually have good reason to join both sides. In Fallout New Vegas the NCR gets the majority of the content. If you side with the Legion you can finish all the faction quests in a few hours, meanwhile the NCR has so many quests I always have to check the wiki to remember them all. Its such a shame. It doesn't help that for 3 of the endings you can work with the NCR but only 1 for the Legion. I don't get this when in 2 of those endings you end up double crossing the NCR anyways, why not allow the player to double cross the Legion? The difference being that the NCR will stand down and the Legion will then try to fight you and your army.
Caesar's Legion is weird. I love most of the faction. I love the ideological conflict between a faction trying to redo democracy but running into the same problems with corruption vs a brutal but safe dictatorship. I like talking to everyone and its cool to see how different peoples' options are of the factions. Some just hate the Legion outright because of their massacre. Some see the value of having a safe society, Cass mentions how she considered running her caravan in the Legion instead of the NCR because its safer. Its cool. However I can't get over the fact that this faction is a big ancient Rome LARP. They run around in football gear. Why not just make them look normal, or similar to Romans but not literally Romans. Its such a well crafted faction that gets ruined by this pretty silly design.
Independent is basically the House route but with you instead. You don't get to choose what your plans are other than your interactions with the small factions, which also doesn't feel special. You don't ever get to use your securitrons. It would have been extremely cool to be able to send your army with you to wipe out or subjugate factions instead of just doing the same quest you do if you side with House. Again, you are also forced into a choice between an uneasy alliance with the NCR where you double cross them, or killing both major factions. You can't make it clear to them beforehand that you don't want to be annexed.
The economy is poorly balanced. In Fallout 3 you barely made any money and vendors were just as poor, so it took a long time to accumulate wealth. Most players would just use gear they found instead of paying for it at a store. In Fallout New Vegas you can easily have 5000 caps by the time you reach The Strip. I had twice that when I reached it 2 days ago. Stores have tons of money and are more than willing to buy all your junk. The economy just breaks when vendors are willing to buy all the crap you pick up at such high prices as NV has. I think you can get them to buy for 90% of their value, that's fucking insane. I try to not level up barter too quickly as it just makes the game too easy but I also hate crippling myself like this. The game's vendors need to be selective about what they buy and how much they pay for it. You need 2000 caps to inter the strip, that's pretty much nothing. The game even gives you tons of ways around the credit check so clearly they meant for it to be a hurdle.
The map. I'm not saying its bad, but going from Fallout 3 to NV makes you miss the feeling of being able to go in any direction and always find something. New Vegas is very railroaded. It has a ton of mountains and invisible walls to make the player go specific places (Edit: a lot of people are citing this one setence and using it to rebut me, guys read the whole damn thing). I can still let myself get lost in Fallout 3, in NV I always know exactly which way I'm supposed to go. The game has no counterpart to F3's Andale or Oasis. There are no small outskirts places for you to discover in some random spot. All the towns are along the main roads, with a handful of cool places that are off the beaten path. I love following the road through Primm->Nipton->Novac->Boulder City->Vegas, its an excellent experience for following the main story and finding a ton of side content, and I love they gave returning players the option to head straight north and try their luck. But when I just want to do some side content I always feel like I have to follow a track. I AM NOT SAYING THE MAP IS BAD. Just that it follows a certain design that some don't like. I like it when I just want to do the main story, its a really nice experience that way. But if you want to just go in any direction like in a Bethesda RPG you will get disappointed. There are tons of invisible walls and mountains in the way. Imagine if you started in Freeside instead and just had to get the cash to get into the strip (more than 2k). Then you can choose to follow the I-88, go towards Jacobstown, Bitter Springs, do stuff in Freeside or the other communities around Vegas. Would be a great alternative start for returning players.
Edit: some extra
Combat is ass to say it bluntly. For some reason people always excuse the poor combat in RPG's because its not the games' focus or because its almost tradition at this point. I don't see why I as a player and paying customer should make excuses for a product I paid for. Its embarrasing how poor the AI is in the game, how poorly combat works and how unbalanced the game is. I can go through a ton of the game with my Couriers Stash 10mm and Vault armor and just blast entire legion or NCR camps, and then suddenly difficulty can turn on a dime and an enemy can kill me in 3-4 hits. Difficulty in RPGs is such an important thing as it directly influences your decisions. In Fallout 1 and 2 I did my best to not bite off more than I could chew. In NV can do pretty much anything other than go to Sloan at the start, which is a part that most have noticed too.
The selection of guns is fine, but not armors. Without ultimate edition you don't get any good early game armor in the game. The only option is leather armor. Mid game you fight to get either power armor or combat armor mk2, and late game is all about Riot Gear from Lonesome Road. They could have made armor interesting by giving it stronger buffs and debuffs. PA and metal armor has a -1 to agility but often +1 to strength. Why not give such traits to all armors and maybe even make it stronger? Too much of the armor is also faction armor which you don't want to be wearing unless you are infiltrating somewhere.
Speech is too much like Fallout 3 and not enough like 1 and 2. In 3 and NV dialogue either ends in a skill check (too often speech) or you having to do a task if you can't pass the check. What's being said is largely unimportant unless it leads to a different outcome. In Fallout 1 and 2 dialogue was much more about reading each option and thinking about how the character you were talking too would react. You often couldn't just [speech] 50 do what I want. NV has a few moments where you actually does have to argue and its some of its strongest parts.
Crafting could have been more. This is more of a "what could have been" argument, but personally I don't see why you shouldn't be able to craft a lot more guns or armors. I don't want Fallout 4's style of somehow being able to craft tons of pre war objects you clearly don't have the tools to make, but just having a good selection of makeshift guns and armors would have made crafting and also survival much better.
These are my thoughts. Please feel free to share yours!
First impressions of new Timeline rewards and the new mini-game
tl;dr rewards are still crap, don't waste time on cheering MFF Casino is expanding! In addition to the various slot machines, a new horse betting mini-game is introduced! Basics:
two new types of tokens: glory token (GT) and advanced glory token (AGT)
You earn GTs in timeline. 75 per win + 750 weekly participation = 6750 per week
You can convert GTs to AGTs by betting on the horses (also known as cheering)
each bet/cheer costs 250 GTs, maximum of 20 cheers per season (5000GT)
If your horse loses, your 250 GT gets converted to 5 AGT. If your horse wins you can get approximately 40 AGT to 400 AGT depending on how much of a longshot your horse is. For example, lots of people are betting on KarlLCL, he gives 35 AGT. Should you bet? If you completely ignore the betting, your 6750 GT per week = 9 card-uru chests (either 3-6* card or URU) If you bet the maximum 5000 GT, you still have enough for 2.3 card-uru chests. If your horse loses you only get 100 AGT. If your crowd-favorite horse wins, your can get say 800 AGT. This is equivalent to 20 awakening crystals if you lose, 160 awakening crystals if you win. (you could choose TCP, EOD, CCF, or Mandalay gems but only ACs are worth it). By the way, the AGT shop is terribly balanced. The conversion amount for TCP, EOD, and AC are exactly the same but you can farm TCP/EOD at 3X the rate as ACs. They should triple the amount of TCP/EOD. Bottom line: If you bet your 5000 GT and your horse wins, you win at most 4 days of farming Squad Battle. If you lose you get 20 ACs. If you don't bet and use your 5000 GT on the chests, you get 6.7 card-uru chests instead. I'm going to completely ignore the cheering system, and hope this helps others come to an informed decision.
This is my opinion on every gamemode. Obviously it is just my opinion so keep that in mine, but I have played enough of every gamemode to give a pretty honest feedback on every one. I am a player of 6 years, have 4 golden heroes, 5000 MMR Battleground, 12 wins in arena and been rank 1 many times in diamond. So I do have experience on alot of these gamemodes: Standard: Pros: 1: It has alot of different decks constantly changing the Meta: I feel like standard feels really fresh compared to some of the other gamemodes. Most classes are playable and each expansion and rotation has an impact on the meta game (unless the expansion is really bad). In year of the phoenix I think most classes have had a chance to shine at least once which means it has been good to play around with different decks and climb the ladder with different heroes. 2: It has balances patches frequently: Another positive is compared to most gamemodes it does have frequent balance patches. It a card or a class gets too overpowered they do balance it within a week or two which is reasonable quick. 3: You do not have to play around everything: Even if cards are generated randomly, it feels like there is less to play around than lets say wild. It is nice to have an idea of what kind of things your opponent could discover or get randomly, even if sometimes it can be hard. Cons: 1: It only takes one card to warp the meta game: Just look at Bogspine knuckles as an example, That one cards wrapped the meta and now cheese paladin with High Abbess Alura has taken it's place. Having one card more powerful than the other's can lead to one class dominating for large periods of time. 2: It can get stale: Even with the balance patches, Standard has periods which do feel pretty dull half way through expansion cycles as there is less to play around with. Wild: Pro: 1: You can play with ALL Your cards: You are not limited to only playing with the newest cards and can enjoy your full collection. If you play wild you may even choose not to craft whole new expansions and only focus on a few cards to slot into your already wild decks, which means you can save gold for other things! 2: A lot more decks to play and try: You can explore more in wild as you have more decks to try out. Wild allows you to try all kinds of decks and combinations with new and old cards for each class. 3: The Combo and Meme potential: Just look at all the different combos and memes you can try in wild! turning your opponent into Ragnaros to kill them, Shooting infinitive fireballs, Using shutterwock with Armor vendor to hold your opponent hostage. Alot of cool and crazy interactions to try. 4: More Hero cards: I am a bit bias, but I like hero cards. It is nice to have more of them in wild like the Death knights to try. I do think they do warp meta games a bit and would probs not work as well in standard, but fun to try them all in wild. Cons: 1: The Mana cheat is unreal! The Mana cheat in wild Can be brutal. Cheating our huge minions in big priest, Zero mana secrets in mage, Having 5/5 worth of stats on turn 1 in aggro decks and zero mana spells. Wild can be a scary place if you do not know how to counter them. 2: Broken classes stay broken: Getting a balance change in wild is very rare. So the top classes like Darkglare warlock, Secret Mage and Raza priest will ALWAYS be the best classes. 3: You can't play your favorite old decks and win: I think iksar's tweet about "Wild being the place you can play your favorite old decks" is simple not really true. Yes you can play them, but your chance to winning is significantly lower. 4: You can't play around everything: With over twice the amount of cards in wild, It makes is much harder to play around everything, decks like casino mage can lead to games where you are playing against 20 random mage spells which can feel a bit crazy (in a bad way)! Battlegrounds: Pros: 1: It is super fun and each game feels different: It feels like a fun gamemode to play as most games do end up playing out different depending on which hero you choose! I enjoy all the different play styles and builds you can make. 2: Has many mini expansions throughout the year: Battlegrounds have many mini expansion and new minions and heroes being added, which does help keep it really fresh. 3: Your decisions can matter: I think battleground has very interesting decision making opportunities like which minions you want to attack first and what minions to buy. This helps make the game feel fresh as each game is a bit different. Cons: 1: No rewards/cosmetics: One of the biggest cons is the game mode feels like you don't really achieve anything. You do not get card backs or golden battleground heroes which feels like after playing all you can get to really show is either an achievement you have to work for or MMR. I think adding a card back or something could be a good idea in a future update. Duels: Pros: 1: It is a dungeon run: Another bias point, but I love dungeon runs and having a gamemode where you can play a dungeon run against other people is pretty cool. 2: Lots of treasures to play around with: I enjoy the fact you can build a starting deck around a treasure and hero power. It seems a bit more personalized than a normal dungeon run as you can build it instead of having a starting deck made by blizzard. 3: A free mode to enjoy: The casual mode is a good touch. Being able to test out decks and treasures before committing any gold or tavern tickets is a good thing. Cons: 1: It is behind a paywall: If you want the actual crazy treasures and hero powers you have to buy tons of packs to get cards which I feel is a bit rubbish for a gamemode. 2: Some heroes, Passives and treasures feel oppressive: The zombie passive is an example of how mental some passives can be. I think some classes just shine more in the gamemode than others. Arena: I forgot this was a mode and have not played it in 2 years so can't say anything apart from IT NEEDS A HUGE CHANGE as it feels like playing curvestone. What do you think of my review?
I wouldn't invest in GME, but Ill surely bet on it.
So, I am one of the ones that bought in at 320. And I am holding. I am seeing a lot of posts here where people are dumping their life savings into GME. Some of them can probably afford it (looking at you, millionaires), but there are some here who are really struggling financially and are hyped about this GME trend. Me? I have never once bought a single share of anything until last week when i spent $1000 on 3.17 shares of GME. My current "investment" is now at $284.40. And I dont care. I am not an investor. I am a gambler. Now, this is for those people that dont make a lot of money and dont have a lot of disposable income, but want in on the GME rocket to Andromeda. One of my favorite games is blackjack. Its slow, its relaxing, you can sit at the table and just kind of shoot the shit and throw a few bucks down on each hand. Say you go to a casino tomorrow and all you have in your pocket is 300 dollars. You took out a bit more than you can afford, but you dont plan on spending it all. You're Jon Favreau from Swingers. You sit at the blakjack table and everyone is telling you how hot the dealer has been. They tell you that you should bet big because you will definitely win. Dealer throws down the cards, and you get 11. DOUBLE DOWN! everyone says. But, you put half your whole wad on this hand and doubling down would clean you out. You know you only get one card, but everyone (including the dealer) is telling you to DOUBLE DOWN! There are still a TON of face cards left! You cant lose! You ALWAYS double down on 11 and split your aces. ALWAYS! You do it. You get your card. Its a 5. Dealer hits and gets 19. You lose. Whose fault is it? Its not the dealer's fault. Its not the fault of the other people. Hell, it isn't even the fault of the dude before you who hit on 14 even though the dealer was showing a 6, taking your face card. Its your fault. This is gambling. Ultimately, you are making a bet. This bet may pan out. There are a lot of stats that show it might. There are some that show it wont. Experts are saying you'll make a ton. Experts are saying you'll lose it all. At the end of the day, you are a gambler, not an investor. Treat this like a blackjack table. Are you comfortable doubling down with all the money in your pocket? If that money were gone tomorrow, what would happen? There is a reason I spent 1K on the stock. That is because I love to gamble, and when I hit a casino 1K is my limit. With COVID, I cant go to a casino any more. But I can do this. And I took my limit, Doubled down on 11, and I am anxiously waiting for the dealer to lay my card down. Problem is, the dude before me took my face card. That's OK though...makes it more exciting. This is not financial advice. I just love the stock. And blackjack.
Before you spend money on this game, consider this.
I've been seeing a lot of posts where people are upset or complaining that they didn't get anything after spending "x" amount of money. I just want to put my two cents in there since this is how I look at the game. Before spending any money on primogems, consider these things:
"If I get this character with $x, is it even worth $x?"
You're essentially paying to play with a character. Except in this case, paying for a chance to play with that character. What about the people who have spent thousands on this game? After getting Diluc or Mona for $3,000, was it worth it? Think of all the things you could buy with that money. A Nintendo Switch costs $300. A game costs up to $60, and you know what you're getting. Rent money is $1,000-$3,000. The list goes on.
You're never guaranteed anything.
The ONLY exception to this is pity rolls. The maximum you'd need to spend is 28,800 primogems (around $400+) to guarantee getting the featured character on the banner. This is assuming that you didn't get any 5-stars before hitting the pity the first time, your first pity wasn't the featured character, and you hit the pity a second time to guarantee them. Is any single character worth $400? Other than the featured character, it can be REALLY difficult to pull any other character. You want Diluc? If you roll on the featured banner, its 50% chance you'll get the featured character. That means 50% chance you'll get a different 5-star. Since there are five 5-stars at this moment (not counting the featured), you have a 1/10 chance of pulling Diluc when you get a 5-star from this banner. On top of that, it's a 0.6% chance that you'll even pull a 5-star to begin with. As for the standard banner? The chance is even smaller with all the weapons thrown in. To those complaining that they spent $100, $500, $1000 and didn't get what they wanted, you were never guaranteed it to begin with. It's all RNG, you aren't owed anything because you spent money on the game.
There will always be a new character that you'll want.
So you spent $400 on getting Venti. You needed him, he's your favorite character right? Of course you had to spend for him, he's the best character you've ever seen and you couldn't enjoy this game without him. A few months later, a new character is released and you're in awe. Their skills...their looks....their element...you NEED them. Well, that's another $400 you'd have to shill out to guarantee them. What's that? You only want to use them if you have their first constellation? Well better get that credit card out again, looks like you'll need to pull some dupes. This is a never-ending cycle. I've run into this feeling countless times in video games. The new shiny thing will always be tempting you. Not to mention power creep. New characters are often made to be better than older ones. As the game progresses, people who don't have newer characters are often at a disadvantage (mainly with DPS). In a gacha game like Genshin, it would be very expensive to keep up with this if power creep occurs within this game in the future. It's best to make the most of what you have.
Gacha = Gambling
When you go to a casino, do you walk in expecting to win millions? The odds are never in your favor when gambling. Rates are low for a reason. If everyone could spend $50 and get the exact characters they wanted every time, Miyoho wouldn't be making as much money as they are. Gacha games have always been about gambling for characters. As stated previously, you're neverarely guaranteed anything, and by the time you've gotten what you wanted (unless extremely lucky), the company has already gotten what they wanted.
Don't be blinded by sunk-cost.
Sunk-cost is the idea that you've already put so much into something, and it'll go to waste unless you continue putting resources into it to get it. Do not be blinded by this when doing gachas. Say you spent $100 and didn't get Qiqi. You've already put so much into the game, and not getting her would mean your money went to waste right? What if it would take another $1,000 to get her. Would that be worth it? It's best to cut your losses and walk away. Thinking about the sunk cost of something is what gives many people difficulty walking away, and causes them to over-spend.
Your party has limited space.
Yes, I know abyss is the exception. But overall the majority of the game only allows 4 characters at a time. You can't play with them all. It feels real bad to put a character you spent a lot of money on aside because they don't fit your current comp anymore. ------- This comes from someone who is largely free-to-play in games like this. The only gacha game I've ever spent money on was Love Live a few years ago. I spent $125 and never got a single ultra-rare with my pulls. From that I realized what I was doing. Even if I could afford putting $30 per 10-pull, was the card I was going to get really worth that? No. I learned from that experience and see gacha games for what they are.
Glorified gambling.
PS: If you are aware of all this and still want to spend $$/disposable income on primogems, by all means go ahead. But for many people it's easy to lose sight of what they're really paying for. I hope this is helpful in some way. Feel free to disagree with any of this, but this is my perspective on the game and I get really sad seeing so many posts on the subreddit about how depressed people are after spending and not getting anything, and feeling entitled to it. TL;DR: It's easy to sink lots of money into this game if you don't recognize you're gambling and never guaranteed anything. This is a warning post, not a criticism of anyone. EDIT: As reddit user u/zapzya summarized: "...not everyone actually has the financial stability to invest in such a product, yet will do so anyway because they are not particularly knowledgeable in gambling mechanics or because shady tactics like the currency change ($$ genesis crystals primogems fates) actually work."
OBLIGATORY FILLER MATERIAL – Giving thanks edition: Kickin’ around Caracas, Pt. 5
Continuing… (It's Part 6 in the saga, I fucked up. Sorry.) So, after a few re-fueling and impromptu cigar-purchasing stops in South and Central America, we wheel up to the deserted jetway at LAX. “Thought we were going to Elmendorf?” I asked. “This isn’t it?” the pilot replied, feigning worry. “No.”, I replied, “Looks like California. Fruits and nuts. All around. What’s going on? One minute we’re off to Texas, then Cali, then Texas again, now we end up here at the California airport of the iconic tower.” “Yeah, it’s confusing enough haulin’ civilians around. But when we get a call from Virginia, we tend to comply without any questions,” the pilot explains. “Aw, shit!”, I sort of exclaim, “Rack and Ruin called?” “Yeah”, the pilot replies, “Figures you’d know these guys. They said they were closer to LAX rather than Texas and had us divert here. In fact, you look over there, see that dark blue Chevy? That’s them; and evidently, your ride.” I tipped the airman from earlier a couple of cigars as he helped me with my gear off the plane and into the trunk of Rack and Ruin’s plain-Jane blue late modeled Chevy. Had to move the Sidewinder Missiles off to one side, though. “Most honorable Agents Lack and Luin!” I quipped in my faux-racist greeting. “What the hell, guys? I’ve got to get to Japan and get some newly rigidified digits.” “Let’s see your hand”, Agent Rack asks. “Nasty.” “Yeah”, I sigh “And with the medicos in South America and their penchant for plaster, I don’t so much have a left hand as more of an ankylosaur tail.” “Or Thagomizer”, Agent Ruin tittered. “Anyone gives you grief, and one upside the head should set them right. Or dead.” “You’re a riot, Ruin.” I replied, “But not entirely incorrect.” We all agreed that I really didn’t need any extra accouterments to make myself look more dangerous. I mean with my severe haircut, stern beard clip, and perpetual ‘Go fuck yourself’ scowl. “Yeah”, I replied, stroking the aforementioned beard, “I just can’t get that. I’m such a people person.” After Agents Rack and Ruin finished drying their eyes from laughing what I thought was en extremis, we finally got down to business. “So, what’s the skinny, guys”, I asked. “New marching orders?” “No. Not as such”, Agent Ruin said, still sniggering over my ‘people person’ comment. I see we’re moving. Agent Rack is just driving casually, like Chewbacca when they were waiting to see if the Empire went for that expensive Bothan code. “Then, what?” I asked, getting a slight bit piqued. “Well”, Agent Ruin noted, “When you went to South America, you took some of your artillery collection with, correct?” “You know I did. You even made some snide comments about my personal choice of sidearms and their ‘excessive’ calibers, if memory serves”, I reiterated. “And if you are proceeding normally, as you always do, they’re all nestled in the trunk of this very car. All cleaned, quiet, unloaded, and smelling sweetly of Hoppe’s Number 9 and WD 40, correct?” Rack inquired. “Yes?” I cautiously venture. “Well, ya’ big dummy, do you think they’re going to let you saunter into Tokyo armed like the Third Fleet?” Agent Ruin chuckled. “Um…well…I do have a Diplomatic Passport.” I ventured. “That’s not going to work this time.”, Agent Ruin said, shaking his head. “They’re tighter than Dick’s Hatband about sidearms. Want to bring in your Rigby SXS .500 Nitro Express double rifle? Not a problem. Sidearms, especially in your alien hunting calibers, nope.” Well, that’s just….*dandy!”, I reply, semi-put out. “Now what the hell am I going to do?” “Ever think that’s why Ruin and I are here, now?”, Rack asks. “And here I thought it was just so you could bask in the warm glow of my fucking wonderful personality. Or that you actually cared about me as a real goddamn human”, I joshed. “Ummm…yeah”, Rack replies, “There’s no way we can answer that without going on some Deadpool list. “ I agreed. “OK, here’s the deal: you get your sidearms, ammunition, speed loaders, brass knuckles, Asp, laser range finders, Sap, Zeiss scopes, Kukri, Wisconsin Cheese Whittler, Buck folding skinner, Marine K-Bar, those two ultra-illegal Cheburkov Cobra titanium switchblades...” “Three. Olga the KGB lady sent me one for Geologist’s Day.” “Ahem. Those threeultra-illegal Cheburkov switchblades, that Wyoming Speedholer, your MASER Time-Distance Computer, garrote, pocket rail gun and whatever else lethal you carry and deposit it in the iron box in the trunk. We’ll ensure that it’s delivered to Esme post-haste. And by post-haste I mean one of our guys will deliver it personally.” “Well…I suppose”, I conceded, “But best send someone who’s been to the house recently. I don’t know how much bigger Khan has grown since I left on this little fantasy trip. Wouldn’t want a star on the wall in Langley for someone eaten by a mastiff. Want to see a picture….Oh, bother. That’s right. My phone’s at the bottom of fucking Lake Maracaibo.” “Good point”, Ruin interjects, “Guess we’ll do a little road trip and deliver it ourselves. Best call Esme and let her know what’s going on.” “I have no objections to your proposals. Please give Esme this when you see her. I had some luck in the Calaveras Casino and if I don’t send her some mad money. Ouch. She’ll never forgive me for not taking her along to Japan.” I asked. “But I thought Esme hated Japan? Too crowded and too ‘fussy’, I believe was her estimation.” Ruin asked. “Yes, but once she saw the Ginza, all bets were off. Shopping the likes of which even Allah himself hasn’t seen.” I replied, slowly shaking my head. “I see”, Ruin said, “Well, since you’re off to Sapporo, perhaps you can do a recon for Esme on the shopping there.” “Not bad. Not bad at all.”, I smiled, “Now I know why I let you guys hang around with me.” So, as advertised, I am now standing on the tarmac at LAX, basically feeling naked. “Can’t I keep just one switchblade?” I moaned to Agent Rack. “Go ahead, if you’re really keen on donating it to Japanese customs”, he replied. “Fuckbuckets.” I groused. “There, there now. That’s the usual Dr. Rocknocker of which we’re all so fond.” Agent Ruin chuckled. “Remember, you do have that wallet-sized credit card gizmo from the Company. So you’re not entirely ‘naked’. Think of it as an emergency breechcloth.” He smiled. “I’d like a larger model if you don’t mind. It’s chilly out here.” I joshed. After Agents Rack and Ruin stripped me metaphorically naked as they de-weaponized me, they handed me a Business Class ticket to Tokyo, and a pass to the Japan Airlines Hospitality Suite and Lounge. “So sorry you guys can’t hang around and have a few farewell snorts”, I chided, “But you’ve got a bit of a drive, so best be off before the weather turns to shit.” “Who says we’re driving?” Agent Rack asked as he hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the ready and waiting C-130 cargo plane currently taxiing slowly in our direction. “Well, in that case”, I smiled even more broadly, “Let’s invite the flight crew to join us. That’ll make the flight home all that much more interesting.” After near tear-jerking farewell sentimentalities, i.e., “Piss on you”, “Get stuffed” and “Take a fuckin’ hike”; Agents Rack and Ruin, my weapons and the Agency’s plain-Jane Blue Chevy were all nestled snugger than buggers in ruggers in the belly of the thundering C-130. Now truly on my own, I trudge the hundred thousand or so centisteps to my departure terminal, make a quick recon that my flight’s still slated to go in a generally westward direction, and hightail it to the nearest courtesy desk to ask for a motorized cart to take me and my remaining luggage to the JAL Hospitality Suite. Hey. I’m old, infirm, and currently among the walking wounded. Anyone that disagrees risks an Ankylosaur tail club swat or Thagomizer to the skull. Finally ensconced in the JAL Hospitality Suite, Polo Lounge of course; I was drinking Tokyo Teas (3 oz. vodka, 2 oz. gin, 2 oz. rum, 1 oz. triple sec, 1 oz. Midori, good splash of lime juice, a slight splash of 7-Up (diet, of course), over ice with a lime wheel) with Pabst Blue Ribbon Extra 1844 chasers and Hangar One’s “Fog Point” vodka on the side, hiding from the brutish realities of this foul year of two thousand and twenty-something, Common Era… I’ve already called Esme and we’ve had a good, long chat. She still managed to give me her shopping list for whenever I find myself bored on the Ginza. She’ll be shocked when she learns that I’m not going to be in Tokyo long, but have 1st class tickets on the Bullet Train to Sapporo. Still, I’ll probably find myself in Pole Town or the Stellar Place there, trading piles of US greenbacks for locally produced Japanese curios and clothing. I can hardly wait. I order another round of drinks, as the wonderful attendants in the Hospitality Suite were bored out of their skulls because of the COVID-induced drop-in customers flying anywhere that requires a hospitality room stay, and I was virtually the only one around. They tried their level best to outdo each other when it comes to Japanese efficiency and friendliness. After a couple of hours, they ask if I would like something from the grill, as the day chef had “the COVID” and the night chef just arrived. A quick perusal of the menu and I chose a 28-ounce dry-aged Porterhouse and another round of drinks. I usually don’t like to eat too much before I fly, but JAL tells me the flight is going to be virtually empty, something like <121 pax, all told, so restroom availability shouldn’t be too much of a concern. Plus, who am I to say no to a free, blue 28-ounce dry-aged Porterhouse? There was a bit of difficulty conveying to the chef through the intermediaries of the hospitality just how I wanted my steak. “Blue,” I said. “Brue?” was the reply. “Rare. Very, very rare.” I continued. Look of total bewilderment. I drag out my Personal Language Pro, speak “Steak, very, very rate” into the infernal gizmo, and hand the contraption to the attendant. “珍しい、非常に珍しいステーキ?”[ Mezurashī, hijō ni mezurashī sutēki?] “Raw! Nama!” I say, louder than need be. They toddle off to find the chef. “How is it sir, that you would like your steak cooked?” he asks. “Very rare. Just a minute or two per side. Inside still cold.” I instructed. All I got for the trouble was a puzzled smile. “Give me the language gizmo…” I type in a few words… “お尻を洗い、角をノックオフして、ここから出してください” [O shiri o arai,-kaku o nokkuofu shite, koko kara dashite kudasai.] “Wash its ass, knock its horns off, and walk it out here.” “OH!” as the lightbulb pops. “Rare. Got it! Excellent!” the chef laughs and zips back to the kitchen. Like I always say, I’m nothing if not the international ambassador of amity and goodwill. “Crack tubes!” Dinner was fantastic. I do wish I could have somehow mailed the Porterhouse bone back home for Khan. After that hambone incident, he might even taste it. Finally on the plane, in an almost empty Business Class, the flight captain informs us that we’re headed to Haneda Airport Tokyo and anyone not headed in that direction better ‘haul ass off’ the flight or forever hold their peace. Late-night international flights tend to be a bit more wooly than your average Chicago to Omaha gig. Especially when the flight’s damn near empty and we have the next 12 hours or so to be best friends. We taxi, turn and head into the wind. I’m doctoring up a couple of dossiers and keeping my personal cabin attendant, Luna since there were two of us in Business and two business flight attendants, busy with her trying to play ‘Stump the Geologist’. “I’ll bet you never had this before.” She beamed and handed me a tumbler of very dangerous-looking brown liquor. I cautiously sniff, take a modest gulp, swirl and glug the rest down. “Ohishi Single Sherry Cask”, I say with a muffled belch. “Light. Fruity. An Englishman’s drink.” “Oh. You knew. Let me try again.” She smiles beatifically. “I have no objections to your proposal.” I smile as nicely as this crotchety old Komodo Dragon could. She returns with another flagon of spirits; it smells of obsidian, leather, and earth. I just had some of this back in LAX. I take a snort, smile, and shotgun the rest. “Hibiki Japanese Harmony…lovely stuff.” I smile. “A little light for my jaded palate, but I’d never turn it down if it were free.” “Oh, you win again. Wait. One more.” She smiles and skitters off to the galley. She returns with another soupçon of some more dangerous brown liquor. “Here, try this. It will make you very popular at social gatherings”. She smiles. Sniff. “Splendid.” Snort. Swirl. Smile. Shotgun. “Kanosuke New Born, if I’m not mistaken.” I smile back. “Very nice. I really do like this one.” “You too good at this. One more!” she stands and stomps off defiantly. She returns in a trice and hands me the glass. “Hmm…brown. Light notes of earth, leather, dating your daughter, and Kentucky… “Beam Suntory, right?” “You know them all!” she says, feigning irritation. “And I thank you. Those were all excellent. Now, anything in the dangerous clear liquor category? I asked. Luna smiled as I palmed off a 20k yen tip. “Oh, no sir. Wait until we land.” She demurred, referring to the gratuity; which is know is not de rigueur in the Orient, but she didn’t seem to mind. “Just in case we never make it to Tokyo”, I laughed, unknowingly presciently. We both chuckled about that last line as she tried out various sakes and shōchūs and an actual Japanese ‘White Liquor’ (ホワイトリカー), which were all excellent as was the company. I tell her that I need to get some work done and could she bring me a tall Rocknocker. After explain the origins and construction of the eponymous drink, she brings me one that must tip the scales at 1 or so liters. She settles down to an empty seat and I get after the work that I need to finish before we land. I’m about ½ way through my drink when it felt as if the plane hit a brick wall. She quivered and quaked and clutched at herself while I made some comments about the pilot’s mental health. We dropped like a paralyzed falcon, then just as suddenly, felt like it was an express elevator to Angel’s 11. The plane bucked and shimmied, wickedly. Then we slam-danced right and fell a few more stories. It was like we were in a Mixmaster and the owner was trying out every speed. The emergency lights in the 777-300ER popped on, and the fasten seat belt sign barked loudly so even sleeping travelers could enjoy the show. Rinse. Spin. Shudder. Repeat. Finally, the ride smooths out and we hear the captain on the blower. “This is your captain speaking…ah, we seem to have hit some uncharted turbulence back there.” “Thanks, Captain Obvious”, I muttered. “Everything’s A-OK. “ he reports. “That’s good”, I note. “But…” “There’s always the but…” I groan. “…we have a couple of warning lights for which we can’t quite account. So to just be safe and certain, we’re going to divert to Hawaii, get a clean bill of health and resume this flight once we make sure everything here is hunky-dory.” There were scattered groans and applause. Add them together and divide by two and the average response on the flight was “Meh. Whatever.” Except for the other guy in Business, with whom I hadn’t shared two words. He began to absolutely lose his shit. “Oh, man! We’re so screwed! Mechanical malfunction? What does that mean?” he positively fizzed with fear. The flight attendants tried to calm him down, to no avail. They basically gave up and said they’d report his misgivings to the Captain. I motioned over to my personal flight attendant, Luna, and asked if I could be of service. “Oh, Doctor Rock”, she smiled at me, “If you could speak with him. You are so calm, and he is…” “Losing his bloody mind”, I chuckled as I finished her sentence for her. “Of course, I’ll take a stab at it.” So, I grab my drink and ease over to my Business Class partner and introduce myself. “Hey, pal. How’s it going? I’m Dr. Rock, gentleman, scholar, and connoisseur of cigars and things alcoholic. You doing OK?” He looks at me with an ashen face and his eyes the size of bloodshot dinner plates. “Yeah. I’m Todd Schotts. I’m flying to Japan for business.” He mumbles “No surprise there,” I reply calmly and take a slug of my drink. “But now we’re all going to die. The plane is busted and we’ll crash…” he started off again. “So, Todd is it? Good. You drink?” I asked. “Yeah?”, he stammered back. I asked Luna to make us a fresh batch of my eponymous cocktails. “OK, Todd, listen up”, I began after the drinks were served, “I have flown literally millions of miles over the last 4 decades. On Aeroflot when it was still the USSR. On TACA (Take A Chance Airways), on Chalk’s in the Caribbean, on Bob’s Verrifast Plane Company in Rhodesia, on regional carriers that don’t even exist anymore. All over the world. Had some bad experiences flying, and me ol’ mugger, this ain’t one of them. This is nothing more than the glitch for this mission.” I chuckled lightly and complimented Luna on a fantastic drink. “Yeah…yeah…yeah…but we have to land and check out some lights…” Todd squealed. “Well now, Todd. It would be rather difficult to do any external assessment while in flight, don’t you agree?” I asked. “But we’re diverting. We have to land and that adds more risk. We’re going to crash and die!” he was coming more and more unglued. “I will bet you every cent you have on your person and home bank accounts that that will not happen”, I chuckled. That took him by surprise. At least it shut him up for a while. “Look, Todd. This is Boeing’s latest model. They have the most incredible safety record. And if a little clear air turbulence were to be knocking planes out of the sky, don’t you think we’d hear about it as the press went berserk?” I asked. “But they don’t know what the lights mean! What if one of the engines’s out? How far can we fly on one engine?” Todd stuttered. Having my fill of a supposedly grown man with inane childlike fears, I calmly replied, “All the way to the crash site.” He went white. “...hope we hit something hard. I don’t want to limp away from this.” He went limp. Then I went to my seat and motioned for Luna to prepare a reload. Of course, 45 minutes later, we land without incident at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Honolulu Hawaii. We were told to just wait around until they figure out what the problem if any, was. They had officials waiting at the end of the jetway to check our COVID status and passports before they let us loose in the terminal. I asked Luna if she knew this airport. She noted that she did. “Is there a JAL hospitality room here at this airport? I asked. “Yes, Doctor. It’s the Sakura Lounge. It is located on the third level above The Local, Terminal 2.” She replied. “Please notify whoever needs to know that that’s where I’ll be for the duration”, I smiled and handed her my business card. “See you soon, I hope.” “Oh, Dr. Rock”, she replied, “I am sure it is nothing much. We’ll be back in the air within mere hours.” “Well then”, I smiled, “Guess I’d better get ready to hoof it to the lounge.” “Oh, Doctor Rock”, she smiled, “No rush. I will call for you a courtesy cart. You are injured, you are Business, you are priority.” “I love that Asian efficiency.” I smiled back and toddled down the jetway. At the terminus of the jetway, I show my COVID-clear papers, dates and times of my Anti-Virus vaccine administrations, the letter from Virginia clearing me of all detention, and my red Russian diplomatic passport. While in the cart, whizzing our way to the JAL lounge, the driver said “Man! You must be some kind of VIP. You were through that welcoming committee in less than two minutes!” “Me? Nah!”, I chuckled, “Just an old phart of a geologist that they didn’t want to mess with. Not on such a bright, sunny day as this.” “I see you’re not wearing a mask.” The driver quipped. “Very observant. There are reasons for that.” I replied. He careens around a corner and if this were a normal pre-Covid day, I’m certain we’d have killed hundreds. However, the airport, as I’ve come to grow accustomed to, was virtually deserted. “Yeah? Like what?” he asks. “Well, Scooter, 1. I have an active and hardworking immune system that I let off the chain every once in a while for exercise. Got to let it know what it’s up against, right? 2. I’ve had all my shots and some that were experimental. They seem to have worked. And 3. I find it difficult to drink and smoke cigars while wearing a mask. However, if you’d prefer, I will mask up. No problem, though it still is optional.” “Nah, man”, he said, “I was just wondering if you were one of those religious idiots or conspiracy nuts.” Nope”, I smiled back, “Just another geologist out in the world plying his trade for cash. Y’know, whorin’ around for money.” He laughs aloud as we skid to a stop right in front of Lounge. I slip the guy a $20 and ask if he’d listen for the JAL flight I was just on. If we’re going on ahead today, I’d need him to scoot by and putt-putt me back to the plane. He laughs and pockets the $20 as quick as a mink ruts. “No worries. I’ll just hang around this area. I hear anything about the flight, I’ll come and let you know.” He grins. “Good man”, I say, as I hand him my card. “I’m Dr. Rocknocker. Call me Rock”. “And I’m Kapula Mano, call me Kap” he replies. “Good man”, I say again, “Hope to see you in a while.” He grins, floors his electric cart, and peels out at speeds approaching 4.5 MPH. I wander into the lounge, show my credentials, and am escorted to a post up on Mahogany Ridge. The bar is very quiet. Besides the bartender, I can’t see anyone else in the darkened and Smooth Jazz-infused drinking emporium. I order a local drink, a Mai Tai, just for the experience and something a bit different. It’s served in a goldfish bowl on a stem, bedecked with a slice of lime, a sprig of mint, a stick of sugar cane, a polychromatic orchid, and the obligate paper umbrella. “Ah. Mai Tai. I will enjoy it.” I said to no one in particular. One was enough, and I decided to go back to the old standard. Once I explained to the bartender what that was, he made them heroic and enthusiastically. I’m reading up on a random dossier, making notes in a new file, and puffing away on a Fuentes Onyx double Maduro Churchill cigar. I hear a slight cough coming from my right, and this here lovely lady, she sat to my immediate starboard and looked at me semi-quizzically. Not in the mood for shenanigans of any stripe, I give her the obligate Baja Canada nod and tilt of the drink. I return to my dossiers and continue to read and take notes. “Excuse me!” I hear. Fearing the worst, either the woman is Karen-oid anti-smoking or a religious fruit-and-nutburger, I slowly turn to face her and reply, somewhat glacially, I have to admit. “What?” “That cigar…” “Here we go…” I mutter, eyes rolling northward. “Smells exquisite. Could you tell me the brand? My husband would enjoy some like that.” She notes. Instantly my demeanor switches 1800. “Yes, ma’am. It’s an Arturo Fuentes Onyx. Churchill size, or 60 ring x 7” length, double Maduro. Here, take one for your husband. I have an ample supply.” I smile. “Oh, no. I couldn’t. Could I?” she asks. “Please. I insist.” I smile the best I could given the circumstances. “Thank you. You’re too kind…umm…Mr….?” “Doctor. Doctor Rocknocker. World traveler, oilman, and international ambassador of amity, good drinks, and fine cigars. Call me Rock” I said. “Oh! A Doctor?” she brightens. “Yes, of Petroleum Geology and Engineering. Not medicine.” I chuckle. She chuckles back. “And I am Hella Aaberg”, as she offers her hand for a quick shake. “Interesting name, Hella. Scandinavian or Old German heritage?” I ask. “On my father’s side. He’s Finnish.” She replies. “But I’ll wager your mother is not Scandinavian, correct?” I ask. “She was from Truk, an island…” “In the South Pacific, Micronesia. Was she from Weno city?” I asked. “Why yes. How could you possibly know that?” she asked. “Oh, I’ve been there. Great diving amongst the WWII wrecks. I think it’s actually called ‘Chuuk Lagoon’ or something like that now.” I said. “That’s right! Amazing. Where else have you been?” she asked. “Anywhere there’s oil, strife, booze, cigars, heavy explosives and typically long distances from whatever most normal people call civilization,” I replied with a chuckle. Suddenly, I hear a voice booming out behind me. “Why don’t you save that rapier-like wit for those musky-fuckers back home, Rocko?” My expression changes. My eyes pop fully wide open. “Hella?” I asked. “Yes?” “May I ask you a favor?” “You can ask…” “Thank you. Now, looking over my shoulder, is there a hulking goon of a person, thin up top, paunchy halfway down with the most ridiculously tiny sized shoes you’ve ever seen for a so-called grown man?” I ask. “Yes. Yes, there is.” She replies. “I thought so. Many thanks.” I spin and launch off my barstool and grab Toivo by the hand. He hadn’t seen my left-hand Thagomizer yet. “Toivo! You old sumbitch. What the flying fennec fox fuck are you, of all people, doing in Hawaii?” I laughed. “Just keeping an eye on you, Rock!” he laughed equally as loud. “No, fucking-A, seriously. What the actual fuck? What are you doing in this actual nice place?” I asked. “Just headed to Tokyo to conduct a bit of service company business. I walked into the lounge and smelled a foul cigar. I figured it can’t be the venerable Dr. Rocknocker. He’s back at some school up north terrorizing geology and engineering grads and undergrads.” Toivo laughed. “But there I was. Surprise!”, I laughed and pumped his hand. “What the fuck, Rock. Now what did you do?” he asks, referring to my Ankylosaur tail club left hand. “Ah, fuck. Long story. Oh, pardon me. Toivo, this is Hella. We were just talking about the South Seas Islands.” I said. “Planning on running off together?” Toivo laughs, to the amusement of neither party. “Oh, and this idiot is Toivo, a man with a congenital foot-in-mouth disorder. He’s mostly harmless.” I noted to Hella. Greetings were shared all around. Hella made some small excuses and said she needed to depart. I gave her another cigar for her husband, shook her hand, and wished her well. “Here’s my business card. If your husband has any questions, have him drop me a line.” I noted. Hella smiled beautifully. She said she would. Then she thanked me shook our hands, and like that, there she was, gone. “Well Toivo, you old bastard. Don't just stand there in the doorway like some lonesome goddamn mouse shit sheepherder, get your ass over here and have a drink.” I motioned over to my perch on Mahogany Ridge. “Don’t mind if I do”, he says as he deftly winds his way to a seat to my left, snagging a cigar out of my pocket on the way over. “You might want these”, I say in an exasperated tone, and hand him my gold Dunhill Hobnail lighter and V-cutter gizmo. He cuts and fires up his heater. “What you drinkin’, Rock”, he asks. “Anything with alcohol, as usual. You know that Toiv.” I reply. “No. I mean right now.” He clarifies. “Well, I had a Mai Tai. Very nice if you like fruity, flowery drinks. It’s the locals’ favorite.” I reply. “Sounds good. I’ll have several. And you?” Toivo asks. “My usual. The bartender is already apprised of the situation.” I reply. Toivo smiles the smile of one knowing his sobriety is going to be taken out for a swim. Hell, taken out and tossed into the deep end. Toivo and I sit there, swapping lies, smoking cigars and sipping at our toddies. Hell, Toivo was slurping them like a sump-pump during an extra-wet summer. We chattered about family, work, whether or not Tokyo was going to host the Olympics or if the COVID-boogie man scared everyone off. Toivo, always one afflicted with TB (“Tiny Bladder”) got up to go to the loo for the third time that hour. He left his pocket organizer on the bar and I swear on a stack of Origins of Species, I didn’t touch it. I reached over to his vacated seat to retrieve my cigar lighter when I looked down and saw in his organizer a tab that reads “Rack & Ruin”. “Oh. No. Fucking. Way.” I recoiled as I’d just reached out and petted a 6-foot hungover scorpion. “One of my best friends? Secretly allied with the Agency? No. Not possible.” I drained my drink and called for another. “No. No. No. It can’t be. No. No fucking way…” as doubt began to dissolve when I thought back to all those times I had just ‘run into’ Toivo. “But he’s oil patch as well. That could be chalked up to coincidence.” I ruminated quizzically in my brain. I quickly reflected back on J.M. Darhower: “Yes, you see, there’s no such thing as coincidence. There are no accidents in life. Everything that happens is the result of a calculated move that leads us to where we are.” She may be the author of the execrable New Adult Sempre series, which Esme likes and I loathe, but she might just be right on this occasion. Toivo return, lighter in the bladder and good sense. He never even noticed he’d left his organizer out in broad bar light for all to see. “So, Toivo, when’s your flight?” I ask. “Oh, man. Was I lucky. The JAL flight to Tokyo from Los Angeles had mechanical trouble and had to divert here. I got a ticket on the plane for that flight, when it continues. “You mean ‘if it continues’,” I replied. “Yeah. Yeah. That’s what I meant. Hey! Was that your flight?” he asks innocently. He’s really innocent of fieldcraft. I decide to have some fun at my old friend’s expense. “Yep. Hit some CAT (Clear Air Turbulence) and the JAL pilots reported some lighting problem. No apparent ruin to any of the systems. They relay racked their brains to figure it out, but they couldn’t that’s why I here.” I said, waiting for the words to swim upstream in Toivo’s coconut and make some sort of connection. “Yeah. Double lucky. No problem with the plane and I get to go to Japan early.” Toivo crookedly grins. “So, no trouble with the plane? Then why haven’t I heard that the flight’s going to resume?” I asked as I pushed a fresh, seriously strong drink to Toivo. “Oh, must have heard it in the john.” Toivo countered and tried to cover his tracks by taking a huge gulp of his drink and damn near dying coughing. I pound on Toivo’s back. “Heimlich time?” I ask. Toivo signals ‘no’. “Jesus Christ, Rock. What was that?” he asks. “Just my usual”, I innocently replied. “Holy fuck. No wonder you have the reputation of…” Toivo realizes too late that he’s said too much. “Yeah. They can rack you out. Really ruin a person if they’re not careful.” I reply icily. “Why, Rock. Whatever do you mean?” Toivo slurred as he realized he’s been caught out. “The jig is up, you turncoat. You know Agents Rack and Ruin from the agency. Right? You keeping tabs on me for them? You Quisling! You Benedict Arnold!” I almost was on the verge of losing my cool. “It was nothing. They approached me years ago as I kept being mentioned in your reports. They asked me for some information. One thing leads to another…” Toivo was ready for an Ankylosaur tail club swat to the bean. “Oh, put your fucking hands down, you asshole.” I smiled and chuckled. “You’re not mad?” Toivo slurred badly. I had the bartender make him another special drink. “No, Toivo. Not mad. Just disappointed.” I said, smiling like a Komodo Dragon just finishing up a fortnight-old wildebeest. Toivo sat there and puzzled and puzzled until his puzzler was sore. “You’re not going to kill me or anything rude like that?” Toivo asked, half-assedly trying to inject humor into the proceedings. “Nah. The paperwork’s too ridiculous for me to do another liberation. But, Jesus Fucking Christwagons, Toivo; you could have mentioned it to me. Fuck, I thought we were friends to the end?” I said, dejectedly. I was really getting through to Toivo. I could tell he was loaded; feeling like shit and massively deplorable. Great fieldcraft, indeed. I told him things “are what they are” and that I won’t blow his cover nor his honorarium. He began to feel better. I often wonder if he was serious about the sanctioning thing. Then I delivered the strategic missile strike. “Just remember, Toivo. I wrote your dossier for the Company…” He swivels to look at me. “And one for the KGB. Olga says ‘howdy’.” I grin evilly. Toivo short-circuited at that. Russia is his company’s bread and butter. Now he has the KGB as well as his best buddy looking over his shoulder at every move. I bought him a few more drinks and continued to needle him about his ’leading a double life’. He was well and truly fuckered when the electric tap-tap driver from before came looking for me to whisk me back to the plane. Seems it was simply some knocked-out wires on the plane, or slammed bulbs that were generating a false positive, indicating something other than the system that alerts one to something haywire went haywire. Toivo was pretty much down for the count. I got him sober enough to hand them his ticket and ensure that he was really supposed to be on this flight. Thing was; h e was in Economy, and I was, as always, in Business. I spoke to Luna, and the plane was going to be even less crowded than previously because some folks could or wouldn’t wait, or didn’t want to go on with the rest of the trip on a ‘damaged’ aircraft, or were just stupid and superstitious. “Luna, could I pay for the difference between Business and Economy for my less than 100% conscious friend here? He’s had a rough day.” I asked. “Dr. Rock. Just put him into Business. No one will be the wiser. Luna says so.” As she gave us a grand smile. “Luna, I owe you. Thanks so much.” I said. “Now get on board. Your friend looks like he needs all the downtime he can get.” “Yes, ma’am!” I said and saluted here be best I could which dragging a schnozzled Toivo down the jetway. I dumped Toivo in a window seat well away from my seat. I know Toivo. He snores like a semi-load of live hogs rocketing downhill locking up the brakes at 88 MPH. Surprise! There was no one else in Business. Luna looked at me, at Toivo, and gave me a thumbs up. Whatever I can write to further her career at JAL, she’ll have it before I deplane. We finally get everyone settled, and with Captain Kangaroo at the helm, we bounced gracelessly off the tarmac, into the warm, tropical Hawaiian air, finally headed for the Land of the Rising Sun. Toivo was snoring like a chainsaw hitting rusty nails as I worked on the various letters, communiques, and dossiers which needed updating before we reached touchdown. I gave Luna a thick letter with instructions not to open it until we were on the ground and Toivo and I were well off and away into the terminal. We left Hawaii at 1300 hours, so we should arrive at Tokyo Nareda around 4:00 pm, the previous day. I was so bereft of time and time zones, I couldn’t figure out what time it really was, as judged by my biometric rhythms, so I asked Luna for a stiff drink as I was kicking off my boots and going to attempt to get some kip. She brought me another liter or so eponymous drink. I was sawing logs by the time I slurped the last swig of that nifty drink. Suddenly, or later, I have no idea really, some loudmouth drunk asshole from way-the-fuck-back in economy-land toward the ass end of the plane staggered into Business demanding free drinks. Luna was nothing but civil, and asked him to both shut up and return to his seat. His air cabin hostess, or whatever the fuck they’re calling them these days, will attend to his needs. “Naw they won’t! They want me to pay for more drinks! I’m broke but I demand more booze! You fucking owe me.” railed the asshole. “I sat at the bar in Hawaii for four hours. Them fuckers charged me an arm and a leg!” “No, they don’t owe you shit”, I said in a voice that unmistakably loud and clear. “Fuck you, old man! You stay the fuck out of this!” he bellowed. “Shut up or I’ll do ya’!” “’Old man’? ‘Do me’? Excuse me. Luna, may I have a word alone with this individual?” I asked sweetly. Luna shook her head in the affirmative, and I stood up to confront this flagrant asshole. “Now look, Scooter. You have gone way, way over the fucking line. You are loud. You are abusive. You are obnoxious. And you stink. Plus you insulted a person who is just barely containing his righteous wrath right now. So, I’m giving you one and one only chance to shut up, sit back down before your body spontaneously develops all sort of bruises, contusions, broken bones, and unconsciousness.” I said calmly, evenly, and threateningly. “What da’ fuck you think you’re going to do…old man?” he screeched, trying to inflate himself into full mammalian threat posture, all 5’ 9” of it. He didn’t notice Toivo walking up quietly behind him, as Toivo was returning from the head, quiet as a moose. “Well, Scooter, I am an Air Marshall. Duly appointed, fully trained, and properly pissed off. Right now, I can arrest you, physically detain you, turn this flight around and take you to the Hawaiian police, at your cost for the inconvenience of the entire flight. Or I could arrest you, physically detain you, and turn you over to the Japanese authorities when we land. It’s really your choice. Choose wisely.” To be continued…⇝
[H] AC:O, Kingdom Come, Portia, Many misc games [W] Portal 2, Dont Starve Together, Outward, RoR2, Outer Wilds, others
Lots of leftover Humble stuff, some of it DLC or packs. A few gems in there though. US location. Got Outward, Dont Starve Together, and Portal 2. Thanks! Also interested in Baldurs Gate 3, Fall Guys, Raft, Tabletop Simulator, River City Ransom games. Some favorites
Assassin's Creed® Origins (Uplay account, gift link)
My Time at Portia
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Call of Duty®: WWII
Call of Duty®: WWII - Call of Duty Endowment Bravery Pack
Call of Duty®: WWII - Call of Duty Endowment Fear Not Pack
Crash Bandicoot™ N. Sane Trilogy
Spyro™ Reignited Trilogy
Duskers
Humble 2-21
Moving Out
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince
The Wild Eight
Train Station Renovation
Valfaris
Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Heart of the Forest
Lovecraft's Untold Stories
Iris and the Giant
Boomerang Fu
Misc
Anomaly 2
Anomaly Defenders
Anomaly Korea
Anomaly: Warzone Earth
Anomaly Warzone Earth Mobile Campaign
Cathedral
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
Clatter
Colt Express
Company of Heroes
Crusader Kings II: Dynasty Starter Pack
Dead by Daylight - Curtain Call
Dead by Daylight - Of Flesh and Mud
Dino Run DX
Downtown Drift
Draw Your Game
Dreadlands
HERO DEFENSE
Invisible Inc.
Kalaban
MetaMorph: Dungeon Creatures
Misadventures of Laura Silver: Chapter 1
Motorsport Manager
Must Dash Amigos
Nemo Dungeon
Neverwinter: Vestments of the Wind Pack
Ninja Senki DX
Omensight: Definitive Edition
PAC-MAN™ CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION 2
Partial Control
Potatoman Seeks the Troof
Pumped BMX +
Rebound Dodgeball Evolved
Red Horizon
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad with Rising Storm
Rogue Rocks
Scanner Sombre
SkyScrappers
Songs of Skydale
Star Trek Online: Federation Elite Starter Pack
Stories: The Path of Destinies
Super Chicken Catchers
THE TEAR
Throne of Lies® The Online Game of Deceit
The Window Box
YORG.io
Chasm
Fluffy Horde
Regular Human Basketball
Sword Legacy Omen
11-11 Memories Retold
Evergarden
SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising
Finding Paradise
The Journey Down: Chapter Three
Wandersong
Dandara
She Remembered Caterpillars
Steel Rats
Q.U.B.E. 2
Sundered
All-Star Fruit Racing - Yogscast Car DLC
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Skolldir
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Ted McPain
Battlerite DLC: YogYog Bear Mount
Blade & Soul Giveaway Pack
Caveblazers - Arena Mode DLC
Guns of Icarus Alliance Yogscast 2017 Costume Pack
Intelligent Design: An Evolutionary Sandbox
Lion Quest
Mimic Arena
Offensive Combat: Redux!
Psychonauts
Robocraft Jingle Jam Pack
Sanctum 2
Spectrum
SuperLuminauts
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Asharra’s Diplomat Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Birdsong’s Entertainer Pack
!Que Pasa Neng! !Shin Chan: Flipa en colores! &: Sora no Mukou de Saki Masuyou ni '70s Robot Anime: Geppy-X '89 Dennou Kyuusei Uranai '96 Zenkoku Koukou Soccer Senshuken '98 Koushien '99 Koushien *NSYNC: Get to the Show -8 ...Iru! .hack//Fragment .hack//G.U. vol. 1//Rebirth .hack//G.U. vol. 2//Reminisce .hack//G.U. vol. 3//Redemption .hack//Infection Part 1 .hack//Link .hack//Mutation Part 2 .hack//Outbreak Part 3 .hack//Quarantine Part 4 .hack//Vol. 1 x Vol. 2 .hack: Sekai no Mukou ni+ Versus - Hybrid Pack 0 Story 0-Kara no Shogi: Shogi Youchien - Ayumi Gumi 0-ji no Kane to Cinderella: Halloween Wedding 007 Legends 007 Racing 007: Agent Under Fire 007: Everything or Nothing 007: NightFire 007: Quantum of Solace 007: Racing / Medal of Honor / 007: Tomorrow Never Dies - Collector's Edition 007: The World Is Not Enough 007: The World is Not Enough 007: Tomorrow Never Dies 1 vs. 100 1, 2, Switch 1-Jikan de Wakaru Kabushiki Toushi 1/2 summer+ 10 Minute Solution 10 Pin Bowling 10 Pin: Champions Alley 10,000 Bullets 10-Yard Fight 100 All-Time Favorites 100 Classic Books 100 Classic Games 100 Kiri Golf DS 100 Manyen Quiz Hunter 100% Pascal Sensei: Kanpeki Paint Bombers 1000 Cooking Recipes from Elle a Table 1001 Crosswords 1001 Touch Games 101-in-1 Explosive Megamix 101-in-1 Party Megamix 101-in-1 Sports Megamix 101-in-1 Sports Party Megamix 10101: "Will" the Starship 1080 Snowboarding 1080: Avalanche 11 Eyes: CrossOver 12-Ji no Kane to Cinderella: Cinderella Series Triple Zenkan Pack 12-Ji no Kane to Cinderella: Halloween Wedding 12-Sai. Honto no Kimochi 12-Sai. Koisuru Diary 12-Sai. Torokeru Puzzle Futari no Harmony 12-Toki no Kane to Cinderella Series Triple Zenkan Pack 120-en no Haru: 120 Yen Stories 12Riven: The Psi-Climinal of Integral 13-Sai no Hello Work DS 1500DS Spirits Vol. 10: Igo 1500DS Spirits Vol. 1: Mahjong 1500DS Spirits Vol. 2: Shogi 1500DS Spirits Vol. 3: Block Kuzushi 1500DS Spirits Vol. 4: Reversi 1500DS Spirits Vol. 5: Hanafuda 1500DS Spirits Vol. 6: Trump 1500DS Spirits Vol. 7: Chess 1500DS Spirits Vol. 8: Darts 1500DS Spirits Vol. 9: Futari-uchi Mahjong 1500DS Spirits: Mahjong V 1500DS Spirits: Shogi V 1552 Tenka Tairan 16 Tales: Vol. 1 16 Tales: Vol. 2 16 Tales: Vol. 3 16 Tales: Vol. 4 18 Card Games 18 Classic Card Games 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker 187 Ride or Die 1941: Counter Attack 1942 1943 Kai 1943: The Battle of Midway 1945 I&II The Arcade Games 1999 Hore, Mitakotoka! Seikimatsu 19: Neunzehn 19:03 Ueno Hatsu Yakou Ressha 2 Games For 1 Great Price!: Big Beach Sports / Big Beach Sports 2 2 Games In 1 Double Pack - Hot Wheels: World Race / Velocity X 2 Games In 1 Double Pack - SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom / Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy 2 Games In 1 Double Pack - SpongeBob SquarePants: SuperSponge / Revenge of the Flying Dutchman 2 Games In 1 Double Pack: Finding Nemo / Monsters, Inc. 2 Games In 1 Double Pack: Power Rangers: Time Force / Power Rangers: Ninja Storm 2 Games In 1 Double Value!: Monster Trucks / Quad Desert Fury 2 Games In 1: Disney Princess + Disney's The Lion King 2 Games In 1: Disney's Baren Bruder + Disney's Konig der Lowen 2 Games In 1: Disney's Brother Bear / Disney Princess 2 Games In 1: Finding Nemo / The Incredibles 2 Games In 1: LEGO Knights' Kingdom + LEGO Bionicle 2 Games In 1: Shrek 2 / Shark Tale 2 Games In 1: Sonic Pinball Party + Sonic Battle 2 Games In 1: Sonic Pinball Party / Columns Crown 2 Games In 1: SpongeBob SquarePants: SuperSponge / Rugrats Go Wild 2 Games In 1: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie / SpongeBob SquarePants and Friends in Freeze Frame Frenzy 2 Games for 1 Great Price!: Wheel of Fortune / Jeopardy! 2 Games in 1 Double Pack: Scooby-Doo / Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed 2 Games in 1 Double Pack: Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase / Scooby-Doo! 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Archer Maclean's Mercury / Mercury Meltdown 2 Games in 1: GT Advance 3: Pro Concept Racing + MotoGP 2 Games in 1: Sonic Advance + Sonic Battle 2 Games in 1: The Incredibles / Finding Nemo 2 Games in 1: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie / Battle for Bikini Bottom 2 Games in 1: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie / Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams 2 Hits Pack: Sonic Forces / Puyo Puyo Tetris - Sega Collection 2 In 1 Game Pack: Shrek 2 / Shark Tale 2 In 1 Game Pack: Spider-Man / Spider-Man 2 2 In 1 Game Pack: Spider-Man Mysterio's Menace / X2 Wolverine's Revenge 2 In 1 Game Pack: Tony Hawk's Underground / Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer 2 In 1: Asterix & Obelix Jetzt Geht's Rund! + Asterix & Obelix XXL 2 Jeux En 1: Titeuf: Ze Gag Machine / Titeuf: Mega Compet 2 Pak Special: Dungeon Master / Creature Strike 2 Xtreme 2 for 1 Power Pack: Indianapolis 500 Legends/WWII Aces 2 for 1 Power Pack: Kawasaki Jet Ski/Summer Sports 2 2 for 1 Power Pack: Winter Blast/Summer Sports 2 2 in 1 Combo Pack: Sonic Heroes / Super Monkey Ball Deluxe 2 in 1 Combo Pack: Sonic Mega Collection Plus / Super Monkey Ball Deluxe 2-In-1 Fun Pack: Madagascar: Operation Penguin / Shrek 2 2-in-1 Party Pack: Shrek's Carnival Craze / Madagascar Kartz 200-Mannin no KanKen: Tokoton Kanji Nou 2002 FIFA World Cup 2003-Toshi Kaimaku: Ganbare Kyuukaiou 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil 2020 Super Baseball 20th Century Video Almanac 21 Card Games 21 Emon: Mezase! Hotel Ou 21: TwoOne 24-ji no Kane to Cinderella: Halloween Wedding 24: The Game 25 to Life 250 Mannin no Kanken Premium - Zenkyuu Zen-Kanji Kanzen Seiha 250 Mannin no Kanken: Wii de Tokoton Kanji Nou 2999 Game Kids 2Dark 2K Essentials Collection: Bioshock / Borderlands / XCOM: Enemy Unknown 2K Essentials Collection: Bioshock / Borderlands/ XCOM: Enemy Unknown 2K Power Pack 2Tax Gold 3 Choume no Tama: Tama and Friends - 3 Choume Obake Panic!! 3 Count Bout 3 Games in 1: Tak / SuperSponge / Rugrats: I Gotta Go Party 3 Ninjas Kick Back 3 Ninjas Kick Back / Hook 3 in 1: Solitaire, Mahjong & Tangram 3-D Tetris 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe 3-D Ultra Pinball: Thrillride 3-D WorldRunner 3-Fun Yosou Umaban Club 3-Nen B-Gumi Kinpachi Sensei: Densetsu no Kyoudan ni Tate! 300: March to Glory 360: Three Sixty 3D Atlas 3D Baseball 3D Crazy Coaster 3D Dot Game Heroes 3D Game Collection: 55-in-1 3D Lemmings 3D MahJongg 3D Mine Storm 3D MiniGolf 3D Narrow Escape 3D Pocket Pool 3D Shooting Tsukuru 3DO Buffet 3LDK: Shiawase ni Narouyo 3X3 Eyes: Kyuusei Koushu S 3Xtreme 3on3 Freestyle 3x3 Eyes: Juuma Houkan 3x3 Eyes: Kyuusei Koushu 3x3 Eyes: Sanjiyan Henjyo 3x3 Eyes: Seima Kourinden 3x3 Eyes: Tenrinou Genmu 4 Elements 4 Elements II 4 Games on One Game Pak: GT Advance / GT Advance 2 / GT Advance 3 / MotoGP 4 Nin Shogi 4 Nin uchi Mahjong 4 Wheel Thunder 4 in 1 Action Pack 4 in 1 Row 4 in 1 Super CD 4-4-2 Soccer 4-in-1 Fun Pak 4-in-1 Funpak: Volume II 40 Winks 428: Fuusa Sareta Shibuya de 4X4 EVO 2 4X4 Evolution 4x4 EVO 2 4x4 Evolution 5 In One Fun Pak 5 Star Racing 5-Kyuu kara 1-Kyuu Kanzen Taiou: Saishin Kako Mondai - 2-Ji Shiken Taisaku - Eiken Kanzenban 5-nin no Koi Prince: Himitsu no Keiyaku Kekkon 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand 50 Cent: Bulletproof 50 Cent: Bulletproof G Unit Edition 50 Classic Games 50 Classic Games 3D 50 More Classic Games 6 Inch My Darling 6 in 1 6-Pak 64 Hanafuda: Tenshi no Yakusoku 64 Oozumou 64 Oozumou 2 64 Trump Collection: Alice no Waku Waku Trump World 64 de Hakken! Tamagotchi Minna de Tamagotchi World 688 Attack Sub 7 Blades 7 Days to Die 7 Sins 7 Wonders II 7 Wonders of the Ancient World 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven 7'scarlet 700-Banjin no Atama o Yokusuru: Chou Keisan DS - 13000-Mon + Image Keisan 720 Degrees 77: Beyond the Milky Way 7th Dragon 7th Dragon 2020 7th Dragon 2020-II 7th Dragon III Code: VFD 8 Eyes 8-Bit Armies 88 Heroes 88 Heroes: 98 Heroes Edition 8BallAllstars 90 Minutes: European Prime Goal 90 Minutes: Sega Championship Football 989 Sports Demo Disc 99 Nendohan: Eitango Center 1500 99 no Namida u/field A Boy and His Blob A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia A Bug's Life A Bug's Life / Tigger's Honey Hunt / Tarzan - Collector's Edition A Bug's Life Activity Centre A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV A Labyrinth Game / Supermind A Mars Moose Adventure - Cosmic Quest 1: City Sights A Mars Moose Adventure - Cosmic Quest 2: Fairy Tale Island A Mars Moose Adventure - Cosmic Quest 3: Race Through France A Mars Moose Adventure - Stay & Play 1: In the Clubhouse A Mars Moose Adventure - Stay & Play 2: In Mars' Bedroom A Mars Moose Adventure - Stay & Play 3: In Lonnie's Classroom A Mars Moose Adventure - Walkabout 1: The Natural History Museum A Mars Moose Adventure - Walkabout 2: The Shakespeare Festival A Mars Moose Adventure - Walkabout 3: World Sports Day A Nanjarin A Rose in the Twilight A Witch's Tale A Year at Pooh Corner A-Rank Thunder Tanjouhen A-Ressha de Ikou A-Ressha de Ikou 2001 A-Ressha de Ikou 2001 Perfect Set A-Ressha de Ikou 3D NEO A-Ressha de Ikou DS A-Ressha de Ikou DS: Navigation Pack A-Ressha de Ikou MD A-Ressha de Ikou Z: Mezase! Tairiku Oudan A-Train 3D: City Simulator A-Train 6 A-Train HX A-Train: City Simulator A-Train: Trains - Power - Money A. IV Evolution: A-Ressha de Ikou 4 A.C.E.: Another Century's Episode A.C.E.: Another Century's Episode 2 A.C.E.: Another Century's Episode 3: The Final A.C.E.: Another Century's Episode R A.III: A-Ressha de Ikou III A.P.B. A.S.P. Air Strike Patrol A.W. Phoenix Festa A/X-101 A2 Racer II A2 Racer III: Europa Tour A5: A-Ressha de Ikou 5 AAAHH!!! Real Monsters ABBA: You Can Dance ABC Monday Night Football ABPA Backgammon ABZU AC/DC LIVE: Rock Band Track Pack AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack ACB Total 2010/2011 ACME Animation Factory ADK Tamashii AFL 99 AFL Live 2004 AH-3 Thunderstrike AI Igo AI Igo 2003 AI Igo: Saturn Version AI Mahjong AI Mahjong 2003 AI Mahjong Selection AI Shogi AI Shogi 2 AI Shogi 2 Deluxe AI Shogi 2000 AI Shogi 2003 AI Shogi 3 AI Shogi Selection AIII S.V.: A-Ressha de Ikou 3 Super Version AKB1/149: Renai Sousenkyo AKB1/48: Idol to Guam de Koishitara... AKB1/48: Idol to Koishitara... AKB48+Me ALC no 10-Punkan Eigo Master: Chuukyuu ALC no 10-Punkan Eigo Master: Joukyuu ALC no 10-Punkan Eigo Master: Shokyuu ALF AMF Bowling 2004 AMF Bowling Pinbusters! AMF Bowling World Lanes AMF Xtreme Bowling AR Games ARK: Survival Evolved ASCII Entertainment Demo Disc ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat ATP Tour Championship Tennis ATV Mania ATV Offroad Fury ATV Offroad Fury 2 ATV Offroad Fury 3 ATV Offroad Fury 4 ATV Offroad Fury Pro ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails ATV Quad Frenzy ATV Quad Kings ATV Quad Power Racing 2 ATV Racers ATV Racing ATV Renegades ATV Thunder Ridge Riders / Monster Trucks Mayhem ATV Wild Ride ATV: Quad Power Racing ATV: Thunder Ridge Riders AV Poker World Gambler Aa Harimanada Aa Megami-sama Aa Yakyuu Jinsei Icchokusen Abadox: The Deadly Inner War AbalaBurn Abarenbou Princess Absolute Supercars Absolute: Blazing Infinity Abunai Koi no Sousashitsu: Eternal Happiness Abunai: Koi no Sousa Shitsu Academy of Champions: Soccer Accel World vs. Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight Accel World: Ginyoku no Kakusei Accel World: Kasoku no Chouten Accele Brid Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies Ace Combat 2 Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation Ace Combat 6: Kaihou e no Senka / Beautiful Katamari Damacy Ace Combat 6: Kaihou e no Senka / Lost Planet: Colonies Ace Combat Advance Ace Combat Assault Horizon Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy+ Ace Combat: Joint Assault Ace Lightning Ace o Nerae! Ace of Aces Aces of War Aces of the Air Acid Acid Drop Aconcagua Acrobat Mission Acrylic Palette: Irodori Cafe - Cheers ActRaiser ActRaiser 2 Action 52 Action Bass Action Fighter Action Girlz Racing Action Man A.T.O.M.: Alpha Teens on Machines Action Man: Destruction X Action Man: Operation Extreme Action Man: Robot Atak Action Man: Search for Base X Action Pachio Action Pack: Prince of Persia Revelations, Driver 76, Rainbow Six Vegas Active Health with Carol Vorderman Active Life Explorer Active Life Value Pack Active Life: Extreme Challenge Active Life: Magical Carnival Active Life: Outdoor Challenge Activision Anthology Activision Classic Games Activision Demo Action Pack Activision Hits Remixed Actua Golf 3 Actua Ice Hockey Actua Ice Hockey 2 Actua Pool Actua Soccer 2 Actua Soccer 3 Actua Soccer: Club Edition Actua Tennis Ad Lib Ouji ...to Fuyukai na Nakama-tachi!? Adam & Eve Adam's Venture Chronicles Adam's Venture: Origins Addams Family Values Addie no Okurimono: To Moze from Addie Adian no Tsue Adiboo & Paziral's Secret Adiboo and the Energy Thieves Adibou Et L'Ombre Verte Adidas Power Soccer Adidas Power Soccer 2 Adidas Power Soccer 98 Adidas Power Soccer International '97 Adidas miCoach Adrenalin Misfits Adult Swim Collection Advan Racing Advance Guardian Heroes Advance Wars Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising Advance Wars: Days of Ruin Advance Wars: Dual Strike Advanced Daisenryaku 2001 Advanced Daisenryaku: Deutsch Dengeki Sakusen Advanced Daisenryaku: Europe no Arashi - Doitsu Dengeki Sakusen Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: DragonStrike Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dragons of Flame Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Hillsfar Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Pool of Radiance Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin Advanced V.G. Advanced V.G. 2 Advanced World War: Sennen Teikoku no Koubou Advent Rising Adventure Adventure II Adventure Island Adventure Island 3 Adventure Island II Adventure Island II: Aliens in Paradise Adventure Mega Pack Adventure Player Adventure Quiz Capcom World: Hatena no Daibouken Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom Adventure of Little Ralph Adventure of Tokyo Disney Sea Adventures in Letterland With Jack and Jill Adventures of Dino Riki Adventures of Lolo Adventures of Lolo 2 Adventures of Lolo 3 Adventures of Tom Sawyer Adventures of Tron Adventures of Yogi Bear Adventures to Go! Aedis Eclipse: Generation of Chaos Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault Aeon Flux AereA Aerial Assault Aero Blasters Aero Dancing F: Todoroki Tsubasa no Hatsu Hikou Aero Dancing i Aero Dancing i: Jikai Sakuma de Machite Masen Aero Dancing: Torodoki Taichou no Himitsu Disc Aero Elite: Combat Academy Aero Fighters Aero Fighters 2 Aero Fighters 3 Aero Fighters Assault Aero The Acro-Bat Aero the Acro-Bat Aero the Acro-Bat 2 Aero the Acro-bat AeroGauge AeroWings AeroWings 2: Air Strike Aerobics Revolution Aerobiz Aerobiz Supersonic Aerostar AeternoBlade Afraid Gear Afraid Gear Another Afrika Afro Inu: The Puzzle Afro Samurai After Armageddon Gaiden: Majuu Toushouden Eclipse After Burner After Burner II After Burner III After Burner: Black Falcon After Burst After Hours Athletes After... Wasureenu Kizuna Again: Interactive Crime Novel Agarest Senki Mariage Agassi Tennis Generation Agatha Christie's The ABC Murders Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings Age of Empires: Mythologies Age of Empires: The Age of Kings Agent Armstrong: Himitsu Shirei Daisakusen Agent Collection Agent Hugo Agent Hugo: Hula Holiday Agent Hugo: Lemoon Twist Agent Hugo: Roborumble Agents of Mayhem Aggressive Inline Aggressors of Dark Kombat Agile Warrior F-111X Ai Cho Aniki Ai Sensei no Oshiete: Watashi no Hoshi Ai Senshi Nicol Ai Yori Aoshi Aibou DS Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage Aigiina no Yogen: Balubalouk no Densetsu Yori Aigina no Yogen: Balubalouk no Densetsu Yori Aikagi Aikatsu Stars! My Special Appeal Aikatsu! 2-nin no My Princess Aikatsu! 365-Hi no Idol Days Aikatsu! Cinderella Lesson Aikatsu! My No.1 Stage! Ailu de Puzzle Air Air Battle! Air Buster Air Cavalry Air Combat Air Conflicts Double Pack Air Conflicts: Aces of World War II Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers Air Conflicts: Secret Wars Air Conflicts: Secret Wars - Ultimate Edition Air Conflicts: Vietnam Air Conflicts: Vietnam Ultimate Edition Air Diver Air Fortress Air Hockey Air Management '96 Air Race Championship Air Raid Air Raid 3 Air Raiders Air Ranger 2 Plus: Rescue Helicopter Air Ranger 2: Rescue Helicopter Air Ranger: Rescue Helicopter Air Rescue Air Strike Air Traffic Chaos Air Zonk Air-Sea Battle AirBlade AirBoarder 64 AirForce Delta AirForce Delta Storm AirForce Delta Strike AirGrave Airaki Airborne Troops: Countdown to D-Day Aircars Airlock Aironauts Airs Adventure Airship Q Airwolf Airwolf (Japan) Aishiau Kotoshika Dekinai Aisle Lord Aitakute...Your Smiles in My Heart Aiyoku no Eustia: Angel's Blessing Aka-Chan Doubutsu Sono Akagawa Jirou Mystery: Tsuki no Hikari Akagawa Jirou Mystery: Yasoukyoku - Hon ni Manekareta Satsujin Akagawa Jirou no Yuurei Ressha Akagawa Jirou: Majotachi no Nemuri: Fukkatsusai Akagawa Jirou: Yasoukyoku Akagawa Jirou: Yasoukyoku 2 Akagi: Touhaiden Akagi: Yami ni Furitatta Tensai Akai Ito Akai Ito DS Akai Ito Destiny DS Akai Katana Akai Suna Ochiru Tsuki Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka Portable Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka: Parallel Akatsuki no Amaneka to Aoi Kyojin Akatsuki no Goei Trinity Akaya Akashiya Ayakashino Akazu no Ma Akazukin ChaCha Akiba's Beat Akiba's Trip Akiba's Trip 2+A Akiba's Trip Plus Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed Akihabara Dennou Kumi Peta Pies! Akira Akira Psycho Ball Akiyama Jin No Suugaku Mystery Akko de Pon! Ikasama Hourouki Akko ni Omakase! Brain Shock Akogare Girls Collection: Lovely Youchien Akogare Girls Collection: Mister Donut DS Akogare Girls Collection: Ohanaya-San Monogatari Akogare Girls Collection: Pika Pika Nurse Monogatari Akogare Girls Collection: Suteki ni Nurse Days Akudaikan Akudaikan 2: Mousouden Akudaikan 3 Akudaikan Manyuuki Akudaikan Manyuuki: Seigi no Yaiba Akuji the Heartless Akuma Zensho Dainishuu Akuma-kun: Makai no Wana Akumajou Dracula Akumajou Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun Akuu Senki Raijin Al Unser Jr.'s Road to the Top Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing Alabama Meets Will Vi Aladdin Magic Racer Alan Hansen's Sports Challenge Alan Wake Alarm for Cobra 11: Crash Time Alarm fuer Cobra 11 Vol II Albert Odyssey Albert Odyssey 2: Jashin no Taidou Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean Album Club: Mune Kyun * Saint Poria Jogakuin Alcahest Aldynes Aleck Bordon Adventure: Tower & Shaft Advance Alekhine's Gun Alex Ferguson's Player Manager 2001 Alex Ferguson's Player Manager 2002 Alex Kidd in Miracle World Alex Kidd in Shinobi World Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle Alex Kidd: High-Tech World Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars Alex Rider: Stormbreaker Alexandra Ledermann: Summer Camp Adventures Alexi Lalas International Soccer Alfa Romeo Racing Italiano Alfred Chicken Alfred's Adventure Alia's Carnival! Sacrament Alias Alice in Cyberland Alice in Wonderland Alice no Paint Adventure Alice on Borderlines Alice's Mom's Rescue Alice: Madness Returns Alien Alien 3 Alien Breed Trilogy Alien Brigade Alien Chaos 3D Alien Crush Alien Front Online Alien Hominid Alien Invaders Plus! Alien Monster Bowling League Alien Olympics Alien Raiders Alien Resurrection Alien Soldier Alien Storm Alien Syndrome Alien Trilogy Alien vs. Predator Alien vs. Predator: The Last of His Clan Alien: Isolation Alienators: Evolution Continues Aliens Versus Predator: Extinction Aliens in the Attic Aliens vs. Predator Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem Aliens: Colonial Marines Aliens: Infestation Aliens: Thanatos Encounter Alisia Dragoon Alive All 1 All Grown Up! Express Yourself All Japan Pro Wrestling Featuring Virtua All Japan Woman Pro Wrestling All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation 2 All Kamen Rider: Rider Revolution All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros. All Round Hunter All Star 5-A-Side Football All Star Action All Star Cheer Squad All Star Cheer Squad 2 All Star Karate All Star Pro-Wrestling All Star Racing All Star Racing 2 All Star Soccer All Star Tennis '99 All Star Tennis 2000 All Star Tennis 99 All Star Watersports All-Pro Basketball All-Pro Football 2K8 All-Star 1997 Featuring Frank Thomas All-Star Baseball All-Star Baseball 2000 All-Star Baseball 2001 All-Star Baseball 2002 All-Star Baseball 2003 All-Star Baseball 2004 All-Star Baseball 2005 All-Star Baseball 99 All-Star Fighters All-Star Mahjong: Kareinaru Shoubushi Kara no Chousen All-Star Major League Baseball All-Star Professional Wrestling II All-Star Professional Wrestling III All-Star Slammin' D-Ball All-Star Tennis 2 Alleyway Allied Ace Pilots Allied General Alnam no Kiba: Juuzoku Juuni Shinto Densetsu Alnam no Tsubasa: Shoujin no Sora no Kanata e Alone in the Dark Alone in the Dark 2 Alone in the Dark: Inferno Alone in the Dark: One-Eyed Jack's Revenge Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare Alpha Beam With Ernie Alpha Mission Alpha Mission II Alpha Protocol Alpha and Omega Alpine Racer 3 Alpine Ski Racing 2007 Alpine Skiing 2005 Alpine Skiing! Alshark Alter Echo Altered Beast Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms Altered Space: A 3-D Alien Adventure Alundra Alundra 2: A New Legend Begins Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Alzadick: Summer Carnival `92 Amaekata wa Kanojo Nari ni. Amagami Amagi Shien Amagon Amagoushi no Yakata Amagoushi no Yakata Portable: Ichiyagi Wa, Saisho no Junan Amatsumi Sora ni! Kumo no Hatate ni Amazing Adventures: The Forgotten Ruins Amazing Island Amazing Penguin Amazing Tater America Daitouryou Senkyo: United State Presidental Race America Daitouryou Senkyo: United State Presidential Race America Oudan Ultra Quiz America Oudan Ultra Quiz: Shijou Saidai no Tatakai America Oudan Ultra-Quiz America Oudan Ultra-Quiz Part 2 America Oudan Ultra-Quiz Part 3 America Oudan Ultra-Quiz Part 4 America's Army: Rise of a Soldier America's Army: True Soldiers America's Greatest Game Shows: Wheel of Fortune & Jeopardy! America's Next Top Model America's Next Top Model (2008) America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get Cooking American Bass Challenge American Battle Dome American Chopper American Chopper 2: Full Throttle American Dream American Girl: Julie Finds a Way American Girl: Kit Mystery Challenge! American Gladiators American Idol American Mensa Academy American Ninja Warrior American Pool American Pool II Amerzone: The Explorer's Legacy Amida Amidar Amnesia Amnesia Twin Pack Amnesia World Amnesia: Crowd Amnesia: Later Amnesia: Later x Crowd V. Edition Amnesia: Memories Amok Among the Sleep Amped 2 Amped 3 Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding Amplitude An American Tail An American Tail: Fievel Goes West An American Tail: Fievel's Gold Rush AnEarth Fantasy Stories: First Volume Anan Kanshuu: Onna Dikara Kinkyuu Up! DS Anarchy Reigns Anastasia Anata Dake no Private Lesson - DS de Hajimeru - Tipness no Yoga Anata o Yurusanai Ancient Magic: Bazoe! Mahou Sekai Ancient Roman: Power of Dark Side And 1 Streetball And-Kensaku Andre Agassi Tennis Andre Panza Kick Boxing Andretti Racing Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals: Sing and Dance Andro Dunos Android Assault: The Revenge of Bari-Arm Anesan Angel Blade: Neo Tokyo Guardians Angel Cat Sugar Angel Collection Angel Graffiti S: Anata e no Profile Angel Graffiti: Anata e no Profile Angel Love Online Angel Paradise Vol. 1 Angel Paradise Vol. 2: Eshinu Kimika Angel Present Angel Profile Angel Senki Angel Wish Angel Wish: Kimi no Egao ni Chu! Angel's Feather Angel's Feather: Kuro no Zanei Angelic Concert Angelique Angelique Duet Angelique Etoile Angelique History Angelique Retour Angelique Special Angelique Special 2 Angelique Trois Angelique Trois: Aizouhen Angelique Voice Fantasy Angelique: Maren no Rokukishi Angelique: Tenkuu no Requiem Angler's Club: Ultimate Bass Fishing 3D Angolmois 99 Angry Birds Star Wars Angry Birds Trilogy AniMates AnimAction Anima: Gate of Memories Animal Boxing Animal Breeder Animal Breeder 2 Animal Breeder 3 Animal Breeder 4 Animal Crossing Animal Crossing: City Folk Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer Animal Crossing: New Leaf Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome Amiibo Animal Crossing: Wild World Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival Animal Football Animal Genius Animal Hospital Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition Animal Mania Animal Paradise Animal Paradise Wild Animal Planet: Emergency Vets Animal Planet: Vet Collection Animal Planet: Vet Life Animal Snap: Rescue Them 2 By 2 Animal Soccer World Animal Yokochou: Doki Doki Kyuushutsu Daisakusen! no Maki Animal Yokochou: Doki*Doki Shinkyuu Shiken! no Kan Animaniacs Animaniacs Ten Pin Alley Animaniacs: Lights, Camera, Action! Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt Animastar Animastar GB Anime Eikaiwa: 15 Shounen Hyouryuuhen Anime Eikaiwa: Tondemo Nezumi Daikatsuyaku Anime Eikaiwa: Totoi Anime Slot Revolution: Pachi-Slot Kidou Senshi Gundam II - Ai Senshi Hen Animetic Story Game 1: Card Captor Sakura Animorphs Animorphs: Shattered Reality Ankh: Curse of the Scarab King Ankh: Tutankhamen no Nazo Ankoku Shinwa: Yamato Takeru Densetsu Annet Futatabi Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai Anoko Doko Noko Anoko wa Ore Kara Hanarenai Anone DS Another Bible Another Century's Episode Portable Another Code: R - A Journey into Lost Memories Another Memories Another Mind Another Time Another Leaf: Kagami no Naka no Tantei Another World Anpanman Niko Niko Party Anpanman to Asobo: ABC Kyoushitsu Anpanman to Asobo: Aiueo Kyoushitsu Anpanman to Asobo: New Aiueo Kyoushitsu Anpanman to Asobu: Aiueo Kyoushitsu DX Anpanman to Touch de Waku Waku Training Anpanman to Touch de Wakuwaku Training Anpfiff: Der RTL Fussball-Manager Ansatsu Kyoushitsu: Assassin Ikusei Keikaku!! Ansatsu Kyoushitsu: Korosensei Daihouimou!! Ant Nation Antarctic Adventure Anticipation Antiphona no Seikahime: Tenshi no Score Op.A Antz Antz Extreme Racing Antz Racing Antz World Sportz Anubis II Ao Zora to Nakama Tachi: Yume no Bouken Ao Zora to Nakama Tachi: Yume no Bouken Plus Ao no 6-gou: Antarctica Ao no Exorcist: Genkoku no Labyrinth Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm HD Edition Ao-Don DS: Hanabi no Goku & Hanabi no Takumi Aoi Hagane no Kihei: Space Griffon Aoi Namida Aoi Sora no Neosphere: Nanoca Flanka Hatsumei Koubouki 2 Aoi Umi no Tristia Portable: Nanoca Flanka Hatsumei Koubouki Aoi Umi no Tristia: 10th Anniversary Memorial Pack Aoi Umi no Tristia: Nanoca Flanka Hatsumei Koubouki Aoi no Mamade... Aoishiro Aoki Densetsu Shoot! Aoki Kakumeki no Valkyria Aoki Ookami to Shiroki Mejika: Genchou Hishi Apache: Air Assault Apathy: Narugami Gakuen Toshi Densetsu Tantei Kyoku Ape Escape Ape Escape 2 Ape Escape 3 Ape Escape Academy Ape Escape Academy 2 Ape Escape: Million Monkeys Ape Escape: On the Loose Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed Ape Quest Apex Apocalypse Apocalypse: Desire Next Apocripha/0 Apollo 11 VR Experience Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Appare! Gateball Appare! Shogi Jiisan Apple Town Monogatari Appleseed Appleseed EX Aqua Aqua Aqua GT Aqua Kids Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender DX Aqua Panic! Aqua Paradise: Boku no Suizokukan Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am Aqua World: Umibi Monogatari AquaLife AquaNox: The Angel's Tears AquaPazza: AquaPlus Dream Match AquaZone AquaZone Option Disk Series 1: Angel Fish AquaZone Option Disk Series 2: Black Molly AquaZone Option Disk Series 3: Blue Emperor AquaZone Option Disk Series 4: Clown Loach AquaZone Option Disk Series 5: False Rummy-Nose AquaZone: Desktop Life AquaZone: Life Simulator Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis Aquanaut no Kyuujitsu 2 Aquanaut no Kyuujitsu: Memories of Summer 1996 Aquanaut's Holiday Aquanaut's Holiday: Kakusareta Kiroku Aquarian Age: Tokyo Wars Aquarium by DS Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia Arabian Nights Arabians Doubt Arabians Lost Arabians Lost & Doubt Twin Pack Aragami Araiguma Rascal: Raccoon Rascal Arashi no Yoruni Arasuji de Kitaeru Sokumimi no Susume DS Arasuji de Oboeru Sokudoku no Susume DS Arc Arena Arc Rise Fantasia Arc the Lad Arc the Lad Collection Arc the Lad II Arc the Lad III Arc the Lad: End of Darkness Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits Arcade 3D Arcade Archives: Darius Arcade Classic No. 1: Asteroids / Missile Command Arcade Classic No. 2: Centipede / Millipede Arcade Classic No. 3: Galaga / Galaxian Arcade Classic No. 4: Defender / Joust Arcade Classic Shuu Arcade Classics Arcade Classics: Super Breakout / Battlezone Arcade Classics: Volume One Arcade Hits: Moon Cresta Arcade Hits: Raiden Arcade Hits: Soukyuugurentai Arcade Party Pak Arcade Shooter: Ilvelo Arcade Shooting Gallery Arcade Smash Hits Arcade USA Arcade Zone Arcana Arcana Famiglia 2 Arcana Famiglia: Festa Regalo Arcana Famiglia: La storia della Aracana Famiglia Arcana Famiglia: La storia della Aracana Famiglia - Ancora Arcana Famiglia: Vascello Phantasma no Majutsushi Arcana Heart Arcana Heart 3 Arcana Heart 3: LOVEMAX!!!!! Arcana Strikes Arcania: Gothic 4 Arcania: The Complete Tale Arch Rivals Arch Rivals: A Basket Brawl! Archer MacLean's Super Dropzone Archer Maclean's 3D Pool Archer Maclean's Mercury Archon Arcobaleno! Arcobaleno! Portable Arctic Arctic Tale Arctic Thunder Arcus 1-2-3 Arcus Odyssey Ardy Lightfoot Are You Alice? Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader: Make the Grade Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Back to School Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Make the Grade Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Game Time Are! Mo Kore? 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Ended my gambling career (for now) on a high note - jackpot handpay to end 2020. My thoughts and ramblings as a now-retired gambler.
Warning: long rambling stories ahead. I am bored and waiting to get through my first day back at work since before Christmas. You've been warned! I've been going to the casino pretty regularly for the past few years. Before that, I played occasionally. I exclusively play slots. I view it as a night out - first with friends back when I brought $50 and played penny denom minimum bet spins and prayed to win $20, and then eventually shifting my mindset to playing higher bets and denominations. I hit my first jackpot handpay a couple of years ago. I hit $3700 on a $27 bet on a Geisha machine. I've hit a few other jackpots here and there, culminating with my biggest jackpot ever this past summer. I hit $12K on a $50 bet on a Pompeii slot machine. Well, the long story short is that I have fallen out of love with gambling. I have somehow managed to have a positive ROI on gambling. I track my withdrawls and win on a spreadsheet. To put it bluntly: I have been extremely lucky over the past few years. I know that slots are not a viable way to win money in the long run, so I made a decision a few months ago to "retire" from gambling at the end of 2020. I went to my local casino last Wednesday. It just so happens when I hit a jackpot that I usually do it within the first half hour or so I'm at the casino. Well, it happened again. After going up $600 or so on another slot machine (I don't remember the name), I went to one of my most hated/favorite old school slots - Zeus dollar denomination. One of my worst moments in all of gambling was a few years ago. I got a bonus round on the Zeus dollar denomination on max bet of $45 a spin. I was BEYOND excited. I've seen Youtube videos where people have won tens of thousands of dollars in that exact scenario. Much to my shock, I won nothing. In that game, you don't win anything for triggering the bonus. So I actually *lost* $45 on getting the bonus. I cashed out and left immediately. Anyway, last week I hit a modest $4500. It was exciting...but not as exciting as I thought it should be. I was cool, calm, and...detached. The wins didn't mean much to me, and the losses mean absolutely nothing. My wife and I are in the EXTREMELY fortunate position that losing $500 or so every week or two at the casino is affordable. I'm not ignorant to how lucky we are to be in this position. After getting paid out, I played a bit longer. But that hand pay drove home the realization that I had a few months ago: it was time to stop gambling. If I can't get pumped about a big win like that, and if I'm not even phased a little bit by losing, it's just not worth gambling any more. I used to go for entertainment, but even now gambling doesn't provide that much. As I sit now, I am up roughly $18K over three years of slots. Not bad, but not life changing. Enough that I bought my wife a Burberry and Louis Vuitton handbag on separate occasions. The rest if stashed in savings or in an investment account somewhere. But I am 100% committed to being done. At least for 2021, and probably longer. If anyone is interested in hearing my thoughts on how to win...I don't have any insight to share. It's luck. I got lucky. I know I got lucky. The usual tropes about setting win and loss thresholds is good advice. Sometimes I chased payouts and hit them. Sometimes I chased and lost. But I managed to hit more than miss, and for that I'm lucky. And thankful. Anyway. I don't have a major takeaway or anything. I don't have many people I can talk about this with in my personal life, so I figured I'd share a bit of my story here. If you do gamble, please do so responsibly. Good luck, and try to have fun. If you're not having fun, it's probably not the right way to spend your time or money. EDIT: I just wanted to say to anyone who reads this in the future that I appreciate the nice responses and PMs from people. It's nice to share a positive experience with others! I sincerely hope that if any of you choose to play in the future, you choose to do so responsibly. Gambling can be a hugely problematic lifestyle for some people. Stay safe. (end of preaching here). I also want to take a second to address some comments from some people about slots being skill based. This is 100% false. The concept of slots being skill based in any way is demonstrably untrue with three seconds of reasonable thinking. If we accept that there is a hypothetical slot game which is based on skill and not pure luck, what are the consequences of that? First of all, this information would leak out. There would be no way to contain it. If one person can solve the system, another an as well. Subsequently, someone would write a book on the subject. Think about all the poker and blackjack strategy books out there. These are games where skillful play can increase your odds of winning. Last I checked, there aren't any books or Supersytem-level analyses from prominent individuals willing to stake their names and reputations on publishing a "slot technique" book. There's a reason for this. And also - think about this: casinos still carry blackjack tables for a reason: they still have an edge to win. If there is a surefire way for individuals to win when playing slots, casinos would 100% for sure take these games out of circulation. Casinos are not in the business of giving away money. Any claim there is a foolproof way to win money playing slots does not make sense when critical thinking is applied to the circumstances. Slots are not like card games. Finding and playing only games where there is a "must win by" progressive is not the same thing as skillful play. That's more akin to something like card counting in blackjack. Many people who design slot machines and engineer the software behind the scenes have posted on Reddit and elsewhere that wins are based on random number generators running behind every spin. There is literally no skill involved - you win or lose each spin based on pure random luck. I am saying this because there are a number of people who come to this subreddit to look for ways to cheat the system and get easy money. I see posts like this fairly often, and I'm only browsing this subreddit occasionally. Gambling is not, and should not, be a way for anyone looking to make a quick buck. If you're looking to get an edge playing slots because you need to pay bills or make a quick buck, you are already in serious trouble. Do not buy into the delusion that you can get an edge or guarantee a win. People saying this are snake oil salesmen who do not care for you or your well-being. Anyway. I'm going to stop monitoring this post. I'm still open to receiving PMs or messages, but I've had my fun with this so far. I could do with fewer trolls, but this is the internet. I knew what to expect. Bon chance, everyone!
This is wsb Material if someone could kindly repost Obligatory; Sir, this is a casino. I went down a rabbit hole instead of watching this brutal red day. I may have stumbled on some interesting information that could explain some price movements and low volume. (I’m retarded and might need a big brain to do some proper DD. I looked into the lawsuit NASDAQ, and friends filed against the SEC regulations regarding their data becoming more transparent. Data they sell for a premium to deep pockets. Found an article here: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/nasdaq-york-stock-exchange-sue-033502793.html “The SEC is also dealing with other suits. In October, Citadel Securities sued the commission over its decision to approve a new mechanism for trading stocks at exchange operator IEX Group Inc.” Citadel, everyone's favorite character in the Retail Reddit Wars. WSB/GME vs. RH/Hedgies. IEX CEO worked for the Royal Canadian Bank before starting this exchange, which practices “Dark Pools” - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_pool Companies can list with IEX for less than 1/10th the price of NASDAQ. Under Dark Pool Wiki, you can find some interesting information such as the UBS Fine, which is described as the elusive “Short Ladder attack” with High-Frequency Trading [Which narrows bid-to-offer spread, Hmmm... HFT = 50-62% of all trading (2012) Dark pools = 32% of trades stocks (2012) Participants in dark pool holdings, Fidelity (connect the dots) HFT has the potential for the Sharpe effect 10x the reward of the traditional buy and hold method. These practices have led to multiple market crashes Also, you can see how all these big money movers defrauded the public and company’s of billions while being fined very, very little for doing so. TL:DR WSB, Reddit, retail investors have little to no effect on the market. This is, in fact, a Casino, and we are playing poker with our cards face up. Any regulations pushed by the Government because of these reasons is most likely not in our best interest.
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