Lesson Learned

A few months ago, I was feeling nostalgic for my younger days, when my friends and I would sit around the barracks and play cribbage to while away the time.  Remember, this was in the dark ages, before anyone even knew what the Internet was and hardly anyone had a screen of his/her own.  I think we sang along to The Traveling Wilbury's as we played.  So, yeah, a LONG time ago...

Anyway, I located a cheap cribbage board and, having managed to decipher the instructions, convinced Susie (who likes to play games, unlike most of her siblings, who unfortunately take after Larry in this regard) to play with me.  Susie took to the game like a fish to water, displaying a surprising facility for counting hands and computing odds.  I played with her any chance I got, because...um...homeschooling. And maths.

My Christmas present

We upgraded at Christmas to an honest-to-goodness professional board, complete with unbreakable metal pegs and a sliding top that hid a storage compartment for the cards and such.  A beauty, really. During the Great Homewrecking of Winter 2015, our handyman noticed this cribbage board and said, "Oh, hey! Do you play? I love that game - used to play for a nickel a point."

Hmmm, I thought.  Here's a good chance to show Susie that gambling doesn't really pay. "Hey, Susie," I said, to my unsuspecting youngest. "Do you want to play for money?" She agreed, happily, and I proceeded on my mission to show her that probability and luck tend to even out for two players of similar abilities.  Because, hey, I am at least as smart as a 9-year-old.

Except...not.  Turns out, Susie is REALLY GOOD at cribbage.  Long story short, over the past month? Susie has netted 15 dollars.

15 DOLLARS.

And now she thinks gambling is an awesome way to earn money.