Two of the things that really bother me are judgment and hypocrisy. In my view of things, they go hand in hand.  No one should be in a position to negatively judge when they are likely to be doing something similar or related.

Let's take gambling as an example.  Mention the word and you are likely to be looked down upon by the vast majority of society.  Say that you do it for a living and unless you are mega-successful, you are probably scorned.  There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding of the role gambling plays in all our lives.

Life is a gamble.  You would be hard pressed to name many occupations or activities that aren't a gamble.

Simple every day activities are fraught with risk.

- If I drive my car, it's a gamble.  I can be prepared, drive the speed limit, obey the laws and still have a car hit me.  Some animal, child or a ball may roll in front of me suddenly causing a terrible accident.

- If I decide to take my wife to the movies, I am basing my decision off some review or some trailer I saw on TV.  I am risking my time and $25 investment on the hope that the movie is good and worth it.  I know there are plenty of times I will feel it's not, and yet I still take that chance.

- If I go to a bar or party and start drinking, I am gambling that my decision making will remain reasonable.  There are a host of decisions I could make that I will regret (drunken driving, acting like an idiot, select a sexual partner I will regret later etc.).  You can't predict the result once you've had a few drinks and yet you still put yourself at risk.

Gambling is nothing more than taking calculated risks, something we do every day.  Wiktionary phrases it as any activity characterized by a balance between winning and losing that is governed by a mixture of skill and chance.  To me that encompasses most things we do. I think the problem is that society associates gambling with losing propositions, but there are no guarantees in life, except for death and taxes.  Poker is not a guaranteed  losing proposition if you have discipline, put in the time to learn your edges and game select well.

Risk analysis is something we all do daily. Most occupations involve the exact same elements that we associate with gambling.  I'll give some related dynamics from respected occupations as examples.

Doctor - An emergency room doctor or surgeon may be well educated and trained, but they don't know who may come through their doors or the severity of their condition.  They apply their skills to try to repair or heal the patient, but the injuries or sickness may be too great.  They can make errors in judgment that decrease their odds of success.

Politician - Someone running for office has no guarantees either.  Depending on their political party, policy stances, the present environment or even their looks can affect the outcome of an election.  They hope to use their intelligence and connections to outmaneuver their opponents and manipulate the electorate to their advantage.  Once elected, they are constantly assessing how they can forward their agenda while gaging public opinion.

Farmer - Every season, a farmer gambles by investing thousands of dollars of inputs into the ground in the spring with hopes that the weather, pest and rain will cooperate to allow a reasonable return on their investment when harvest time comes.  They manage some of that risk by acquiring crop insurance.

Futures trader/Stock Broker - There are tremendous similarities between poker and trading.  You are applying your knowledge and experience to make calculated risks on some future event that is unknown.

So if most occupations and activities contain a heavy element of gambling.  Why would we demonize the word?  I would argue that you can make both smart and dumb gambles.  It is up to each one of us to evaluate the risks and try to make educated plus EV decisions.  There is nothing inherently wrong with taking a chance in life.  We do it all day every day.  I'm thankful to have survived some of my poor ones and that I continue to benefit from some of my wise gambles.

Good luck with your gambles...