Risky business may pay off

(U-WIRE) CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Think of the last time you were faced with a decision… (U-WIRE) CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Think of the last time you were faced with a decision between taking a risk or settling for a guaranteed, perhaps less desirable, outcome. Carry an ambitious course load or settle for fewer or easier classes? Invest in the stock market or a savings account? Collect your winnings or let it ride? One in the hand or two in the bush? The boat or the mystery box? Remember, a boat’s a boat, but the mystery box could be anything. It could even be a boat.

What was your decision? It’s in our nature to be intrigued by the possibility of a big win or payday. The mystery box is tempting. But, for most people, the appeal of a sure thing is even stronger. Experiments show that, when faced with the decision of choosing between $500 or a 50-50 shot at $1000, most will choose the $500. In fact, take this human tendency, throw in some models with numbered briefcases and add a bald blabbermouth game show host and you’ve got yourself “Deal or No Deal.”

Whether or not one takes the risk depends on how much gamble she’s got in her blood and on her mental state. When things are going well, even gambling types might be content not to push their luck — why take the chance of messing up a good thing? It’s when things take a turn for the worse that people with less restraint start taking all the wrong risks. This means jeopardizing things they can’t stand to lose or even turning to cheating or crime.

Before this column turns into a gambler’s anonymous meeting, however, let’s talk about how risk taking plays a role in settings you might not realize. Take your education here at the University, for example. How many of you would be happy just to graduate and find a decent-paying job you can live with? If you’re like me, then you used that mindset when picking a major and picked something stupid like computer engineering, because, apparently, there’s a strong job market out there for it.

You see, I could’ve aimed for some pipe dream to become an entrepreneur or perhaps an announcer on SportsCenter. But I didn’t, because, realistically, the competition for those careers is stiff and my chances could be slim. If your life is headed in any direction other than your wildest dreams, odds are it’s because you decided to play it safe and aim for more attainable goals.

The truth is, I’m not a risk taker. This wouldn’t be obvious if you knew about how much money I’ve won and lost playing online poker or my recent infatuation with sports betting. Even then, I never wager a penny outside of my bankroll, an amount that consists entirely of prior winnings. If I wake up tomorrow morning and lose everything I have in all my accounts, I’d be pretty down, but nothing horrible would become of me.

Still, gambling and risk taking is an undeniable rush. What many do to create this feeling is assign inordinate amounts of importance on the outcome of unimportant events. A fantasy football buff who loses a game because his opponent’s kicker made six field goals might complain about his horrible misfortune all week, but the loss won’t harm him in any way. When he wins his game the next week, he’ll celebrate and feel the rush that comes with victory, even though he’ll have gained nothing.

On the other hand, take one of my poker-playing friends. He and I started from the same roots, playing $10 buy-in games with friends in high school. He was infamous for his tendency to lose control and start spewing money when his luck turned sour. He is a risk-taker. He’s also a very determined and capable guy, and, in the last two years, he has risen to become a near world-class player. He’s gone all the way from $10 buy-ins to $10,000 buy-ins or more. Drunk one night in Vegas, he and his friend stayed up one night tossing coins for $5000 a flip. Try imagining yourself doing that.

You see, the risk-takers are what people talk about. Either they’re in the business section of the newspaper alongside billionaires like Bill Gates, who dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft from scratch, or they’re in the obituaries after failing in their quest to become professional stuntmen. They’re interesting, and they set the standards of both excellence and mediocrity in our society.

As for me, and anyone who can identify with me, well…we’re just plain boring. Don’t be sad, though — just accept it as a fact of life and go watch “Deal or No Deal” reruns.