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chistevyesterday at 5:57 PM3 repliesview on HN

Does it really make games more interesting? If anything, doesn't it add anxiety as you watch the game?

Is anxiety interesting?

And if you only bet a negligible amount of money, then the outcome of the game doesn't really matter all that much.


Replies

emptybitsyesterday at 8:41 PM

> Does it really make games more interesting?

> If anything, doesn't it add anxiety as you watch the game?

> Is anxiety interesting?

Yes. Adding anxiety generally makes things more interesting. Think of watching a story or a film or a game play out. Good stories often involve giving the reader some anxiety. Tension. Not knowing what's going to happen, but being somehow invested in it ... to stay engaged.

roland35today at 1:49 AM

I am staying away from sports betting, but I have done fantasy football a few times. I was constantly on edge from it all, even when I was winning! Constantly thinking of who I needed to pick up, who to trade, which matchups were good, it was a time sink.

And I ended up losing to my 10 year old nephew for the championship game!

JumpCrisscrossyesterday at 8:41 PM

> doesn't it add anxiety as you watch the game?

I don’t generally like gambling. On a recent trip to Vegas I socially gambled with friends and won about $5k, but then lost $500 of it and was more annoyed about losing that sum than the net amount gained. Such is my personality.

That said, a friendly game of poker is absolutely more fun with a $10 buy-in or whatnot. So I can see the general idea holding water. What we don’t need are (a) ads or (b) large bets.