The Ten Second Rule

There was a kid who came through my room in the seventies, quick hands, quicker mouth. He could run a table when the angels were with him. But he had one habit that emptied his pockets more than any opponent ever did. The second he saw a shot, he shot it. No walk around the table. No look at what the cue ball would do after. See it, hit it, live with it.

I was not much better at his age. My father, who worked thirty years in a print shop and never gambled a nickel, used to watch me rush through everything, meals, chores, decisions, and he would say the same thing every time. The shot will still be there in ten seconds. He was talking about pool because that was the language I spoke, but he meant all of it.

Here is what those ten seconds are for. They are not for finding a better shot. Most times the shot you saw first is the shot you take. The ten seconds are for letting the itch pass so you can tell the difference between a decision and a reflex. A reflex feels like certainty. It is not. It is just speed wearing certainty's jacket.

I think about that kid when the young fellows in here show me their phones. The apps are built the way he played. See it, tap it, live with it. The bet slip is one thumb away, and the whole design is a hand on your back saying hurry, this line moves at kickoff. Nothing that rushes you is on your side. I learned that across felt tables in eleven states, and it has not changed because the table turned into glass.

So here is the old man's ask. Whatever the itch is, a bet, a trade, an angry text, give it the ten seconds your better self needs to show up. If it is a good idea, it will still be a good idea. Most reflexes do not survive the wait, and that tells you what they were.

And if the itch is winning more days than you are, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET, and 988 if things feel heavy. Ten seconds, then the call. Both will keep.

Sal