THE GAMBLER

how are you betting you're a gambling man even if it's no more than a little penny ante now and then earn a cage like to make a bet now Lynette if you think you have a fair chance of winning or even breaking even [Music] but now how do you decide whether it's worth the risk why you figure the odds of course if the odds are even well then used to the 50/50 chance of doubling her money if the chances against you are pretty long well then you demand more than even money you ask for bigger odds you figured your chances of winning are pretty slim but considering what you could win then it's worth the risk the point is you don't make a bet until the odds are right on the other hand here's a game that offers pretty good odds 5 to 1 to be exact it's a game called Russian Roulette it's simple to play all you need is a revolver you place one shell in the cylinder then you spin it without looking to see where the shell is then you put the muzzle against your head and pull the trigger see there's nothing to it there's only one chance in six of you're losing nice odds in any man's game wanna try it no I didn't think so because Russian Roulette is a sucker's game no matter what the odds you're making us sucker bet know why because when you make that bet you've got nothing to win and everything to lose so you say you're too smart to ever get in on a game like that but are you sure would you like to make a little bet on that how about this did you ever do this the chances are you have at one time or another working like this is not a bad gamble as far as odds go there probably isn't one chance and say yeah 50 of that Bank giving way and that Boulder falling down on top of you but it's still a sucker bet like Russian Roulette because you're betting your life against nothing that it won't happen now what does it take to eliminate the risk just a few extra minutes with your dozer [Music] just a few extra minutes between a sure thing and a sucker bet or maybe you've bet it this way now the odds are there isn't a rocking limb on that tree that'll give way and falling it but is it a smart chance to take would it be smarter gambling to check it first to be sure and if there is a dead limb either remove it or work on the side away from it that way you're not playing a sucker game one that's almost as silly as this but how about it do you still say you never make a sucker bet now of course it isn't always your own life that you're betting sometimes it's the other guy [Music] go Hey that was really a sucker bet pretty high stakes to wager against nothing nothing but the few minutes it would have taken to play it safe yeah the smart gambler figures the odds he figures that when he has to change the cutting edge the time it takes to block it up is a pretty good investment [Music] you never know when this can save a life there's all kinds of gamblers in our business some play it close to the belt others free and easy here for instance as you know it's good maintenance to open the petcock on the air tank at night to drain out any water that might have accumulated but suppose something happens and suppose you forget to come back and close that valve well there's no harm done unless in the morning you're in so much of a hurry you forget that valve and then you'll make a sucker bet you start out without waiting for the pressure to build up you figure you'll let it build up while you're moving before you need your breaks but it doesn't build up because it can't and this could be the one time in a hundred when your luck runs out [Music] so that's the sort of a bet that costs you and an innocent guy your gauge could have told you in a couple of minutes that your air pressure hadn't built up but you wanted to save those few minutes and so oh you gambled and speaking of breaks there's one sure bet you can make they're no good unless you use them [Music] any wonder we recommend always setting the break any wonder the smart gambler always grounds the blade drops the bucket or lowers the bowl when he stops sure it takes a few seconds but it can keep someone else alive Princeton's it's the end of the day you're anxious to get home so you don't take the time to lower the blade on your machine you'll be back first thing in the morning and nobody's gonna bother it oh no it just so happens that machinery like yours holds a great fascination for small boys look around any construction job after the workmen have gone home and you'll see what I mean these kids are living in our world of boyhood dreams imagining the time when they'll be big enough to operate equipment like this they don't see any danger in these big glamorous machines and they don't know you've set him up in a sucker's game [Music] yeah it could happen and I expect if it ever happened on your machine you'd feel like playing Russian roulette with all six shells in the cylinder but on every construction job every day someone is making at least one sucker bet betting injury and possibly death against just the few minutes or seconds that it would take to do the job right to play it safe how many times have you done this got off your machine leaving it in gear no the machine isn't going anyplace true unless you just happened to hit that clutch lever the chances are you could jump off but maybe not and you might pay a pretty high price for the few seconds safe or maybe you'd like to save time this way you want to adjust the clutch on the cable control you know you should shut off the engine but you don't you make the adjustment while it's running what you know how to adjust the clutch and you think you can do it without getting it too tight but if you're sure the blade will raise you can make a such a bet with a tractor just as well as with a gun cables are an important tool on any construction job but they can make a sucker out of yer unless you treat them with respect pulling at an angle can damage a cable and a frayed cable is a dangerous weapon so to play it safe keep a good straight pull on the cable and keep other people out of the way so in case it does break under tension they're not gonna be caught in the bite [Applause] yeah you have to keep an eye on the other guy sure it's up to him to look after himself but you hate to see anybody step into a sucker bet chances are it won't happen but if it does whose fault is it well at least partly yours or maybe you're operating our shovel or a dragline some wagon operators are great gamblers they seem to like to risk their neck there you drop a load on it you're in a hurry so sometimes you'll let them get away with it and that's one of the biggest sucker bets in their business maybe there isn't much chance of that cable breaking or that you're going to misjudge but you're betting a man's life that it won't happen you know how to bet it's safe even if it takes a few seconds longer make him get out of the seat and as for you never swing a load over his head they say it's a difference of opinion that makes horse races sure but who makes money off the horses consistently why the bookie of course and the reason is he plays the odds he doesn't bet for the fun of it you wouldn't catch him making sucker bets like this or like this now if he knew your business as well as you do he'd want better odds he'd stand back just in case something went wrong and the professional wouldn't gamble this way either anybody who figures the odds knows hitching a ride on a drawbar is a sucker bet a man who does it is betting a few minutes time against the chance of falling down between two moving machines no smart operator lets anyone ride on his machine either on the drawbar or on the seat with him you may get away with it for a long time but you never know another thing if you like horseplay or racing get your horse or a racing car don't try it on the job if you do you're betting against yourself you're asking for trouble so why not play it smart keep your distance so there are all kinds of sucker bets an operator who wouldn't will take other chances almost is foolish plantain grease or oil on the steps or deckplates can cause a bad fall these hazards can mean the difference between a full paycheck and our hospital bill cranks and other tools tossed on the deck can jam the controls good housekeeping around machinery doesn't mean lace curtains it just means playing it safe even something as simple as filling a tire can be a bad gamble it isn't likely but if that snap ring should fly off the result wouldn't be pretty so why not take the best odds you can get by standing to the side one of old man chances favorite suckers is the guy who handles gasoline with a lighted cigarette nice face remember this it's one of the first safety rules that you learned always walk around your machine before you started do you always do it [Music] okay boys let's go to work [Music] all right granted it isn't likely to happen but it could it could happen unless you take a few extra seconds to walk around your machine before starting off and a few seconds bet against a man's life is a sucker bet whether it's someone else's life or your own yes your time is valuable but it's not worth as much as your neck [Music] [Music] let's go [Music] it would have taken a minute or two to block that ejector but our friend was in a hurry well he won't have to worry about it but how about you you're still around and there are dozens of sucker bets you can make on your job so how you betting do you figure the odds do you play it safe or do you figure you can still afford to take the wrong chance well okay maybe you can make your sucker bets for years but remember this every time you get away with something your chances next time are just that much less after all nobody can keep on playing Russian roulette forever [Music]