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ze those who start on a gambling career with singular good luck, retaining that luck long enough to learn to trust in it confidently, and then losing it once for all, remaining thereafter constantly unlucky.
Thirdly, gamblers regard the great bulk of their community as men of varying luck--sometimes in the vein' sometimes not--men who, if they are to be successful, must, according to the superstitions of the gambling world, be most careful to watch the progress of events. These, according to Steinmetz, the great authority on all such questions (probably because of the earnestness of his belief in gambling superstitions), may gamble or not, according as they are ready or not to obey the dictates of gambling prudence. When they are in the vein they should gamble steadily on; but so soon as ' the maturity of the chances' brings with it a change of luck they must withdraw. If they will not do this they are likely to join the crew of the unlucky.
Fourthly, there are those, according to the ideas of gamblers, who are pursued by constant ill-luck. They are never 'in the vein.' If they win during the first half of an evening, they lose more during the latter half. But usually they lose all the time.
Fifthly, gamblers recognize a class who, having begun unfortunately, have had a change of luck later, and have become members of the lucky fraternity. This change they usually ascribe to some action or event which, to the less brilliant imaginations of outsiders, would seem to have nothing whatever to do with the gambler's luck. For instance, the luck changed when the man married--his wife being a shrew; or because he took to wearing white waistcoats; or because so-and-so, who had been a sort of evil genius to the unlucky man, had gone abroad or died; or for some equally preposterous reason.
Then there are special classes of lucky or unlucky men, or special peculiarities of luck, believed in by individual gamblers, but not generally recognized.
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