I've noticed that when I play any game with an element of chance in it, I soon start taking it personally. If I make the right moves or guess the right answer I feel clever; if I happen to look in all the wrong places first, I feel dumb. Chess (which I seldom play) is supposed to be all skill and logic but I may find myself with an easy opponent or a tough one and feel "lucky" or "unlucky" accordingly. Sudoku is the same way but when I play it online, individual puzzles can be easier or harder than the "level" they're rated at. If I happen to hit several easy ones in a row, I must be having a good day; several hard ones, and I must be doing something wrong. I'm sure playing something for money would make me a lot crazier about that.

When I was playing chess competitively in high school, I once found myself facing a kid from another school who started out by insulting me. Then, not very far into our game, he proceeded to make a truly egregious mistake which I managed to take good advantage of (and win easily). To me this seemed like poetic justice, "the way it should be," and I was always disappointed afterwards when something else would refuse to work like that.

I'm glad to see you're already a member of the Gardening Club social group. I was about to invite you over.