Gambling as a window to human nature

Right, so, since I'm currently attempting to write a story about a poker player, I thought it might be a good idea to actually learn something about poker. I've discovered that there's actually a really interesting philosophy behind it, when you actually understand how the probability works. Apparently, the key to actually winning money (as opposed to just winning hands occasionally) is knowing when to fold, and saving your money for good hands and high stakes. It all reminded me of that bad joke about the stopped clock - you know, that a stopped clock is better than a functional one because the stopped clock is exactly right twice a day and the functional one is three minutes off all the time. But it's true - I mean, people are more content to almost win all the time rather than to definitely win some of the time and definitely lose the rest of the time. Except, you can almost win at poker. And it's not just poker either - people spend inordinate amounts of money on the lottery and other gambling picks even when simple math can tell anyone that it's a bad bet. What is it we lack? Patience? A Big Picture? Common sense? Why do people gravitate to probably as opposed to definitely?