When I was in my teens, I learned to read tarot cards, admittedly because it seemed to impress the girls.

To my surprise, I got pretty good at it.  

It was just a party trick for me, but I couldn’t help but notice powerful insights in these readings. I seriously doubted any supernatural origins of my own, so naturally, I began to ask myself-- How do I do this? How does it all work?

Thus began an exploration of a curious human tendency-- the facial expressions of people whose cards I read led me to explain their fortunes even if I did not know it was happening.

Recently, a Korean company called The ASK Inc. has developed an AI-powered fortune teller that operates on the same premise-- it reads users’ faces to predict their future.

There are only a handful of universal questions people want to know about– it’s either health, love life, money, or career, for the most part. From the jump, you’ve got a leg up on the reading, even if those whose fortunes are being told still find it all very mysterious.

He said, "Son, I've made a life

Out of readin' people's faces

Knowin' what the cards were

By the way they held their eyes

–Kenny Rogers, The Gambler

It's similar to playing Texas Hold’em, or any gambling game for that matter. Reading other players ‘tells’ is crucial-- just as important as the cards themselves. But the best players, the ones who win the most money, don't consistently have good hands. Bluffing is a tool, not a strategy. Knowing when to bluff and when to conceal a strong hand is key. It’s neither mind reading nor luck, but a developed skill.

Fear and Counting in Las Vegas

After I left my tarot-reading phase, I entered my card-playing phase. My buddy, Kent, and I would fly out to Vegas every two or three weeks, and park ourselves at the blackjack table, in a somewhat less chaotic version of  Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.  While we had fun, we also played very intentionally, and intently. We paid attention to all of the details. We would strategically sit ourselves at the end of the table to track the cards dealt to preceding players, so we could count face cards (equalling 10) and other relevant cards, aiding our bets. 

Back then, believe it or not, casinos still dealt from single decks of exactly 52 cards, so it was fairly easy to keep track (‘count’) of what had been played, and what might still be in the undealt part of the deck. The thrill eventually faded when casinos adopted multiple decks to increase the number of cards you had to keep track of and curb us card counters. 

Our proudest moment was getting kicked out of a casino for counting cards. We’d won around $400 and this little casino considered us high-stakes threats. Wow! Who wouldn't want those bragging rights– and here I am, still bragging.

I want to believe

My gambling days didn’t last much longer– now I wouldn’t be caught dead at the blackjack table. However, my experiences there were not unlike what I learned telling fortunes with tarot– and the similarities went well beyond playing cards.

Rather, it was about people's unwavering belief in the supernatural. They craved explanations beyond the ordinary, whether it was luck or something more mystical– either way, it had to be something besides what was happening right before their eyes. Often, intuition was mistaken for a supernatural ‘sixth sense.’ 

But what I saw, both as a fortune teller, and a blackjack player, was the exact opposite of intuition– in fact, it was a suspension of logic and common sense, replaced by the whims of an unseen, mysterious power that we call ‘luck’ or ‘fate’. 

I learned that people see what they want to see, and find temporary joy, and even personal empowerment, by blindly trusting their whims and wants. It’s ‘manifesting’ gone wild, heading to Vegas in a rental car with the top down, sure to return with only the shirt on their backs and an unhealthy dose of disenchantment. Not my idea of a good time.

Am I taking the fun out of it? Am I robbing what little mystery might be left in an increasingly predictable world? Sorry if it seems so. I love the fun of mystery and the mystery of fun. Give me a well-performed magic show any day. Make me proclaim, "How did he DO that?"  

Know When to Fold ‘Em

Alas, your ability to spot your winning streaks is no substitute for the experience of counting cards, reading faces, and knowing when to get up and walk away. I’m saying this because I see too much willingness to suspend facts, recognize what is real, discern the truth, and depend on one’s own grit, good sense, and good spirits. 

It’s as if we’ve all gone to Vegas, had too much to drink, and are wondering where all of that money went. And if you think you will find THAT answer from your local fortune teller, think again. Because that fortune teller can read your face, and already knows what you want to hear.  

Yes, she knows your fortune, alright– and she also knows how to make whatever money you have left hers, leaving you with nothing but your own fear and self-loathing.   

© Ray Brimble and stringtheorybyraybrimble.com, 2024. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Ray Brimble and stringtheorybyraybrimble.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.