Is It Ron's Love for Gambling or Maths?

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I don't think that he loved gambling that much. He loved chess and math. He only wanted to gamble to make quick money and had to make efforts to learn it at first. Unknowingly, being good at math it helped him with his gambling "career".

Exactly what I thought. He loves maths though he relaized that later. And that gave him an advantage in gambling

[salvo_]

Interesting point. I think most of all, he wanted to be closer to Regina. When she was out of the picture, all of his motivation seemed to wane again.

[Eareeves99]

I think Ron was motivated by money. Like it or not, money gives you choices. As an orphan, Ron had no control over what happened to him; he was thrust from one situation to the next. Chess earned him money. Gambling earned him money. School earned him money. What I find interesting is how much work he put into not wanting to work-he studied poker a good bit! Later, he demonstrates that he could easily apply that dedication elsewhere, but would he have done it without the money?

[shannonkate8]

I also found your comment interesting. Gambling probably led to an increase in his fondness for math. That said, gambling is more statistics than generalized math, which I found interest.
It makes me think a lot of the movie 21. The plot of the movie is that an MIT student becomes involved in an ilicit gambling ring to help pay for college. In this scenario, though, the concepts were reversed - the aptitude for math led to applying it to gambling.

[Fozia RYK]

The outward persuasive draws of succeeding at betting and looking for Regina, at that point Sheila's, endorsement were what drove him. I think his cunning empowered him to utilize both math and betting to succeed once he had that outside inspiration

[AbhyarnaAman]

I think that it can easily work both ways. He was interested in gambling to earn a living. He went to school because it became a way to earn a living. It seems as though he liked math somewhat already, but gambling increased that interest, along with his crush, of course. Hard to tell which was actually more important, or if Ron even knew himself.

I agree with you about it working bothways, may be he was good at gambling because of math and vice versa.

[Ashley Cremer]

I am in the middle of this book right now and I think it’s the opposite. I think Ron always knew he was smart and good at Math, hence him playing chess at a young age. I think he just never tried in school because he had no motivation. Once he realized that his knowledge in math could make him some money in poker, he began that. So I think the knowledge of math was always there, just somewhat hidden under the surface.

[Georgephilips]

Well, I certainly don't agree to that. And yes he was more inclined to gambling, but this was before he met Regina. And his motive behind gambling was solely because of money. His love for mathematics increased after Regina had promised to pay him. He was just another born talent for mathematics, and yes his love for mathematics made him rich! But Chess paved that path. If it wasn't for chess he wouldn't have seen Regina.

[Ify_Reviewer]

I see Ron's Math ability as being latent until he had the opportunity to explore it. His gambling skills was obvious because he had the opportunity to delve into it earlier. The reverse would have been the case if things were to be different

[bjoly2]

It seemed as if gambling were always going to be a means to an end. Ron never struck me as someone who had a "problem" with gambling, but rather he did what needed to be done to make ends meet and was driven by a strong financial need. When Regina stepped in to absolve him of that burden, gambling quickly fell by the wayside and seemed to disappear from Ron's identity altogether. His love for math, though, once revealed, remained strong and pulled him through even in the face of difficulties like divorce.

[Abacus]

Ron gives up gambling and math takes over. Seems to me that he is obsessional.

[Noelle770]

Yes, he didn't have much interest in school, given the fact that he's more interested in earning money since he grew up poor. But he discovered his potential in school through Regina, who convinced him to go there, not through gambling. When he got in, he discovered he was good at mathematics and his professors even noticed him.

I do agree that school was not his main area of interest. I think he liked to think. He took gambling as more of science than just like, kind of like chess. He wanted to understand the patterns. In that way math and gambling are similar so I think he like both. I agree though that he probably only started to truly like math when he realized he was good at it and was recognized for it.

[Amber_joslyn]

Yes, he didn't have much interest in school, given the fact that he's more interested in earning money since he grew up poor. But he discovered his potential in school through Regina, who convinced him to go there, not through gambling. When he got in, he discovered he was good at mathematics and his professors even noticed him.

There is a risk in gambling, right. Which seems to make gambling such an exciting event. I think that Regina might have influenced him to do well in school, but that it was his risk-taking behaviors that pushed his life forward. He didn't do predictable, he did what was challenging and never done before.

[Lucille27]

I think he is more focused on gambling because he likes to go with the flow throughout his life choices. However, I think maths complement and give order and structure to his life.

[Lucille27]

I think he is more focused on gambling because he likes to go with the flow throughout his life choices. However, I think maths complement and give order and structure to his life.