Gambling/face

[andy50]

anti Thai sentiment removed

Edited May 2, 2005 by dr_Pat_Pong

[bkkmadness]

Is this a situation you plan on getting yourself into soon Andy?

If not, might be worth not worrying about it for now mate, deal with that one when it comes up is my suggestion

[Totster]

does the farang get mugged on his/her way back home ?-- i suspect the latter 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very negative..... what makes you suspect that..?

totster

[Totster]

does the farang get mugged on his/her way back home ?-- i suspect the latter 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very negative..... what makes you suspect that..?

totster

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from what i gleaned from previos posts, over the 3 years ive been reading , i had evry intention of moving to los ,but since reading how racist /corrupt thailand is --well its not for me good luck to you guys though

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Well I'm sorry you have got that impression... I do think it would be worth you looking for yourself though....

totster

[bkkmadness]

Theres a guy walking down a country road, on the way he meets an old woman, the old woman says to him, "where have you come from?", he responds, "the village just down the road" so she asks further, "And what were the people like at that village". He says "They were horrible, untrustworthy, lying scum" and adds "I'm going on to the next village now, are the people there any better?" to which the old woman says "no, your'll find them to be horrible, untrustworthy, lying scum too." And the man carrys on his way.

A little later in the day another man walking from the same village bumps into the old woman, the old woman says to him, "where have you come from?", he responds, "the village just down the road" so she asks further, "And what were the people like at that village". He says "They were great, friendly and generous" and adds "I'm going on to the next village now, awhat are the people there like?" to which the old woman says "Your'll find them to be great, friendly and generous too." And the man carrys on his way.

Something to think about Andy, coz your approach to the Thais seems suspicious, and you're already angry at your suspicions before you have even attempted to try it out to see if your suspicions were well founded. Your approach to people often denotes their appearence to you.

You can't very well not like a people accusing them of racism, when you have prejudged the whole race too. Height of hipocrisy IMO.

[Totster]

Andy .... am I to take it that you intended to move to Thailand without ever visiting...?

I'm sure if you'd visited before you would not have these negative views..

totster

[Spee]

what happens ,if a farang challeges/engages a thai/some thais to a game of ---say snooker or a card game , or they challenge him/her to the same,  etc

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The falang should know better either way. If he challenges and wins, then of course there is the potential for problems as you suggest. There is no way to win, because even if you win, you lose.

Same goes with the opposite challenge. Even if you win, you lose.

The easiest thing to do is smile, say you don't gamble, and offer to buy a round. No fuss, no muss, and everyone is happy.

[naka]

what happens ,if a farang challeges/engages a thai/some thais to a game of ---say snooker or a card game , or they challenge him/her to the same,  etc

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The falang should know better either way. If he challenges and wins, then of course there is the potential for problems as you suggest. There is no way to win, because even if you win, you lose.

Same goes with the opposite challenge. Even if you win, you lose.

The easiest thing to do is smile, say you don't gamble, and offer to buy a round. No fuss, no muss, and everyone is happy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why offer to buy a round ?. If you do, then now you've lost face

by paying compensation.

[peter991]

One of the first things I learnt about Thai people when I came to LOS is the issue of 'face.' Thais are very forgiving people and understand that we farang come from a different culture, but they do expect simple common courtesies that should be self-evident.

Thais who live in areas where there are a lot of farang still have strong cultural roots. I will be the first to 'back down' to allow my Thai to save face if I think I have made a mistake. If I think he is in the wrong, I will discuss the matter with him privately, away from family and friends.

I don't know if this is a good example or not, but it's similar to life in the workplace: If your boss has something to say to you, he/she should do so in their office, rather than in front of your workmates.

As to gambling, I have asked my partner not to gamble and he respects my wishes.

Peter

[Neeranam]

I used to play snooker everyday for money.

No big deals once you get to know the locals.

They get pissed off if they lose, but who doesn't.

The alkies are the ones to look out for, never accept theier challenge.

[RamdomChances]

I've played cards with Thais loads of times, won some lost some. Never any problems. They dont like you to leave the game while you are winning big, you have to give them some time to win some back. Its usually the losers that decide when to stop

[Totster]

I've played cards with Thais loads of times, won some lost some. Never any problems. They dont like you to leave the game while you are winning big, you have to give them some time to win some back. Its usually the losers that decide when to stop

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A couple of months ago a guy from another village lost his motorbike playing some game or other.... everyone was wondering around muttering " som num naa ", then finally someone took him back to his village.... didn't look like someone who had lost face though, he was still smiling and joking with everybody........

totster

[RamdomChances]

I've played cards with Thais loads of times, won some lost some. Never any problems. They dont like you to leave the game while you are winning big, you have to give them some time to win some back. Its usually the losers that decide when to stop

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A couple of months ago a guy from another village lost his motorbike playing some game or other.... everyone was wondering around muttering " som num naa ", then finally someone took him back to his village.... didn't look like someone who had lost face though, he was still smiling and joking with everybody........

totster

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That sounds about right you have to smile and joke even if you are losing, to show that you dont really care. Its not smiling and joking that will lose you "face". His misses probably gave him sh1t though when he went home

[Neeranam]

That sounds about right you have to smile and joke even if you are losing, to show that you dont really care. Its not smiling and joking that will lose you "face". His misses probably gave him sh1t though when he went home 

So true. My Thai friend who was saving up for a new car lost all his savings that had taken him a year to save playing cards over two days in Songkran.

100,000 baht!

He of course, just smiled and said "mai pen rai".

[Neeranam]

QUOTE(andy50 @ 2005-05-03 03:26:54)

what happens ,if a farang challeges/engages a thai/some thais to a game of ---say snooker or a card game , or they challenge him/her to the same,  etc

The falang should know better either way. If he challenges and wins, then of course there is the potential for problems as you suggest. There is no way to win, because even if you win, you lose.

Same goes with the opposite challenge. Even if you win, you lose.

The easiest thing to do is smile, say you don't gamble, and offer to buy a round. No fuss, no muss, and everyone is happy.

In my experience, the Thai may lose face against a farang in a tourist area, when gambling. Outside Patpong or Nana etc., I don't think it has anything to do with face. Most farang who have been in Thailand for more than a few years don't go to the touristy areas as they know what the locals are saying about them and the way they feel about them. In my opinion, most of the Thais that hang around Pat Pong or Nana, or Khao San Road are the scum of the country.

[rainman]

I rarely gamble (ie. cards and such), but i play darts regularely with and against teams of 90%+ Thais. Many of them (especially the people in my team), i know very well and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, no big deal.

With other teams in the leagues, though, some of which rarely play against teams containing farangs, there seems to be dissapointment if they lose to a farang. But also extremely great joy if they win. With one team, however, i've observed them laugh all evening at the guy who lost to the farang.

Different people, different opinions, different actions. I've never had a fight with a Thai and i have many good friends. Overall, i find them among some of the friendliest people towards foreigners in the world.

[andy50]

thanks for being gentle with me guys/gals i know this subject is a bit "touchy"

may i say that i have been to los about 10x , my first visit being i 1987,the last visit was during the tsunami , (i was in phuket),luckily i only got my feet wet ! i posted the subject not out of malice,but i think that this "loss of face" thing may not be just a thai thing ,

some years back i worked in the persian gulf on an island for the total oil company ,there was a korean firm there too ,

we had a pool table in our canteen &a darts board ,they used to come over and ask us to play a game of pool- which at first we used to do,--but boy oh boy!if they started losing all ###### was let loose!talk about "throwing their toys out of the buggy"they used to sling the pool cue across the room then storm off ,so perhaps they have something i common with some thais !

[Totster]

talk about "throwing their toys out of the buggy"they used to sling the pool cue across the room then storm off ,so perhaps they have something i common with some thais !

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm sure if any Thai did the same as this they would suffer more loss of face than from just losing the game.....

Can't think I've ever seen a Thai person behave like this after losing a game of something...

totster

[Neeranam]

we had a pool table in our canteen &a darts board ,they used to come over and ask us to play a game of pool- which at first we used to do,--but boy oh boy!if they started losing all ###### was let loose!talk about "throwing their toys out of the buggy"they used to sling the pool cue across the room then storm off ,so perhaps they have something i common with some thais !

There is a big difference between "loss of face" and "loss of temper".

[RamdomChances]

talk about "throwing their toys out of the buggy"they used to sling the pool cue across the room then storm off ,so perhaps they have something i common with some thais !

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm sure if any Thai did the same as this they would suffer more loss of face than from just losing the game.....

Can't think I've ever seen a Thai person behave like this after losing a game of something...

totster

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I'd agree with Toaster. There probably are some that behave like this but I've never met one. Up here if anyone behaved like that he'd just never get invited to play cards/snooker ect again.

[penelope]

We usually play for "x" amount of baht per hole when we(thais/non-thais) play golf. It's all fun, and everyone knows.The only face lost is when you can't drive it past the ladies tee

BTW, these are the rules we play :

Each member of the foursome puts 1800 baht in the purse = 7200 baht = 400 baht per hole up for grabs. The player with the lowest handicaped nett score on a hole, wins the $. If any ties, then the $ carrys over to the next hole. So if there was no outright hole winner for the first 9 holes, you'd be playing the 10th hole for 4000 baht

Edited May 4, 2005 by penelope

[Totster]

when we(thais/non-thais)

We usually play for  "x" amount of baht per hole.....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds like a night on Soi Cowboy.....!!!!

Sorry... couldn't resist...

totster