WHY I NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT THE DICE by Phil Simborg

Reproduced here with kind permission from Phil:

​Here is why I NEVER complain about the rolls, or luck:

1. It's rude.  It suggests your opponent is only winning because he is lucky and implies that he is not skillful.  It is just very bad form and insulting.
2. Nobody cares.  Everyone is tired of hearing it.  Everyone only sees their own bad rolls and forgets their great ones.
3. It's often NOT TRUE that you are unlucky.  Everyone rolls the same.  If you think you are rolling more than your share of bad rolls, you're probably playing badly and not realizing it...because the worse you play, the more bad rolls there are and the more good rolls you give your opponent. 
4. If you concentrate on your bad rolls, YOU WILL PLAY WORSE.  Complaining focuses your mind and energy on the wrong things.  You think about  how bad you are rolling, or how good your opponents roll, instead of what you really should be concentrating on: what is the right decision? 
5. Complaining makes the game less enjoyable.  For you.  The more you make an issue of your bad luck, the more you will remember the bad luck and the less fun you will have playing.  Even if you win.

Bottom line, I NEVER complain about a roll, or bad luck.  Ever.  And I am sure my opponents appreciate it, and I am sure I play better and am happier as a result.  And when someone tells me how lucky I was, I give them my standard reply:  "Yes, I was lucky I got you for an opponent!"

Note:  Phil Simborg first wrote and published this article in 1987 and has not once complained about the dice or luck since.  (During that time, however, Phil has had ulcers, a mild heart attack, a slipped disc in his back brought on by tension, high blood pressure, various well-known fits of temper and mild depression, short-term memory loss, divorce, gout, carpal tunnel, hip replacement, excessive weight gain and loss, various obsessive and compulsive habits.)