if you don't understand the economic basis behind a complex puzzle of interlocking pieces,
your chances of putting it together right the first try
are somewhere between 
slim and none...

you have to know what something costs, before you can grasp what its worth, only then can you begin to know with certainty
if your home run wasn't really a strike out in disguise

let's say your game is theft of property, and you're trying to get over on someone, by ruthlessly ripping them off

before you start gloating
openly about your victory
don't forget to
ask yourself this:

did you lose anything
in the process?

this is essential to evaluating the outcome, so make sure you pause long enough to ponder well:

did you lose more
than you gained?

sometimes, the thrill of an
imagined victory covers up the
agony of undeniable defeat

just because your finger is on the trigger doesn't mean you have the balls to pull it, or any ammo to shoot, another man's loss is not necessarily your gain,
if you paid X to steal Y,
and it turns out that Y
is of lesser value than X,
then you lost

think about it...

at least be honest with yourself...

or did you pay X
to steal Y with that, too?