Pop quiz:

Q.  What do a 1978 country music song and the Second Life land business have in common?

A.  More than you might think!

Kenny Rogers’ song The Gambler is famous the world over.

This timeless chorus offers sage advice not only for poker players,

but also for business owners and land barons:

You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em,

Know when to walk away, know when to run.

You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table,

There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.

How do you know when it’s time to sell or abandon a sim?

First, you have to know if your sim is in profit.

Which means you have to do a little number crunching:

A. How much tier is coming in?

B. How much tier do you pay to Linden Labs?

Listen to the Gambler: know when to hold ’em, and when to fold ’em.

If A is greater than B congratulations, your sim is in profit!  Hold ’em.

If B is greater than A, you are losing money. Fold ’em.

Not so fast.

A sim that is near the profit line is one you probably want to keep.

If you are losing $10-$30 per month on your sim, you can make that up with one parcel sale and get your sim in profit.

So, when do you fold ’em?

You need to fold ’em when you are losing money.  

Big money.  

Too much money.

How much is too much?

Well, that’s up to you.

My basic rule of thumb is, if a sim is 50% vacant or more, its time to clear the sim and sell it.

There’s no reason to lose $100 USD per month or more just to keep a sim on the grid.

Listen to the Gambler: know when to walk away, or run (!), from losing sims.

One more thing.

And this is where you shouldn’t listen to The Gambler.

The Gambler says not to count your money while you are sitting at the table.

Listen to the Lizard: if you don’t count your money, how will you know if your sims are in profit?

You won’t.

So, with apologies to Kenny Rogers, I present The Gambler for virtual breadwinners:

You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em,

Know when to sell your sims, know when to cancel.

You better count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table,

’cause if you don’t keep your sims in profit, then your biz is done.

Have fun, and good luck!

Lizard

You Tube: The Gambler