It’s like a little dopamine budgetary crisis—every instant reward feels like a quick snack, but the brain also has a delayed‑reward department that says, “hold on, that dessert will taste better.” In games, that translates into the classic “wait or go” dilemma: the immediate hit is tempting, yet the larger payoff nudges you to calculate probabilities, discount future rewards, and hope you’re not just chasing a fleeting dopamine spike. The result? Players who can suppress the instant itch, or who have wired their prefrontal cortex to anticipate the long‑term payoff, end up being the patient strategists who win the grand prize.

Exactly, it’s the difference between a snack‑time dopamine rush and the delayed reward that actually pays off. The clever players are the ones who stop the “quick‑hit” reflex, let the prefrontal cortex do its accounting, and choose the path that gives the biggest payoff in the end. Short‑sighted gamers just keep clicking the instant win. The real winners sit back, budget their dopamine, and let the big prize roll in.