Coping with losses?

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Quote: seattledice

A typical session at the craps table might be buy in for $500 ... and leave if my stake drops below $250.

Did I read that right?

Are you saying you'll get $500 in chips with the intention of never touching half of them? While I see people do this all the time - or even with bigger buy-ins, I never understood the rationale.

Personally, I would buy in with whatever I was willing to lose. In your case $250. If I lost it, I'm done, take a walk, do the re-think thing.

I find it a lot easier to bet chips if I have them, than it is to reach into my pocket to reload.

The net is the same, so why buy in for more?

Quote: seattledice

... even if I lost, I stuck to my plan, and I walked away with something.

I get the psychology of leaving with something, but it seems to me to be counter-productive by softening the feeling of having lost.

I think once you walk away as a loser, it's healthy to have that 'loser' feeling rather than to mask it. It helps you to settle down, and have a better self-analysis before going back to battle.

Well, I did say, "Obviously everyone is different, so these ideas might not make sense or work for you."

The play I described is an alternative to the "play until I recover the lost or lose my entire bankroll" that the OP described.

I figured I'd take some heat (good natured heat of course) and I tried to give some of my reasons. This approach was derived from numerous books and my own experiences. I don't think it is softening the feeling of having lost or masking it by making a plan and sticking to it. In fact, with this method I have the opporunity to feel like a real loser if I blow right through the loss limit and lose it all.

Yes, I understand that my real session loss limit is only $250, so why not just buy in with $250 and play it out? In my experience, after I lost an entire session stake, I had a stong desire to "get even" - to rush to the next session and play too aggressively to try to win it back. After walking away from the table having lost half a session stake, I am much calmer. I have that 'loser' feeling, but I don't need to get back out there and try to win it back with foolish bets. Trying to "get even" is a dangerous place to be when you are gambling, because that can lead to quickly losing the next session stake, and the next, and all of a sudden your entire bankroll is gone. (That part is fortunately from the books and not my own experience.)

Quote: darktin

when I lose, I would play until I recover the lost or lose my entire bankroll.

Quote: darktin

Once I lose, my emotions take over me and not my head anymore.

Quote: darktin

Any thoughts come to mind such as how to pay the bills or working at your job for nothing?

Quote: darktin

How depress can you really get?

Quote: darktin

This is more psychological than mathematics.

Read these statements carefully.

darktin: gambling is not for you. Please, seek counseling. How depressed can you really get? Enough to kill yourself. If you are depressed enough to go to a gambling forum and ask that question of total strangers, then you are pretty depressed and calling for help. Call Gamblers Anonymous. And do it now, before gambling ruins your life.