You Guys Ever Give it a Rest?

I may need to take a break. I went to the local tables yesterday and never got paid; didn't hit one bet.

The previous few sessions were similar. Plop down a Pass Line bet, and the shooter opens with three rolls of craps, followed with a point - seven. Grrrr!

Do you ever put down the dice (or cards) and just push away from the tables for a while?

Man, I won $1200 two weeks ago, and lost $400 on each of the next two trips. I'm done for a while, myself.

Yeah craps can run sooo cold. BJ too. Try poker. Although you run into some bad beats you are in more control and I never seem to run bad for near as long as craps or BJ.

Quote: Calder

and the shooter opens with three rolls of craps, followed with a point - seven.

Made all those Don'tPass players real happy!! I guess you can walk away, ask for a meal comp and walk away, or stay and switch to the Dark Side. Perhaps decrease the amount that you are betting too?

Happened to me at Blackjack once. I kept losing and losing... l won ONE hand and I actually said after the dealer had paid me "I didn't know you knew how to do that". Then I started losing again and again. Finally I was down to two Greens and I figured that is two Player bets. So I switched to Baccarat. Banker, twice in a row! I drove home. All in one very short visit to the casino. Bad day! Even choked while slurping water on my way home. Just a bad day!

Walking away is a good thing (it's just a bad patch). Staying away is the hard thing (you are never in a postive EV with craps, so expect to lose in the long run). If I could just see ten seconds into the future, life in the casino would be so much better.

Last night playing craps I went six shooters without collecting a bet, lost $600. Went to the other casino and won $800 before losing a bet.

Quote: Calder

Plop down a Pass Line bet, and the shooter opens with three rolls of craps, followed with a point - seven. Grrrr!

When I had the dice during my $600 losing streak, there was one other player at the table. He plays $5 horn high twelve. I throw a twelve. He presses the horn high twelve, and I throw aces. He presses, I throw a three. He's pressed up to $40 horn high twelve and I throw a 12. He gets paid more than $450, probably up $500 by now. While he's winning, I've lost $40. He never said a word to me the whole time.

Quote: Headlock

He never said a word to me the whole time.

Why should he. He was making "four bad bets simultaneously" and you turned them into profitable ones. They were still bad bets... they just happened to pay off, thats all. You were still playing Basic Strategy. You were still at a 1.414 percent house edge. You were a Right Bettor!

Quote: Calder

I may need to take a break. Do you ever put down the dice (or cards) and just push away from the tables for a while?

It's important to be able to walk away every now and then. I know many here don't believe in karma or luck. When you're down and the depression sinks in, you're more likely to make a bad or stupid bet. You need to step aside, walk around, and relax. Build the confidence back up before you go back.

in BJ, I was pained to lose 13 hands straight. WTF?! And that was playing perfect strategy. In Craps, after I lose my buy-in or 2nd session buy-in, I am done and I walk away. I might come back, but not before I'm almost officially ready to leave the casino. Try having 5 straight losing sessions. Now that really hurts. Or one really bad losing session.

Have to walk away. Regroup mentally.

One of these days someone will take my advice of the one hit walkaway scenario: After a string of losses or a major loss, when you clear your head and go back and are able to be up one unit. Walk away.

Yeah, take a break. I was running really bad in everything recently: VP, BJ, Craps ... everything. I couldn't get paid no matter how hard I tried. I asked for some advice from the board and instead of trying to make everything up, lessened my activity. When I started back up again, I ran very well and have since built my bankroll to its highest point. I would think of it as "character building" experience -- makes you a better gambler.

My worst session was playing through 4 decks of double deck BJ, so I guess it was 8 decks of cards total, lost every single bet and pushed on one, I could not believe how lousy the cards were going! Im glad it was just cheap $2 BJ. I went back a couple weeks ago to the same casino (Cal Neva in Reno) and I was spreading 5-25 a hand, got up about $150 at one point, but cashed out $50 ahead, not a bad run for my 20 min of nickel play.

I change it up depending on how much time I have. Quite frankly if you want to make money, play poker. There are so many bad players and if you have the time just sit there and chop wood until you get a good starting hand. Pay to see the flop, play pot odds if you are drawing and just raise the pot if you have one of the top three holdings. Bail out if you feel like someone caught up and you really can't lose in the long run. In the short run I have lost my stack, but I have made thousands just playing poker against morons who draw or think that two pair is the nuts.

If I don't have the time for poker I will play BJ and count moderately. Double or triple my bet if the count is running high and otherwise just play the minimum on the table. I find that playing this way you never really get heat and can consistently win. If the count goes way negative I will stand up.

If I have a short amount of time or want to see a lot of action I will play craps for the excitement and constant up and down movement. I have seen guys turn $500 into $12,000 at craps in less than an hour and I have seen guys lose $500 in the matter of three shooters. Its fun and I play no bet that is over 2% HA.

My wife also quite enjoys BJ and craps, but lacks the patience for proper poker play. So I guess it helps that she is somewhat involved and having fun with it. Lastly I don't play any money that I can't lose. So in short, nah I don't give it a rest unless I am too busy with work. Its all in moderation but the free trips to Vegas and free meals at the local casino are good repayment for the time investment. As it stands now I am up over $8,000 with gambling and it would take me a long time to lose that with the conservative games that I play.

Oh, I would say the only time I backed off for a little bit was when I lost $2,000 in the space of 13 hands at the Venetian high limit table. I had just signed a big business deal with a company out there and the wife felt like watching me play for more money. Haven't done that since :)

Quote: marangil

...the wife felt like watching me play for more money....

Whaaaat???? Dude, you lucked out in your marriage!

This is the main reason why I like Vegas or other areas with multiple casinos in the same location. If I get a cold table I can get up, walk around for 15-30 minutes and head over to somewhere else. Just gives me a nice break.

The same works when I just got off a good table though too. I'm sure this is bad, but I tend to increase my bets if I had won. If I take a break after winning $500 and actually have to put money down on the table rather than a bunch of chips, I get the feeling of starting over.