What would you do with $100 in "free" chips?

unless they are non-negotiable chips, theres no difference between getting handed $100 in chips or a $100 bill besides the inconvenience of having to take a trip to the cage.

And I still say whatever, I edited it to remove the distinction and I feel the same way. I know the math, the odds, the tricks, the charts. I use them to maximize my fun, which is different from maximizing my chances. There is no fun for me in blowing the whole bank in 20 minutes, of course not. Conversely, there is also no fun for me in sweating every dime and every bet, and treating it like work. I'm really, really good at work, that's why I can afford to gamble.

And for me, when my budget is unexpectedly increased by $100, I will take it and fire it right back at some crazy bet that gives me a nice shot of double-stop heartbeats and held breath. And if it wins (sometimes it has), I feel great, and if it doesn't, well, I'm right where I had planned anyhow. And I still had the excitement of the anticipation.

Next. I don't feel the need to justify it any more. I said my piece and I'm satisfied with what I've said.

I wouldn't treat the $100 gift any differently than any other $100. Because the amount only represents 10% of my bankroll, I would reduce my bankroll by $100 and bet like I always do. BORING. Being ahead by only $100 doesn't affect my betting pattern.

Quote: boymimbo

I wouldn't treat the $100 gift any differently than any other $100. Because the amount only represents 10% of my bankroll, I would reduce my bankroll by $100 and bet like I always do. BORING. Being ahead by only $100 doesn't affect my betting pattern.

And the fact that you want to do that is fine. It represents a choice that fits you, but not me; smart choice, really. Different choices fit different people. Boring for me, but a found $100 to you, which is anything but boring. If I was given the $100 and told I had to keep it, I wouldn't refuse it in a fit of ennui!

I did just think of something that relates to this thread that I find myself doing, but it's on the other side of the gambling. If I'm a winner, I like to use some of the winnings to purchase something that I would never have thought to buy without the winning, even if it was well within my means prior to the winning. I'm not talking about something from one of the overpriced stores in the casino, but I'll be driving home and I'll stop and pick up a new sand wedge or something, even if my old one is perfectly fine. My friend and I used to joke that we would conversely change our style if we lost, even though it had equally no sizable bearing on our living conditions or net worth. I went to AC with him on a weekend, and we both got creamed. On Monday at work, I said, "Man, after I lost on Saturday, I didn't want to spend any money on anything!" He replied "I had triscuits for dinner."

Quote: rudeboyoi

no. no discussion here has been rational. theres no such thing as "free" money. money is money however you come about it.

Not quite. There is earned money and unearned money. Children, who don't usually earn any money, have little understanding of the value of mopney precisely because they don't have to earn it (a disease that affects most governments, which don't earn money either). Unearned money can be seen as "free money" by those who do not need to earn it.

The value, of course, remains the same. The objective value, that is. a $100 bill will buy the same things whether you earned it or not. But the perceived value is different. To a homeless man $100 has a great deal more valuable than it is to me.

Quote: rudeboyoi

i dont have a problem doing things for fun. i have a problem calling money free. calling your decisions logical, rational, or educated. the concept of "buying variance" or "sweat equity".

if you want to gamble in the pits, do it intelligently. look for good rules and low HEs, weak dealers who are prone to make mistakes in your favor, and take advantage of casino promotions.

What is your problem with the concept of "buying variance"?
That is exactly what you are doing when you bet at the casino. If there were no variance, you would always lose edge * action, and there would be no point at all to gambling. Try playing "doey-don't" without taking or laying odds some time. A low HA is desirable, but if you want to increase your chances of overcoming it, variance is the answer. There's a reason why high-variance bets usually carry a higher HA, like most of the center bets in craps.
Cheers,
Alan Shank

The promo chips here are a different color than regular chips, some yellow, etc. You can bet them and if you win you gets regular chips which you can cash in. So you'd have to make a bet before you turn it into take home cash.

Quote: cclub79

If I'm a winner, I like to use some of the winnings to purchase something that I would never have thought to buy without the winning, even if it was well within my means prior to the winning.

I do the exact same thing. About a year ago, I wanted a new cell phone, the enV Touch. While I could afford to buy a new one, it's just not within my nature to spend the money on something that, while it would be nice to have, is not something that I *NEED* to have. I was taking a trip to Laughlin, and I told my girlfriend at the time that if I won enough money to buy the phone, then I would do so. Sure enough, it happened, and I bought the phone.

Then, this past December, I decided I wanted the Motorola Droid. Same deal, if I win enough great, and if not, oh well. I won the money and bought the Droid.

In the past, I've also done this with GPS, new car stereo, a Nintendo DS, and just other random stuff that, again, while I could afford to buy it, I don't see the reason to spend the money on it, since I don't really need to have it. But if I win the money in the casino, then it's the bonus that I treat myself to.

most people follow this same kind of pattern so in effect all gambling does is increase their spending habits.

If I ever hit a major payout the first thing I'm going to do is pay off all my debts for a little peace of mind.

Mosca, I like your thinking and your long-winded answers. Most people have, at some point, dug into their wallets for a rash, ill-conceived bet -- knowing full well that the math isn't on their side. It usually comes after an unexpected windfall (just like the premise of this thread). Nothing wrong with it. If at the casino you don't do what entertains you, or as Mosca would say, "gets your juices flowing," then it's too much like work.

Anyway, back to the question at hand. Lately, I've been thinking of playing a few even-money bets on single-zero European roulette. The next $100 that falls from the sky just might wind up on black.

After I pick myself up off the floor, let me say how honored and a bit surprised I am that someone actually read my long winded response and then actually considered acting on it.

Quote: edst

...I've just been brushing up on Fortune Pai Gow, something I consider kind of a carnival game and would never usually play. I'm currently thinking that Pai Gow isn't too bad at all to play, so may use some of my bankroll to sit there for a while. And I'll use the $100 for the Fortune bets until it's gone, rolling in whatever winnings my come from those 20 $5 bets. So it lets me have some fun with with a game that has some decent variance, but I wouldn't usually play.

edst, let me say that it has been my experience that the folks (that's right they're folks not players like most table game residents) at PGP are usually the friendliest, most social, warm people in the casino, minus the occasional stereotypical Asian Guy who stacks up his entire bankroll as a tall mixture of green and red chips on each bet (when he loses he takes off and returns ten to fifteen minutes later and repeats the same thing). It is the most pleasant way to spend a few hours and only be up or down $25 dollars

As for the argument that has ensued since my last posting, I definately side with Mosca, ahiromu, Croupier, Nareed and nyuhoosier against rudeboyoi and boymimbo.

rudeboyoi, your opinion is valid, but it is just that, YOUR OPINION! Don't bash others or incite arguments because it differs from those that were previously stated. Just state your answer for the original question

Quote: edst

What would you do with $100 in "free" chips?

and move on.

boymimbo, I respect your choice to pocket the extra dough and guarantee yourself some cab fare, but IMO that is; as you said "boring". I'm not looking to argue, I'm just stating why I put you on the side of the argument with rudeboyoi.

That's fine that you disagree, but $100 on top of a $1,000 bankroll means nothing to me. $100 on a zero bankroll would be completely different. I find $100 all of the time. Telling me as part of a business trip that they are going to give me $100 in chips means nothing to me. It's just $100. Just because it's in chips doesn't mean that I have to blow it in one bet at one event. I could just as easily eat at McDonalds for my meals and use the rest of my perdiem (or my mileage allowance, or part of my bonus) for the same thing. I don't see it as free money. In fact, the $100 probably would appear as income both in the US and Canada. That's why I would just see the $100 as a reduction in my overall bankroll. Maybe I would use the extra $100 to see a show or eat a nice meal that I wouldn't have otherwise. But as part of an overall betting strategy, I don't start working higher variances until I'm up over 50% of my bankroll. BORING.

Quote: rudeboyoi

most people follow this same kind of pattern so in effect all gambling does is increase their spending habits.

Absolutely, that's the whole point. It's a luxury you don't have otherwise.

I'd have to ask you, why do you gamble at all? It's like throwing money away. You really should go to work, and take a second job to fill your off hours. It's the best way to maximize your income.

Today, I put this in action. I had $25 in free slot play at Mohegan, and I want to win $5000 to pay for our vacation this summer. I played it, I lost, I left. Big deal; $25 is immaterial to me. But it represents the chance to win $5000, and I want that. If I hit, I pay for the vacation. If I miss, it cost me 20 minutes out of my day. I know I'm probably not going to win, but that's not the point. The point is that it is a free chance.

Quote: Mosca

Absolutely, that's the whole point. It's a luxury you don't have otherwise.

I'd have to ask you, why do you gamble at all? It's like throwing money away. You really should go to work, and take a second job to fill your off hours. It's the best way to maximize your income.

cause its fun. i enjoy playing games. i just put foward that extra little bit of effort so it doesnt cost me anything.

Some of this discussion reminds me of a guy at work who would constantly needle me for occassionally playing the lottery. If I asked a co-worker to buy me a lotto ticket on her way back from Calif., he'd chuckle a little and give me a sideways look.

But the thing is, I know the math and I'm still cool with spending 4 bucks a month on lotto tickets. Why? Because I get a lot of pleasure just dreaming about what I would do with the winnings. It is fun to fantasize. That is worth something to me.

I know I won't win, but if I do, it sure will be fun to tell my co-worker friend.

The whole discussion has been interesting, but I think there hasn't been enough emphasis on the mathematics side of it - specifically, what kind of chips are they? It makes a bigger difference than you think.

There are, generally, five types of forms the chips could take:

* Regular chips (or voucher for same) - These play the same way as casino chips that you pay for yourself, and you can even cash them if you want.
* Non-cashable chips - Same as regular chips, but they can't be cashed in - they must be played until they lose.
* One decision chips - These are bet, and if you win, you get a real chip; if you lose, you don't. Either way they take the chip you bet. You can bet the chip again if there's a push.
* One bet chips - Same as above, but they take the chip on ties.
* Matchplay chips - These need to be bet with a regular chip of the same value or greater. For example, let's say you have a $5 match chip and a $5 real chip and bet it. If you win, you get $10 in real chips. If you lose, you lose both chips. You USUALLY keep a matchplay chip on ties, but it's worth asking to be sure.

Also, some of these chips can only be bet on even money games, and sometimes they only pay even money even if the payout would ordinarily be more. Ask to be sure.

The regular chips are worth face value, of course. Non-cashable chips are worth face value, less the house edge. The other three groups are worth about half their face value.

To answer the original question, if the chips were regular or unrestricted non-cashables, I would play the same games I ordinarily play. With chips that lose on ties, I would avoid games where there are a lot of ties (blackjack, baccarat, especially pai gow poker).

A couple of other considerations are of minor importance. First is speed. If I'm getting chips from a place I don't care to play, then I want to get out of there as fast as possible, perhaps by making bigger bets than normal, and leaving as soon as the free money runs out. If it's a place I like and has good rules, I'll stick around longer, and maybe even mix in some real chips.

The second consideration is the mix of chips. If you only get one $100 chip that can't be broken, you don't want to play blackjack. They could break it into 4 greenies, 20 reds, or even 100 dollar chips. It's a small edge to be able to break up the chips into units that are as small as possible, if only for flexibility.

Quote: fremont4ever

* Regular chips (or voucher for same) - These play the same way as casino chips that you pay for yourself, and you can even cash them if you want.
* Non-cashable chips - Same as regular chips, but they can't be cashed in - they must be played until they lose.
* One decision chips - These are bet, and if you win, you get a real chip; if you lose, you don't. Either way they take the chip you bet. You can bet the chip again if there's a push.
* One bet chips - Same as above, but they take the chip on ties.
* Matchplay chips - These need to be bet with a regular chip of the same value or greater. For example, let's say you have a $5 match chip and a $5 real chip and bet it. If you win, you get $10 in real chips. If you lose, you lose both chips. You USUALLY keep a matchplay chip on ties, but it's worth asking to be sure.

This is of course important, but I haven't been able to find a concise answer anywhere. At one point, our marketing person even called it a "$100 gift certificate", but I read online in at least one place they were "$100 in Bellagio chips". I suspect they are of the second variety you list -- non-negotiable except at their tables. This was an early registration special, so they've taken down all the links now.

The sensible goal would be to get the conventioneers to play in the casino, and giving them a single $100 chip to throw down on a random bet isn't going to make them stay more than 5 seconds. Kind of defeating the purpose. It would be great if they were regular chips, but even the non-cashable kind is fine to play with. The matchplay is fine with me too (better maybe, because I could collect these from others who aren't willing to wager $100 in the first place). It would be really disappointing if they were single bet chips.

I'll find out either way about 25 hours from now :)