What is your walk away threshold?
June 25th, 2011 at 3:18:34 PM
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A lot of you folks that hang out here are totally educated and understand the odds(of winning and losing), but I would assume that at some point(when things take a turn for the very bad), either at the craps table, blackjack table, or whatever, you have to say to yourself 'wait a minute, according to the numbers this shouldn't be happening' and the hell with this and walk away. I would also add, that I think that there has to be some(slight small) 'chance' of winning something before everybody, even the most uneducated people about gambling and the numbers say the same thing (even the entertainment value isn't there anymore)...'this is a crock!' and never return.
What say you?
What say you?
June 25th, 2011 at 4:59:51 PM
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For me, the numbers go out the window once I'm playing. I use "the numbers" to decide which is the best game to play, but I understand that they pretty much don't apply once I sit down for my paltry hour or two of play. The numbers don't really jive with my short play sessions.
I walk when it feels right. If my play session did the impossible and followed an exactly $.60 loss for every round of BJ, I'd walk when I realized I entered Perfectown and I wasn't going to win, or when my alotted dollars for that session where gone. If I started with 10 straight losses or some other moral crushing event, I'd get up, go outside and have a smoke. If I went on a tear like I did when I was last in Vegas and suddenly found towers of chips in front of me, I'd get up, go outside and call my wife. In other words, the numbers don't decide for me. I don't think they matter when you're talking maybe 100 decisions, it's too small of a sample for the numbers to follow it too precisely.
I have mental image of a meter in my head. The doing really bad and doing really good are colored red, with a small section in the middle near the even point colored green. Anytime I get too pissed at absurdly bad beats, or get too hyped up on crazy good luck, I walk. Unbridled emotions are good for hockey, no so much in a place where you can dump your entire paycheck in 5 seconds.
I walk when it feels right. If my play session did the impossible and followed an exactly $.60 loss for every round of BJ, I'd walk when I realized I entered Perfectown and I wasn't going to win, or when my alotted dollars for that session where gone. If I started with 10 straight losses or some other moral crushing event, I'd get up, go outside and have a smoke. If I went on a tear like I did when I was last in Vegas and suddenly found towers of chips in front of me, I'd get up, go outside and call my wife. In other words, the numbers don't decide for me. I don't think they matter when you're talking maybe 100 decisions, it's too small of a sample for the numbers to follow it too precisely.
I have mental image of a meter in my head. The doing really bad and doing really good are colored red, with a small section in the middle near the even point colored green. Anytime I get too pissed at absurdly bad beats, or get too hyped up on crazy good luck, I walk. Unbridled emotions are good for hockey, no so much in a place where you can dump your entire paycheck in 5 seconds.
The opinions of this moderator are for entertainment purposes only.
June 26th, 2011 at 5:19:53 AM
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I have a fairly absolute way of ending gambling for the day when I am down about 10 times my average bet. A session will probably end before that, and I might go back at it.
The win threshold is more like 6 to 8 times my average bet, so that I would say for sure a session win is good enough. I don't know what I would do if all I did was win each session, would I cap off my gambling and go home happy being up? Never had that happen so can't say.
The win threshold is more like 6 to 8 times my average bet, so that I would say for sure a session win is good enough. I don't know what I would do if all I did was win each session, would I cap off my gambling and go home happy being up? Never had that happen so can't say.
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!” She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
June 26th, 2011 at 6:09:57 AM
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I play mostly craps...pass/come bets w/ odds or place the 6/8. I have found the following to be best for me...but, of course, I don't always follow them because, well, I like to gamble a bit and I have limited casino time.
Original buy-in was $400 w/ loss limit @ $200. Why $400? My casino makes a big deal about buy-in for some reason... I found that by the time I got down close to the $200, I was rarely able to come back.
Now I buy-in for $100...lose it all, I walk. Perhaps go $10-$25 more to complete a roller's turn with the dice, but that is it.
Winning? No limit. I just move my downside limit up with every $50 or so won and have fun. If I am up $100, I won't let the chips get below about $75 (that represents a loss of $25)...up $200, not below $150 (gain of $50)...and so on up the scale. I generally won't allow myself to lose more than $150 below my highest point.
This has pretty much worked for me. I still have wins and losses but the wins are larger and the losses don't feel so bad. Am I "winning" overall? No. It isn't necessarily a way to "win" but it does seem to give me more time at the table over the course of a weekend. If the $100 goes too fast on one buy-in, I go do something else.
I don't think my local casino is good at rating bets. I think that is a choice, not a lack of skill. They have always given me low average bets even when I am pumping them up. There is one dual-rate who is always generous in my rating...and I always tip the crew...maybe he notices that more than others who don't deal anymore??? I get tired of arguing with them about the ratings but how would I have a $20 average after six hours of play that went from $100 to $1100 when I had many, many spreads over $120? I know many of you bet many times that, but that is a healthy spread most of the time at their tables (aside from the one guy who bets $1,000 hardways...he's in a far different league for that casino).
Original buy-in was $400 w/ loss limit @ $200. Why $400? My casino makes a big deal about buy-in for some reason... I found that by the time I got down close to the $200, I was rarely able to come back.
Now I buy-in for $100...lose it all, I walk. Perhaps go $10-$25 more to complete a roller's turn with the dice, but that is it.
Winning? No limit. I just move my downside limit up with every $50 or so won and have fun. If I am up $100, I won't let the chips get below about $75 (that represents a loss of $25)...up $200, not below $150 (gain of $50)...and so on up the scale. I generally won't allow myself to lose more than $150 below my highest point.
This has pretty much worked for me. I still have wins and losses but the wins are larger and the losses don't feel so bad. Am I "winning" overall? No. It isn't necessarily a way to "win" but it does seem to give me more time at the table over the course of a weekend. If the $100 goes too fast on one buy-in, I go do something else.
I don't think my local casino is good at rating bets. I think that is a choice, not a lack of skill. They have always given me low average bets even when I am pumping them up. There is one dual-rate who is always generous in my rating...and I always tip the crew...maybe he notices that more than others who don't deal anymore??? I get tired of arguing with them about the ratings but how would I have a $20 average after six hours of play that went from $100 to $1100 when I had many, many spreads over $120? I know many of you bet many times that, but that is a healthy spread most of the time at their tables (aside from the one guy who bets $1,000 hardways...he's in a far different league for that casino).
June 26th, 2011 at 8:15:19 AM
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I kind of reached my overall gambling limit a couple months ago, where the possibilities either way weren't worth as much as having money in hand. But when I was playing, it was pretty simple: I decided beforehand how much I would have to lose before it started to hurt, and that was when I would stop. Inside of that parameter, I would pick and choose individual games depending on how much fun I was having at the time. If I was getting stomped by Blackjack, and not having fun, I would walk early; but if I was enjoying myself, I would stay, understanding that streaks are an illusion. I once played an entire session of Pai Gow Poker to zero, because I was fascinated by the game at the time.
My budget for a gambling session is $500, and $1000 if we're overnighting somewhere. So I'll take $500 for an evening at the local Mohegan, or $2500 for two days at The Borgata (half an afternoon, an evening, and another afternoon).
My budget for a gambling session is $500, and $1000 if we're overnighting somewhere. So I'll take $500 for an evening at the local Mohegan, or $2500 for two days at The Borgata (half an afternoon, an evening, and another afternoon).
A falling knife has no handle.
June 26th, 2011 at 9:00:24 AM
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My walk away threshold is dependent on the height of the chair.
Given a high chair with no foot rail and I'll start to lose circulation in my legs and have to stand. After standing a while I'll have to sit. After a few cycles I'll have to leave to walk around a while, which is usually before I hit any win/lose threshold. Given a low chair or a good foot rail and I'm set for hours. I play low variance games so it is rare that I'll walk due to win/loss.
One thing I have started doing recently is going to play quarter VP with five $20 bills. I'll play one bill at a time and cash out at double or nothing (or any multiple of $20). Once I get through all five bills, I've usually had a few drinks and it is usually time to get up and move around for a while. And hopefully I have enough TITO to fund the next round (which I will cash in and start with $20 bills again).
Given a high chair with no foot rail and I'll start to lose circulation in my legs and have to stand. After standing a while I'll have to sit. After a few cycles I'll have to leave to walk around a while, which is usually before I hit any win/lose threshold. Given a low chair or a good foot rail and I'm set for hours. I play low variance games so it is rare that I'll walk due to win/loss.
One thing I have started doing recently is going to play quarter VP with five $20 bills. I'll play one bill at a time and cash out at double or nothing (or any multiple of $20). Once I get through all five bills, I've usually had a few drinks and it is usually time to get up and move around for a while. And hopefully I have enough TITO to fund the next round (which I will cash in and start with $20 bills again).
