What do you consider to be a successful gambling session?

What sort of a gambler are you? Are you only satisfied with a huge win? Or are you happy to play the game, even if you go broke doing it? Does your style of play and game of choice reflect your goals?

My goal is to double up on each session, and on every trip. My bets are large relative to my bankroll, and my sessions are short, so as not to let the house edge overcome the variance of the game. I recognize that my odds of going broke are a little higher than my odds of doubling up, and that's a price I'm willing to pay. But I won't be happy about it.

I'm in it for the time at the table. My goal is to play several hours, have several drinks, have a fun time, all for a reasonable price. Success is combating the house edge for several hours and breaking even.

I voted for "win something, anything." Breaking even just doesn't do it for me. To be honest, I would rather lose than break even. Breaking even does not even feel like gambling to me.

Of course, a successful gambling session should be one in which you played the right way, made all the right decisions, and didn't lose your head. It shouldn't matter whether you won or lost. But try telling that to 99.98% of people :)

Quote: teddys

Breaking even does not even feel like gambling to me.

That's why I tell people I don't gamble. I play slow low stakes games. Worse case ends up with me losing no more than my typical bar tab at the pub. So it's not really gambling, or risking money, when your tab at the end of the night may be less than usual.

If I drink more than my losses (I calculate 5 dollars per drink) then its a winning sesh.

I want to win enough to buy the casino.
It never seems to work out that way but ... .

I realize these lower expectations are more rational and realistic. I wish I could adopt them.

I too like to slurp up enough booze that I "break even". Or atleast win enough that I double my money. Or just have enough BJ winnings that I get RFB-Airfare and go home with cash and comps to my benefit.

But darn it, I sure would like to hold the dice for five hours or something and make the record books and require half a dozen fills.

I voted "break even" but then, that term requires definition.

Since it's nearly impossible to leave with exactly what you started with, just how much of a loss or gain is still considered "breaking even"?

When calculating it, to you use the value of the comps to offset the amount of losses?

Its nice to break even solely on your bankroll but sometimes you have to fudge it emotionally and say well on Dollars I lost a bit but when I add in the free drinks I broke even.

We all know gasoline is involved, meals, etc. ... how much lying you do to yourself is one thing. Always go home and hand SOME money to your spouse.

I like to focus solely on the buy in versus cash out.

When I win big im not used to carrying that much cash. I'll come home plastered and stash the cash somewhere in my house. I wake up the next morning forgetting where I stashed it or that I even did. When I find it again months later during spring cleaning its like winning twice.

Quote: kp

I'm in it for the time at the table. My goal is to play several hours, have several drinks, have a fun time, all for a reasonable price. Success is combating the house edge for several hours and breaking even.

I'm with kp, minus the breaking even requirement. As long as the fun is proportionate to my loss, I'm ok with walking away when I'm down a bit.

It helps to leave on a high note - like walking away after you've been the hot shooter at craps, even if the overall session was a (hopefully small) loss.

Quote: teddys

I voted for "win something, anything." Breaking even just doesn't do it for me. To be honest, I would rather lose than break even. Breaking even does not even feel like gambling to me.

Of course, a successful gambling session should be one in which you played the right way, made all the right decisions, and didn't lose your head. It shouldn't matter whether you won or lost. But try telling that to 99.98% of people :)

Maybe they're out there, but I have not met a single one of the .02%

>>>>Of course, a successful gambling session should be one in which you played the right way, made all the right decisions,
>>>>and didn't lose your head. ... But try telling that to 99.98% of the people.
>>Maybe they're out there, but I have not met a single one of the .02%

Ideally Teddys views are quite correct. Thats why on a very choppy craps table anything short of getting your bankroll totally consumed is indeed a victory. Sometimes we tell ourselves to include the comped drinks and comped meals and sometimes we don't really have to focus on these psychological nuances. We know its a negative expectation situation and if we acquit ourselves well that is a good thing of and in itself. Still... I sure would like to leave the casino with the deed and the manager's teenage daughter! Alas, its not quite likely to happen.

Much of a table's income comes from ignorant players or reckless players.Those who are informed and who exercise some self control are ahead of the game.

Quote: FleaStiff

I sure would like to leave the casino with the deed and the manager's teenage daughter!

Can you post a picture of said teenage daughter?

Look at the results. The casinos certainly have us well trained! FleaStiff is right about reckless play. Even if you don't play recklessly, the house still has the advantage. When I was in Las Vegas last, the thing I saw the most often of was someone putting ALL his chips on the field bet in craps. For tables where 2 and 12 pay double, the house advantage is 5.56 percent; that is a little worse than the 'outside' roulette bets. Not a particularly good bet. Yet, I have repeatedly seen folks place ALL of their chips on this bet and expect to win!

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Quote: kp

Can you post a picture of said teenage daughter?

Gaze upon Hot Blonde's photo and subtract five years.

As to mistakes: Consider my recent sojourn to Hollywood. No, No... not the Hollywood that is located in Burbank, CA. I mean the Hollywood in Florida that contains the Hard Rock Casino owned and operated by the Seminoles determined to take the White Man's wallets but leave his scalp alone.

Care to tally but a few of my mistakes?

Last minute decision making.
An outing into a risky situation while rather exhausted and frustrated by inability to read a map.
An evening that started out with a "freebie" drink that was stiff enough to curl my toes.
A choice of 6:5 rather than 3:2 because the table limits were lower.
A choice of crowded noisy chaos rather than the calmer waters of a half-empty 3:2 pit because my companion threatened to kill me.
A forbearance of the desired MiniBacc due to table limits and lack of a compass to find my way back in that noisy maze.
A cardless session due to the futility of comps in an Indian casino and the distance the desk was from the main entrance.
A strategy at MiniBacc that involved selecting the dealer with the best tits.
An awareness that I was at one point $175.00 ahead and should have quit.

What would the chief's daughter want with a white man who gambled like that?

Quote: FleaStiff

A strategy at MiniBacc that involved selecting the dealer with the best tits.

As long as there is no change in house edge, this is quite possibly the best gambling strategy that I've ever heard!

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

If it were entertainment, there would be admission at the door and all games would be free.

Ever been to Dave and Busters or any arcade?

In a certain sense, "The Buzz" is not just that which leads the gambler astray it is also the price of admission. Its simply not collected at the door. At the door they have this half-naked girl with a tray offering you cocktails and they've got this spinning wheel up on a high pole that looks like a real easy game to play and the guy at the wheel is beckoning to you to bring that free drink over.

Dave and Buster's has an admission charge built into every game and every burger and every beer.
Arcades? The wife says you mean I can park this disobedient demanding brat and get four hours of peace of mind? Wow. Casinos are wonderful.

The Buzz is what is enjoyed but its also what is being levied to get you to not focus on 5.26 but instead to focus on Red and Black.

I consider a session successful if I am up more than HKD10,000 (US$1,300) after all hotel and entertainment expenses and I am cashing out the most money I've had throughout the whole session. I try setting goals but once I reach them I tend to bet bigger with my profits and whenever I lose a hand I try to get back my highest point, seeing anything less than it as a loss. I usually can't stop myself from playing until the end of a shoe. Sometimes when a friend that brought less money than me is up more due to aggressive betting I also try to be up by that amount. I consider a session bad when I end up without the money to buy a ferry ticket back to Hong Kong and have to use my points to get one.

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

I'm in the casino for one thing only. To find an edge in my favor and then and only then, get my money on the table win, lose or draw. Comps and freebies are nice but I couldn't care less about them.

Very well said! I don't go to the casinos to break even,but when I do I consider it a success because I've overcome the house edge.