Ever heard friends coming to Vegas say, “I’m taking a thousand-dollar bankroll along and I’m going to play until it’s all gone!”?
I’ve heard it many times and it always stuns me. In 60 trips to Vegas, including last week’s, I’ve never said that.
Ever notice the excitement on the plane into Harry Reid and the hungover silence on the way back? Of the 125 people on that plane, maybe five are winners. I’m often one of them and when I’m not, it’s not a loss after five trips to the ATM and a lot of “Why did I do that?” self-recrimination.
Some trips I lose a few hundred, some trips I win a few hundred. Every three to five trips, I make a nice win of, say, $500-$1,500. Nothing wild. Just steady as she goes. And I never come to town with the intention of losing everything I bring. That’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I go to Vegas to play and I go to win. When people ask me if I gamble, I say, “No, I like to win money.” That’s completely different than gambling. Gamblers love the thrill of risk, being in action. I like action, but only when I know what I’m doing, when I know the game, when I have a strategy and implement it. That’s fun.
If I have a reasonable chance of winning, good. If I’m not winning, I stop. If I give a casino $20 and they give me back $10, that’s not fun. If I give them $20 and they give me $40 that is!
Have and build a gambling bank. Every new sit is a session and every session has win and loss goals. I do my best to stick to them. Here’s another Bobby Vegas rule: When you’re winning, stop. When you’re losing, stop.
Last week at the Downtown Grand after business with clients, something exceptional happened during my video poker play. I didn’t hit a royal, but I did hit 14 4-of-a-kinds in six different casinos in about 18 hours of (non-continuous) play. (And I have the photos to prove it.) I left town up $1,200. That was my intention. To win. And I did.
You are totally right. Great article. I do the same on all my trips to Vegas & my local casinos.
I loved this article. I always go with a winning attitude my husband not so much. Lol I usually win a little and he usually loses. I am certain I t is an attitude problem. Thanks for sharing
Well said Bobby Vegas!
My parents who, back in the day when they used to be invited onto gambling a junkets so new the other players a bit ,used to say the same thing about their fellow gamblers.. that they would say something to the effect of “I have $500 to lose” and the would gamble until they lost it, often going back for more money, which they also, usually, lost. My parents used to always say how good it felt to “Walk away a winner”.
Enjoying your column very much.
One day at Main Street Station, I hit 32 four-of-a-kinds in one day. They used to give the scratch off tickets away with each four-of-a-kind, and I would always save them and cash them all out at the end of each day, and that day I had 32 tickets to cash in (most worth $2. Some worth $3 or $5). It was a good day.
Greatly enjoying your column, Bobby Vegas.
Your observations about expectations, “self-fulfilling prophesies” as you call them, reminds me of my Mom and Dad, recreational gamblers of moderate means who enjoyed blackjack and craps. Mom used to comment to me that so many of the other players on their junket or trip would literally say, “I have $XXXX to lose.” Of course, expecting to lose, they almost always lost their initial amount and would then, almost always, buy in for more. Mom found it sad and “self-fulfilling” that when they brought money to lose, they lost it and more. Mom and Dad came with expectations that they would have a good time and when they found themselves ahead, would walk away as winners.
One time, many years ago, we were walking through a Vegas casino on our way back to our hotel room for the night, and saw a lady hit a big jackpot on a slot machine. She was so excited and we stopped to congratulate her. The next morning, on our way back through the casino, we stopped to chat with that lady who was still at her willing slot machine. The lady told us that she had been there all night and had put back into the machine almost everything she had won. Mom was with us and said, “See, she came to lose, not to win.”
I think that there was a little bit of “wires got crossed” in one piece of wording. You wrote “every session has win and loss goals”. I don’t think you have “loss goals”, because I don’t think you ever have a goal of lising. I think your goal is always to win, or at least break even. Perhaps what you meant to say was that you have a loss LIMIT: that when you get a certain amount behind, you stop.
I don’t think expecting to lose is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. I go with the attitude of trying to win, but don’t expect it. This way I can enjoy myself if I lose which is going to happen at some times. I don’t mind losing as I look at as they are picking up my room and some meals. Last time I went I made $1500 and was very happy. When I don’t win I still have a good time.
I like your perspective. Thanks!
Great column Bobby Vegas! You’ve reminded me of my Mom, a recreational gambler of modest means, who played mostly blackjack. Mom would always comment that whenever she was in group of gamblers, they would inevitably talk about the amount of money they brought “to lose” and that they all seemed to lose that amount, most of them taking out even more money “to lose”. Like you, Mom couldn’t understand why they didn’t play, expecting to win (which, of course, means walking away when winning). One time we were in Vegas with Mom and, on our way back to our hotel rooms, we passed a woman who had just won a huge jackpot on a slot machine. She was so excited, and we stopped to congratulate her. Next morning, when we came back down to the casino floor, we passed the same woman, still at the slot machine on which she had won the big jackpot the night before. She sheepishly told us that she had played through the night and that she had put back almost all of the jackpot money. Over our coffee, Mom remarked, “See, she played to lose!”
Keep your comments coming…
Thank you everyone for the wonderful family stories and comments.
And yes loss limits is correct.
Bobby