gambling experiences

[NoKetchupAllowed]

I just had a few friends get back from vegas, and I'm finally catching onto the trend that no one discusses how they did at the tables... Does everyone lose money gambling???

Please excuse me when I say I do not gamble often, and average about one trip to the casino a year. I was in vegas a few months ago (ironically a week after I was laid off which really took most of the fun out of it). I had a grand total of 300 in fun money, and did very poorly the first two days, and the final day I somehow managed to turn my last 20 bucks into 8500 (it did take 8 straight hours at the table to work up to that). The only other time I was in vegas was three years ago and similar scenero, my HVAC needed replacing the week before I left and while airfare and hotel were already paid for, I had a 120 bucks to my name for a three day trip with my girlfriend, some how I managed to earn enough for a very elaborate vacation and shopping sprees and still come home with about 3 grand in my pocket. (I only play blackjack)

That is not to say I have always walked away ahead. Lifetime, I've probably been blown out a grand total of 3k, and have positively walked away with over 30k. No, I've never enjoyed gambling and I know my experience is atypical so I don't like to push that fact.

[sensei_]

not everyone loses money, however, the odds are not in your favour.

i have won money on occasions, but i have also lost money too. its just the nature of the game

[ouch]

Those billion dollar casinos weren't built with the tips left by winners.

[whavens]

They didn't build that city on winners. That city was built on money people lose at the tables. You are the exception to the rule.

[lopazopy]

The house always wins. I think most people go to casinos knowing they are going to lose and see it as the cost for entertainment.

[oldgeezer]

I have NEVER won. Anywhere. Tables or slots. I'm a loser, but at least the drinks are free.

[commanderkeen]

If you play long enough, you will lose.

I don't like gambling, I don't even need to play for long and I lose.

[drgnlord]

It is probably like lottery tickets. People that win tend to win, but most people lose.

[Pkrankow]

If you consider all the money in your pocket as "lost" when you walk in the door, any money you have when you walk out the door are "winnings"

Phil

[Edcculus]

I don't gamble to win, I gamble to have fun. Albiet, the thrill of possibly winning IS what is fun about gambling. When I go to a casino, I give myself X amount of money to spend. Therefore, if I blow it all, I was really just paying for entertainment.

[TonyH]

If you consider all the money in your pocket as "lost" when you walk in the door, any money you have when you walk out the door are "winnings"

Phil

+1

SWMBO and I used to go to Las Vegas every year, and we always considered gambling to be a form of paid entertainment. Our attitude was that if we spend money on a show, or a meal, or gambling - no matter what, you weren't leaving with anything but a good time.

EDIT: The post above popped up while I was typing. I agree 100%!

[stobes21]

It somewhat depends on the game, but the casino always gets their share. In poker you aren't playing against the casino but rather against the other players at the casino. The casino gets the rake, so as a whole the table loses money. But it is quite possible for a good poker player to consistently win and actually make money at it. It takes quite a bit of skill and a substantial bankroll (and discipline to manage the bankroll) to survive the inevitable ups and downs and actually make a living doing it.

With the other games there are winners and losers. But the casino always has the advantage. It may not be a huge advantage though. A percentage point or two can add up to huge money over the course of a night, week, or month. If there weren't people like you who sometimes win big then there wouldn't be the draw for the far larger number of people who lose a lot more than they win. The key is, as numerous posters have already described, to never bet more than you can afford to lose and consider losses to be the cost of entertainment.

[professorchaos]

They don't make boatloads of cash because everyone wins. I've won a lot of money on the Craps table and lost even more. The only way to consistently win is to stay out of casinos.

[stobes21]

Thought I'd add in this link (http://wizardofvegas.com/guides/blackjack-survey/?sort=hedge&dir=asc). It's a sortable table of all the casinos in vegas and the rules of blackjack they follow, along with the house edge it gives them. As you can see the edge varies but is always less than 1%. Pretty small edge, but considering the money involved it adds up to a huge amount of money for them. So it is absolutely possible and probably not even all that unusual for someone who plays blackjack well to come out ahead even over a fairly large sample size. As a whole though the winner is always the casino.

[ouch]

I've won a lot of money on the Craps table

Craps is the most intimidating game for the beginner with its myriad wagers and breakneck pace, but if you don't know anything at all about odds or gambling, it's probably the safest game to play. If you stay away from the oddball sucker bets and just play it straight, you really can't make a bad decision, unlike blackjack.

[ackvil]

Craps is the most intimidating game for the beginner with its myriad wagers and breakneck pace, but if you don't know anything at all about odds or gambling, it's probably the safest game to play. If you stay away from the oddball sucker bets and just play it straight, you really can't make a bad decision, unlike blackjack.

Two friends are math geniuses who have all of the odds memorized. They only go to the craps table and make most of their bets when others are rolling the dice. They make enough money when they gamble that they have to report it as income on their tax forms. However, they are a rarity. If I go I look at it as entertainment and put a certain amount of $ in my pocket, an amount I am OK with to lose - which I usually do.

[smalltank]

me n the wife went to Vegas last year..coldest day of the year..won an extra $40 gambling the night before we left..not all was aweful ;-)

[professorchaos]

Craps is the most intimidating game for the beginner with its myriad wagers and breakneck pace, but if you don't know anything at all about odds or gambling, it's probably the safest game to play. If you stay away from the oddball sucker bets and just play it straight, you really can't make a bad decision, unlike blackjack.

That's exactly why I played Craps.


Two friends are math geniuses who have all of the odds memorized. They only go to the craps table and make most of their bets when others are rolling the dice. They make enough money when they gamble that they have to report it as income on their tax forms. However, they are a rarity. If I go I look at it as entertainment and put a certain amount of $ in my pocket, an amount I am OK with to lose - which I usually do.

Pass line with odds and 6s & 8s after the come out roll. Playing the don't pass line offers marginally better odds but isn't as much fun. Problem is that even on a $5 table, all those bets adds up. You can loose a lot with just a few bad rolls.

[Rjack]

gambling at a casino is a loser's game - the odds always favor the house. It is possible to win in the short run, though.

Try Roulette for a game where the odds are much fairer than the other games.

[raisindot]

One of the easiest ways to prove that the house nearly always wins is to play backjack for play money with your wife or your kids. Play for an hour or so as the player and for another hour as the dealer. Unless you're able to count cards, you'll nearly always find that you'll end up ahead as the dealer.

[commanderkeen]

gambling at a casino is a loser's game - the odds always favor the house. It is possible to win in the short run, though.

Try Roulette for a game where the odds are much fairer than the other games.

Only if the wheel doesn't have a double-zero on it. It is amazing how much that 1 extra number can ruin the odds. Also, to an experienced player the blackjack table has the best odds (again depending on the push rule, if it's house wins, find another casino). Poker is more a game to be played outside the casino.

[TonyH]

gambling at a casino is a loser's game - the odds always favor the house. It is possible to win in the short run, though.

Try Roulette for a game where the odds are much fairer than the other games.

I believe it's Baccarat that has the best odds, but I could certainly be mistaken.

[BeeSeeDub]

I don't gamble to win, I gamble to have fun. Albiet, the thrill of possibly winning IS what is fun about gambling. When I go to a casino, I give myself X amount of money to spend. Therefore, if I blow it all, I was really just paying for entertainment.

This is the approach I take as well. The past couple of summers I've gone with the family to Saratoga - placing small bets on each race and having a fun day.

[kwk285]

The best that I ever did at a casino was in 1988. I was in Reno for a business meeting. My former company believed in two types of drinking... to get drunk and to get reallly drunk. I don't drink much plus I was getting married the next week so I didn't want to do anything stupid.

I figured that if I was at a blackjack table I would be left along. I sat down at around 8PM and proceed to play the original $6 for almost five hours. I was betting the minimum which was $3. I got the winnings up to $200. I lost all the money but it allowed me to not have to put up with the drinkers.

[Go West Young Man]

If you gamble as a way to make money, you're already in trouble.
If you gamble as a way to enjoy yourself for a while and then know when to walk away, you'll be OK.

I personally don't enjoy the games, so I don't gamble. $20 in a slot machine keeps me amused for about 10 minutes, then I get bored and wander off to the bar or sportsbook.

[tchudson]

My sister used to hit the riverboats occasionally and played the blackjack video machines just for fun, putting $20 in and never really paying any attention to the amount of money on it until she was ready to leave. She sat the playing one night and heard the guy at the machine next to her gasp. She looked over and asked him if he was okay. He shook his head and said, "you just lost $2500!" She didn't even realize she was up to that much money.

[NoKetchupAllowed]

I agree that you need to think of gambling as entertainment. I'm very careful when I sit at tables. I'll never sit down with more than a hundred bucks (or whatever the table mins are needed to cover 8 hands). If I get blown out, I get blown out and walk away. If I do well, and say take that 100 to a 150, that initial investment is immediately put in my pocket never to return to the table (and I will repeat this process periodically as I work my way up). But at that point, the money I have on the table, I no longer treat like real money. The moment you think of its monetary value, you'll do very poorly. From there on out, I treat blackjack like high stakes poker and wait for a good feeling and hedge really big bets. The only moments I've experience a rush from gambling is cashing out and pulling a fistful of black chips out of my pocket with no idea what the total is.