Chasing Losses - Playing foolishly

[Buzzer]

My last casino trip left me troubled. Generally I am a very disciplined player, and I was playing fairly well. Suddenly I started playing irradically and blew a bunch of money.

The night before I had over stayed a session (didn't leave when I knew I should) and lost $1,550.00. On the session prior to that I had won $450.00, so the trip at this point was down $1,100. I regrouped myself the following morning and won about $400.00 on the first session. The following session I came up about another $600.00. At this point down about $100.00 for the trip, and playing well.

Aware that I had not played well the night before, I decided to try for a small ($200-$300) win and leave. I sat down to play the next session and everything was okay but couldn't seem to get ahead even a few hundred. The count turned quite negative and I thought to myself I should stop and take the small loss.

Instead of stopping I started chasing the small loss. True to my expectations I dropped about $600.00 within the next few minutes. My betting at this point, though, was well controlled. Things continued to get worse and I was down another few hundred. Went bust on the first $1,000.00 I put up. Reached in my pocket and pulled out the remainder of my trip bankroll, started placing large bets in very marginal plus counts. Of course I blew the rest of the trip bankroll. Down $2,000.00 instead of $100.00.

Don't bother telling me this was foolish - I know that! Been there done that before.

I've done this a few times in the past, which is why I always take a relatively small trip bankroll. I think it usually comes from playing too often. In this case it was also the result of having won a very high percentage of recent trips.

The $2,000.00 loss was not fun, but only about 5% of my total bankroll ($39,000 at start of trip). My concern is not the loss of money but the lack of discipline.

I watch other players and I know I'm not the only one that encounters this problem. Does anyone have any tips for regaining self control in such a situation? Maybe I should have left a portion of the trip bankroll in my room so as to force a brief "cooling off"? In the past my solution has been to stop playing for a while, sometimes for a month or more. I'm interested, though, to see if anyone has a more immediate method which may help stop the loss chasing before busting out the trip bankroll.

-Buzzer

 

[sagefr0g]

My last casino trip left me troubled. Generally I am a very disciplined player, and I was playing fairly well. Suddenly I started playing irradically and blew a bunch of money.

The night before I had over stayed a session (didn't leave when I knew I should) and lost $1,550.00. On the session prior to that I had won $450.00, so the trip at this point was down $1,100. I regrouped myself the following morning and won about $400.00 on the first session. The following session I came up about another $600.00. At this point down about $100.00 for the trip, and playing well.

Aware that I had not played well the night before, I decided to try for a small ($200-$300) win and leave. I sat down to play the next session and everything was okay but couldn't seem to get ahead even a few hundred. The count turned quite negative and I thought to myself I should stop and take the small loss.

Instead of stopping I started chasing the small loss. True to my expectations I dropped about $600.00 within the next few minutes. My betting at this point, though, was well controlled. Things continued to get worse and I was down another few hundred. Went bust on the first $1,000.00 I put up. Reached in my pocket and pulled out the remainder of my trip bankroll, started placing large bets in very marginal plus counts. Of course I blew the rest of the trip bankroll. Down $2,000.00 instead of $100.00.

Don't bother telling me this was foolish - I know that! Been there done that before.

I've done this a few times in the past, which is why I always take a relatively small trip bankroll. I think it usually comes from playing too often. In this case it was also the result of having won a very high percentage of recent trips.

The $2,000.00 loss was not fun, but only about 5% of my total bankroll ($39,000 at start of trip). My concern is not the loss of money but the lack of discipline.

I watch other players and I know I'm not the only one that encounters this problem. Does anyone have any tips for regaining self control in such a situation? Maybe I should have left a portion of the trip bankroll in my room so as to force a brief "cooling off"? In the past my solution has been to stop playing for a while, sometimes for a month or more. I'm interested, though, to see if anyone has a more immediate method which may help stop the loss chasing before busting out the trip bankroll.

-Buzzer

playing too much is not a problem if you are playing with an advantage.
chasing loss's is a problem even if you are playing with an advantage because you are likely to bet beyond optimal if you are in a 'chase' mode.
but if you are playing with an advantage you will have some miserly swings to be sure anyway.
too me chasing loss's is naturally against my nature but even so i'm prone to do it sometimes. i try to counter that by constantly telling myself to keep on the conservative side betwise. it really helps me keep myself in line.

best regards,
mr fr0g

 

[Automatic Monkey]

...I watch other players and I know I'm not the only one that encounters this problem. Does anyone have any tips for regaining self control in such a situation? Maybe I should have left a portion of the trip bankroll in my room so as to force a brief "cooling off"? In the past my solution has been to stop playing for a while, sometimes for a month or more. I'm interested, though, to see if anyone has a more immediate method which may help stop the loss chasing before busting out the trip bankroll.

-Buzzer

It's a problem, and even some of the greats of the game have had breakdowns in discipline and steamed in this way. And it's absolutely imperative that you get it under control. Otherwise this game could destroy you- many people don't realize how close we are to the gates of Hell with this and that the difference between advantage play and destructive gambling is the discipline to stick to the mathematical principles of playing with an advantage.

If you're having to do things like lock up your bankroll to avoid losing it this way, you're in no condition to be playing at all for that moment. One bit of advice if you are having these problems is to make sure you are free of drugs, alcohol and sexual fantasy before you play. Men are sexually driven and tend to associate sex with money so thinking about what the girl at the table is thinking of your stack or what an expanded bankroll could get you at the Mustang Ranch is not helpful to gaming discipline. Go to your room and do whatever you have to do to get rid of it. I'm very serious about this.

Another thing that can help you is to express your emotions at the table rather than hide them. When you lose a big hand, cuss. When you win one, celebrate. It's a good part of an act and once you start thinking of the fluctuations in BJ as just part of an act your bankroll is doing (which is exactly what they are), it's easier to not take them seriously. That works for me, at least.

 

[EasyRhino]

I lost about $500 on Sunday (a lot for me!), and also began to worry if I was chasing losses. At least my bet spread wasn't varying, so I wasn't chasing losses in the true gambler sense.

However, I had been at the same casino for hours already, and I was tired, hungry, and depressed. Plus, if I wasn't betting tiny (and losing), I would have been overstaying my welcome. Plus, the shop was starting to get more crowded, which was really slowing things down.

I have two suggestions to avoid chasing losses:

1) Set your max bet and bet spread before you even start. Set it in stone. The only reason that your max bet would change will be based on changes in total bankroll. And if you're currently getting de-pantsed by the casino, this would only mean you would reduce bets.

2) Set a firm wonging limit, where you simply won't sit at a table if the count is bad enough.

3) Set a time (or booze) limit. If you know that your skills will degrade too much, just put the whole session on the clock.

And limiting your trip bankroll would often have the same effect, but you also run the risk of running out of cash during a hot shoe. And that would be a pity.

 

[ScottH]

My last casino trip left me troubled. Generally I am a very disciplined player, and I was playing fairly well. Suddenly I started playing irradically and blew a bunch of money.

The night before I had over stayed a session (didn't leave when I knew I should) and lost $1,550.00. On the session prior to that I had won $450.00, so the trip at this point was down $1,100. I regrouped myself the following morning and won about $400.00 on the first session. The following session I came up about another $600.00. At this point down about $100.00 for the trip, and playing well.

Aware that I had not played well the night before, I decided to try for a small ($200-$300) win and leave. I sat down to play the next session and everything was okay but couldn't seem to get ahead even a few hundred. The count turned quite negative and I thought to myself I should stop and take the small loss.

Instead of stopping I started chasing the small loss. True to my expectations I dropped about $600.00 within the next few minutes. My betting at this point, though, was well controlled. Things continued to get worse and I was down another few hundred. Went bust on the first $1,000.00 I put up. Reached in my pocket and pulled out the remainder of my trip bankroll, started placing large bets in very marginal plus counts. Of course I blew the rest of the trip bankroll. Down $2,000.00 instead of $100.00.

Don't bother telling me this was foolish - I know that! Been there done that before.

I've done this a few times in the past, which is why I always take a relatively small trip bankroll. I think it usually comes from playing too often. In this case it was also the result of having won a very high percentage of recent trips.

The $2,000.00 loss was not fun, but only about 5% of my total bankroll ($39,000 at start of trip). My concern is not the loss of money but the lack of discipline.

I watch other players and I know I'm not the only one that encounters this problem. Does anyone have any tips for regaining self control in such a situation? Maybe I should have left a portion of the trip bankroll in my room so as to force a brief "cooling off"? In the past my solution has been to stop playing for a while, sometimes for a month or more. I'm interested, though, to see if anyone has a more immediate method which may help stop the loss chasing before busting out the trip bankroll.

-Buzzer

It sounds like you are an AP with a gambling problem. Discipline is HUGE is advantage play. Like Sonny said you better get control of it or you could find yourself with some big problems.