Hey guys. Recently I have been winning big the past few times I've gone to the casino (7 in a row, to be exact). I play using basic strategy and have a simple way of counting cards to some success. Today however was just not my day, and ended up losing half of my winnings from the past few times I've went. Now I'm still up a few hundred, but losing so much in one night really hurts and I am just trying to get over it. How would you handle this situation if it happened to you?
How to handle losing big after a big win streak?
- Thread starter Justinawe
- Start date
If it really hurts, you should not have been playing with that money in the first place.Justinawe said:
How do I handle those situations? First I look back on my play and ask myself some questions like was I overbetting/underbetting? Was I really playing with the type of advantage that I thought? Was I making crucial mistakes? After these questions are answered, if you were making some kind of mistakes then obviously change something so that it doesn't happen again. And if you are just playing basic strategy, I'm probably not the first person to tell you this but you are expected to LOSE money!
After this though, theres not much left to do. Accept it, it happened. Don't let it affect your life any more by "chasing your losses" or getting depressed. Figure out a way to earn the money back, prefferably not by martingaling the rest of your money on roulette or something stupid. In my case, I have always known the risks of advantage playing. If you walk into the casino with your life savings, theres a chance you could lose it. (So don't do this, it sucks!!!)
21gunsalute
Well-Known Member
You play Basic Strategy. You apparently have a very small bankroll. What did you expect? Do you really think you can just go into a casino armed with nothing but Basic Strategy and a 3 figure bankroll and clean up time after time? Think again. It doesn't work that way-the house has the advantage over you.
Learn to properly count, learn indices and develop a much larger bankroll. A few hundred dollars is nothing to lose for an AP and winning a few hundred more is not "winning big".
Learn to properly count, learn indices and develop a much larger bankroll. A few hundred dollars is nothing to lose for an AP and winning a few hundred more is not "winning big".
blackjackomaha
Well-Known Member
+1. My thoughts exactly - you cannot rely on basic strategy and as you stated "a simple way of counting cards." Your bankroll needs to be large (or the ability to be replenished on a regular basis), you need to know all indices relevant to your counting system, and you need to not care about losing if you're playing correctly. Winning/losing THOUSANDS of $ is not out of the question for many AP's. If you're properly bankrolled, it shouldn't hurt. Yes, when it happens the first time it can be uncomfortable. But if you are playing correctly, time will help correct the negative variance.21gunsalute said:
Readjust your strategy, accumulate enough cash, and get back to the tables
aslan
Well-Known Member
If you are familiar with this website, you already know that basic strategy will not win in the long run.Justinawe said:
You describe your counting system as a "simple way of counting cards." We already know that even those with sophisticated counting systems and error free play have only a very thin margin for winning due to the rules and pen of modern day blackjack. Therefore, it does not take much brainpower to realize that your system, unless it is an honored simple system like KO or Red Seven, while it may advance your cause, it will not give you the advantage you need to be a long run winner.
Therefore, since you knew you were playing at a disadvantage, why did you play in the first place? You should be kicking yourself in the butt for taking a chance with money that will really hurt you if you lose it. I deduce it will really hurt you, since according to you the money which you had previously won really hurt when you lost it, so losing your hard earned money should hurt even more.
My advice is to chalk your big loss up to your own stupidity. At least, you are currently a few hundred up. Great! Now do not return to the tables until after you have learned a proven counting system. When you do return to the tables, be sure that you are properly funded and with money that will not hurt if you should be the victim of bad variance. By being properly funded, you will minimize your chances of going completely broke, but you will still be subject to large swings such as the one you recently experienced.
This site has a wealth of valuable information. Now that you know how difficult it is to win and stay winner, that you are not one of the "chosen" who just happens to be lucky (all bullsh*t), study your way to success. Remember, too, that today's games are no road to riches. By success, I only mean staying slightly ahead of the house in the long run. The very best must work their tails off to make a living, and not a good living unless they have a very large bankroll from which to play. Even with that, the steady grind of table play will likely lead you to other more profitable forms of AP.
If you already have a good job, or if you are going to school, that, my friend, is your best advantage play. Consider blackjack a side avocation. If all you want to do is AP at gaming, then study, study, study, and then study some more, and practice, practice, practice, and then practice some more, and then maybe you'll be the next James Grosjean. Good luck and good cards.
Lowrider
Well-Known Member
You have to learn to crawl before you can walk....
Try this...
1. Make certain you have the correct basic strategy for the game you are playing...H/S17... # of decks...etc
2. Take two weeks and memorize the BS for your game
3. Buy the CORRECT BS cards for the games you play and take them to the casino with you...casinos LOVE players with BS cards...I've only come across one casino that will not let you play with a BS card
4. Learn High Lo counting system
5. Get some training software or down an application if you have an iPad or smart phone
6. Forget about the indices until youve absolutely mastered BS and the HIGH LO count
7. I would get AT LEAST 10 sessions in where you feel very comfortable applying BS and HIGH LO flawlessly
8. Then and only then learn the SWEET 16 indices along with FAB 4 if your game has surrender
Try this...
1. Make certain you have the correct basic strategy for the game you are playing...H/S17... # of decks...etc
2. Take two weeks and memorize the BS for your game
3. Buy the CORRECT BS cards for the games you play and take them to the casino with you...casinos LOVE players with BS cards...I've only come across one casino that will not let you play with a BS card
4. Learn High Lo counting system
5. Get some training software or down an application if you have an iPad or smart phone
6. Forget about the indices until youve absolutely mastered BS and the HIGH LO count
7. I would get AT LEAST 10 sessions in where you feel very comfortable applying BS and HIGH LO flawlessly
8. Then and only then learn the SWEET 16 indices along with FAB 4 if your game has surrender
Lowrider
Well-Known Member
Bankroll
Also, the members on here will all tell you that you are waaay underfunded...and they will be right.
However, very few of us have 100 big bet or 1000 minimum bet bankroll that generally considered reasonably sufficient to play a particular game.
In the real world, most of us that start out counting come waaay underfunded and may have to experience going broke a few or many times until we catch fire on one of our meager bankrolls once we reload over time.
If your bankroll is several hundred or a few grand then you are just like most of us when we started to count...you will probably lose the bankroll even if replenished a few times...but if you get BS down and HIGH LO you will eventually increase your meager roll and be off and running
Also, the members on here will all tell you that you are waaay underfunded...and they will be right.
However, very few of us have 100 big bet or 1000 minimum bet bankroll that generally considered reasonably sufficient to play a particular game.
In the real world, most of us that start out counting come waaay underfunded and may have to experience going broke a few or many times until we catch fire on one of our meager bankrolls once we reload over time.
If your bankroll is several hundred or a few grand then you are just like most of us when we started to count...you will probably lose the bankroll even if replenished a few times...but if you get BS down and HIGH LO you will eventually increase your meager roll and be off and running
NightStalker
Well-Known Member
Go ahead and play some more
!!!!
gamble gambleJustinawe said:
!!!!blackjacktilt
Well-Known Member
1. Doesn't sound like you really win / won "big".Justinawe said:
2. Again, you will still lose betting on hunches with basic strategy.
3. If it really hurts to lose money, you're in the wrong business.
4. Drink, it helps ease the pain :grin:
My advice: Read the meaningful posts, stay away from the Voodoo Section, and practice Hi / Lo. Oh yeah, most important... make sure you have a bankroll. I would start when you have atleast 1000 x your min bet and spread from min to x 8.
Without the proper knowledge and proper bankroll, you will get crushed and you will just be gambling.
Dyepaintball12
Well-Known Member
Post of the Month.itrack said:
aslan
Well-Known Member
Even with perfect counting, your 1/2% to 2% is still gambling big time in any given single session. You would not bet $1 million if someone gave you a 1% edge for a single bet, would you? It is too close to call, and just having the advantage in the short run is not sufficient justification to gamble. If your advantage were 10% you might consider betting a one time wager, but even then, the risk of losing your entire $1 million would be very high. You'd have to have much more money backing you up to take such a risk. If it was everything you owned, I'd think twice taking even a 10% advantage for just one time. The bigger the money, the bigger the edge you will want to have on a one time bet. That is why there is comfort in a 1% edge over a long period of time, and that is why proper bankrolling is critical. I know I am preaching to the choir in most cases, but this is intended for newbies. Card counting is very, very close to gambling. Beware of the danger.blackjacktilt said:
Solo player
Well-Known Member
If I lose big it always helps to have a big bottle of VODKA!!
Friendo
Well-Known Member
Play with an Advantage & Ignore Short-Term Losses
You must get used to making deposits as well as withdrawals from casinos.
Think of $100 bills as coupons good for casino chips, or just keep chips.
Avoid thinking of your bankroll as money. Until it's so large that you can safely spend part of it, it's just a stack of certificates good for green and black pieces of clay.
Pulling out another bill from your pocket? Think "chip coupon" and leave it at that.
You must get used to making deposits as well as withdrawals from casinos.
Think of $100 bills as coupons good for casino chips, or just keep chips.
Avoid thinking of your bankroll as money. Until it's so large that you can safely spend part of it, it's just a stack of certificates good for green and black pieces of clay.
Pulling out another bill from your pocket? Think "chip coupon" and leave it at that.
aslan
Well-Known Member
Here I go preaching again. :whip::whip::whip:Solo player said:If I lose big it always helps to have a big bottle of VODKA!!
My impression is that 90% of the CC's on this site tend to over-bet at times, myself included, and that more than 50% over-bet on a regular basis. This may be due to the die-hard notion that "I will be the one who gets lucky." Facing reality means living within the guidance of a billion sims. At card counting, science trumps the supernatural. This may seem like heresy to the many who are of a religious persuasion, but if that's you, ask yourself: "Would The Deity, Model of Intelligence and Wisdom, protect someone who foolishly defied His Laws of Probability looking for a quick route to riches?" If you know the way to play, but ignore the clear, undeniable facts, you are deserving of nothing but failure and defeat.
I know the vodka is a joke, but for many it's not funny. I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of dollars are lost by card counters who know better, but take the quick road to riches and lose? When you step outside the science, who gets lucky, who wins and who loses, is also determined by a billion sims, and the most likely outcome is that you will lose.
If anything, I hope this site teaches players to be patient and to always gamble within the boundaries of scientific knowledge. When you step outside those boundaries, the laws may be forgiving to some extent, but don't be fooled. The Laws of Probability are a heartless master over the long run. All gamblers (outside of advantage play) have one thing in common-- one day they will all go broke. You can be philosophical and say, "I came into the world broke, and I will go out broke," or you can be a realist and say, "I always gambled with an advantage, and I did not risk more than I could afford to lose." In only the rarest of cases will the latter group ever go broke, and in nearly every case they will become winners. Patience.
As the guy on the radio says: Not a sermon-- just a thought. :whip::whip::whip:
PS-- When I tell stories of lucky wins, such as at roulette, I am fully aware that I am telling the world how stupid I am. It's only when you win by playing at an advantage within known probabilities that you can rightly feel proud of your wins. They both spend, but only one builds up your confidence for future successes, the other builds up a false sense of confidence (if you let it) that invariably ends in failure.
Automatic Monkey
Banned
If you think losing big after winning sucks, try losing big after losing! :flame:Justinawe said:
blackjacktilt
Well-Known Member
aslan said:
Preaching can be educational and us Newbs appreciate it Aslan.