Walking Away

[FloridaPhil]

I play video Poker for fun.  Most of the "fun" for me involves going
head to head with the casino.  The challenge is formidable with negative
expectation games, the casino's unlimited bankroll and all manner of
diversions fine tuned to match my human frailties.  After 10 years of
work, I think I have my personal strategy down to where I'm finally good
with it.   I believe the greatest weapon I have ( the nuclear option if
you will) is my ability to walk out of the casino.  This may be when
I'm losing or winning, but it's my choice and nothing in the casino can
stop me from pulling the plug.  The only thing that can derail my system
is "Me".  I would be interested in hearing from other players on how they
deal with this.   I thought about hiring two goons to carry me out of
the place at the right time, but my wife says she can handle that OK. 
Too bad she isn't with me all the time.  

[DaBurglar]

Nuclear Option?  wtf? Ok folks, if the 6 oclock news tells of a casino down south up-and-disappearing from the map, we can be assured that Phil just left the building and is safely on his way home with or without his winnings but safe none-the-less.  Cant say the same about everyone else inside, but..... No seriously, that was pretty funny Phil, I bet you look like Slim Pickens (before he died.) I personally find that myself is not the only one who can derail me, and that I have much to fear from others not me myself or I.....I am who I am, I cant be anyone else nor should I try to be someone I'm not because then I very well MIGHT become someone other than myself who can DERAIL ME.....ya got that?   Be strong buddy, remember what Syrio Forell told Arya Stark to say to the God of Death, only you will be saying it to the God of Disappearing Bankrolls......"Not Today"..... [Da Burglar waits to see how many people here actually watch Game of Thrones]  *tap tap* (sound of Da Burglar's foot tapping while waits) 

[BillyJoe]

On a couple of different threads, I spoke about Win/Loss Stop Points that I personally use when playing VP, especially a high-volatility game like TDB. I have been told by 'VP Professionals" on this site that they don't work and are silly, but what can I say, I use this approach.
 
They are what I call 'elastic', in that I may set them for myself on a specific trip narrow or broad, depending where I am gaming-wise for the year, which is how I personally measure my success at VP. The key, as you stated Phil, is that these are session stop points, and I need to adhere to them throughout my trip. It is not always easy to have the discipline to walk away, as you said, but I think it is important.    
 
VP is not the only casino game I play when I take a gaming trip, but this approach seems to work for me with VP.

[brmcc74]

Personally, I stopped going. Ive played for years. Played the positive EXPECTATION games. I learned perfect strategy. I always seek out the best game in town. Always use players card. Achieved top tier in players clubs. I had done all of these necessary steps in order to remain in the positive. Suprise, it doesnt always work. Thats why words like expectation, average, and mean are often used. These words are more powerful than ordinary words in that they can be defined as many different things. Then I hear risk of ruin. I pretty much can play unlimited at the quarter level. Do I have a ror? No not necessarily. I dont have say  50 or 100k that I just designate to gaming. I never got to a point where I couldnt get in the car and head to the casino. The losses were small enough to equate to entertainment. They were mostly losses none the less. Im not gonna try and go head to head in an argument about whether or not everyone will win at vp if they take all the required steps. I know the truth. I have lived it. The ups, downs, and very boring middles.  Its not very hard to find yourself on the negative side of things. Once I realized this, quitting to go on a regular basis was much easier.  vp was much funner in the beginning. Thats why IF I ever do go back, I would now only play for entertainment with zero expectations.
Walking Away = This is very important for anyone who frequents a casino. Seems to me although that once you learn to walk away, you dont even have much desire to walk towards it again.

[shadowman]

If you are playing negative expectation games then walking away, win/loss goals, etc. are very helpful. No, they don't change your expected return, however they do lead to playing less. Any time you reduce play on negative games you will lose less over time.
 
So, if all you have is negative games to play and you enjoy playing, then by all means walk away when you feel it is appropriate.

[BillyJoe]

If you are playing negative expectation games then walking away, win/loss goals, etc. are very helpful. No, they don't change your expected return, however they do lead to playing less. Any time you reduce play on negative games you will lose less over time.
 
So, if all you have is negative games to play and you enjoy playing, then by all means walk away when you feel it is appropriate.
Well put, Shadow. So then, by contrast, if you are playing POSITIVE expectation games, you need to keep playing, regardless of how long a dry spell you may encounter, to hope that you 'catch up' at some point.
 
Am I reading that right?  

[royal flush]

ask backsider he might tell you the 6/5 job is "due"

[FloridaPhil]

Walking away is getting easier for me but I'm not ready to quit yet.   In the past, I would keep playing until my pockets were empty.  I needed a system that directed my actions. Call it stop points or whatever, but without a plan I just kept feeding the machine no matter what.  With my strategy, I'm almost always guaranteed to come home with some money in my pocket.  Some days it's only $62.50 and on a good day it could be $1,000 or more.  I can handle the loss, I just hated it when I got totally cleaned out.  I finalized my strategy last winter and have been keeping records since the beginning of the year.  My losses have dramatically slowed and I'm almost even for the year.  I'll buy the idea that by cutting my play I am reducing my losses.  Whatever the cause, I like the result.Key to my strategy is to not replaying my white tickets.  This is a real challenge for me because I love to play and I don't want the day to end.    It helps knowing that I can come back next week, but it's still hard to do.

[Lucky Larry]

A great conversation. I love hearing players like billyjoe setting win stops as well as loss stops. He does play other games as well.

Phil, I'm really working on the "walking away" concept. Hard to walk away a winner sometimes when Sweet C and I community bank roll. However; I gotten a whole lot better at stopping when the timings off. keeping those big tickets until I'm ready to leave, and now just cashing out those smaller tickets when I'm not hitting instead of playing them out.

As with most aspects of life, it was said best when you realize, "we are in control" whether we walk or not.

[shadowman]

Well put, Shadow. So then, by contrast, if you are playing POSITIVE expectation games, you need to keep playing, regardless of how long a dry spell you may encounter, to hope that you 'catch up' at some point.
 
Am I reading that right?  

 
Pretty much. There's no monetary reason to quit playing a positive return game. There are lot of other reasons, however. Everyone gets tired. No one plays as well when they are tired and you can turn a positive return game into a negative one simply by making lots of mistakes. I won't even mention drinking too much.