Amen Brother....

[FloridaPhil]

On today's Strategy Forum a member posted a great question about gambling bigger.  You can read it and jump into the discussion yourself if you like. Bob Dancer posted the following reply.[quote=BobDancer]Gambling bankroll and psychological bankroll are
different. In order to gamble successfully for high stakes, you need to
be able to lose without it bothering you too much. Some people are able
to do this. Many aren't.Not having this ability isn't terrible.
You've worked hard to earn your bankroll and most spouses value you not
gambling it away. If you don't "need" the money to live on (and
apparently you don't) and betting big makes you uncomfortable (which
apparently it does), the simplest answer is to not bet big.[/quote]When I read this, I almost fell off my chair.  This was a terrific answer and the right thing to say.  I have noticed his responses have been moderating somewhat in recent years. Perhaps he is getting older and wiser, or maybe I'm just listening better.  Not wanting to lose your bankroll has nothing to do with the size of your bankroll.  Most people worked hard for their money and it means something when they lose it.  Gambling your money away eats at you and makes you feel like a fool.  This is a problem I have been struggling with for years.  I want to win big, but I hate to lose.  My personal solution is to know in advance that the money I take into the casino is already gone.   I set the amount I take and when it inevitably happens, I'm not surprised or depressed. How much is this?  In my case it's about $300 bucks a day.  Anything over that and I'm mad at myself for days.I don't enjoy sitting in front of a VP machine, playing quarters all day and acting like a computer.  Even if the game is positive, I'm not willing to lose big in order to win big.  If this is what it takes to win, I want no part of it.   That is why I prefer "pot shots" to level play.  With $20 pot shot play, I can set low cash out levels, control my losses and reap the benefits of a big win when it happens.This is not a simple strategy.  There are many nuances to it like what games to play, when to cash out, when to increase your bet and when to walk out.  A professional expert will say my strategy is based on luck and it is doomed to fail.  I say, so what?  I can lose your way too!  There is no strategy that will guarantee anyone is going to do better than me in the short term and that's all I care about.My solution may not work for you and that's OK.  Not everyone in the world wants to play VP the same way.   You pay your money and you play the way you want.  It's all good. 

[WVRadar]

My personal solution is to know in advance that the money I take into the casino is already gone.   I set the amount I take and when it inevitably happens, I'm not surprised or depressed. How much is this?  In my case it's about $300 bucks a day.  Anything over that and I'm mad at myself for days. 




This is also my approach when going to the casino with the following caveat: I never go over my limit. My wife plays slots while I am playing Video Poker exclusively. She is inevitably finished before I am.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=WVRadar]This is also my approach when going to the casino with the following caveat: I never go over my limit. [/quote]This has always worked for me.  One of the things that gets me upset about math based VP strategy is the idea that you should continue to pump money into a losing theoretically positive game because math will make it right in the end.  If you do this, the only thing you might gain is the council of bankruptcy and/or divorce lawyers.   Take care of your short term losses and long term loses will never be a problem.