Why having a losing streak is actually good!

**Ali D** · 01-31-2016, 09:44 AM

I play 6-deck game and last week I experienced my fist losing streak. I am not sure if it was a streak or incident, but I lost more than 100 units during one single shoe when the count was sky-high almost from the start.
my bet spread was 10$ to 100$ and I have never lost more than 500$ in a shoe. but this time I got beaten over 1000$, almost lost all max bets while the count didn't come down but even went up further.
at first, I felt a little cold sweat all over me, but after a good night of sleep, it dawned to me that I have learnt something very very valuable in this incident. Prior to this experience, I had no idea how bad things can get, I was not sure how much money should I carry when I'm playing. I was not also sure if I can cope with a hard blow.
But the good thing is that a bad beat like this clears out all the uncertainty around the issue. I am now more aware about my limits and I have an idea how bad things could get.
To tell you the truth, although it was a bad beat for my tiny bankroll, I didn't lose any money from my own invested fund and so far I have covered it with prior winnings, actually the same day I had small winings of 500$ from multiple shoes, but still getting beaten in a single shoe while the count was so high was immeasurable to small winnings here and there.
I hope nobody starts to play the game with a bad beat, it would be heart-breaking. but if someone is playing only in free time like me as an intellectual challenge, having the worst things happen clears out the uncertainty big time.
Now, I have lowered my bet spread and will try to play again in few weeks, but I can easily feel that I am much more calm on the table and ready for the uncertainty, because I already have seen the hell and with lower max bets, there is almost no chance that I would visit that nasty land soon!

**ZenMaster_Flash** · 01-31-2016, 02:47 PM

Originally Posted by Ali D

"I had no idea how bad things can get, I was not sure how much money should I carry when I'm playing."

You still do not know. Losing 100 units happens regularly.

Be prepared in advance both emotionally and financially.

You also now know that you need to carry more than 50 X Max Bets.

**stopgambling** · 01-31-2016, 02:54 PM

Carry 100 max bets? Do you mean for a starting bank? I bring 40 max bets for a session,I believe it is adequate for a regular game of about 4 hours. i would want 80 max bets for anything special that can come up ,of course.,

**ZenMaster_Flash** · 01-31-2016, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by stopgambling

"Carry 100 max bets?"

My bad !

Note: The O.P. lost 100 units in one shoe.

With a 10-1 spread, that is just 10 Max Bets.

Y.M.M.V.

**Ali D** · 01-31-2016, 03:14 PM

Originally Posted by stopgambling

Carry 100 max bets? Do you mean for a starting bank? I bring 40 max bets for a session,I believe it is adequate for a regular game of about 4 hours. i would want 80 max bets for anything special that can come up ,of course.,

No, I bring 20 max bets for a shoe and since I have seen the worst, I cannot see how can I lose more than that, technically impossible, I lost total of 10 max bets while playing alone, with other players on the table that even could not have happened

**ZenMaster_Flash** · 01-31-2016, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by Ali D

" ... technically impossible ..."

L.O.L. Are you delusional ? Of course you can lose more than 100 units.

You can lose several hundred during the course of a single day.

It is simply not commonplace.

**Ryemo** · 01-31-2016, 04:56 PM

These type of losses happen. I lost 344 units in one (very long) session once. You HAVE to come to the tables financially prepared! My max bet is 2x$200 to 2x400 (depending on game/store/etc.), but I usually carry no less than $10K to my sessions. It IS rare that you will experience such a huge loss in one session, but I have had 3 sessions this year where I had to buy in for more than $6K in one sitting. The last thing you want to do is walk away from a positive count, because you came to the tables under-funded. When I'm on a trip, I will take AT LEAST twice as much as I would to a normal session.

Listen... these losses happen. Don't let it discourage you and DO NOT EVER allow your emotions to dictate the way you play. Those big losses can be emotionally taxing (not so much once you become numb to the swings), but the last thing you want to do is go on tillt because you couldn't emotionally accept those losses. Good luck!

**stopgambling** · 01-31-2016, 05:09 PM

You go tilt cause "you" are not knowledgeable about how big a swing it could be.Therefore one is not mentally prepare ,true?

**ZeeBabar** · 01-31-2016, 05:30 PM

Lesson I am learning is that I should feel okay after losing, that hanging around, digging deeper has psychological effects, some you may be aware of and some that you are unaware. Without realizing you make calculating TC errors, deck estimation errors, begin playing more aggressively and such. Little things begin irritating you (dealer chatting, plop pies taking too long to make a decision, etc) and then the game is not fun anymore.

I have a number in my head and f I lose more than that, I go home for the day. While not leaving a winning shoe, I will leave after a shoe ends because I am down more than $1k for my spread ($25-$200/$300 for Dd/6d).

Sleep and time to review makes a big difference.

**Bodarc** · 01-31-2016, 05:43 PM

Ali D is talking MAX bets and it seems everyone else is talking units. That is not apples and apples.

Rough estimate: 95% of the time with a 15 spread in 4 hours, you would not lose over 15 MAX bets. Of course that could still be about 150 or so UNITS.

Also Blackjack Attack has a section on trip bankroll. Which of course I did not review before I made this post.

**ZenMaster_Flash** · 01-31-2016, 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by ZeeBabar

"I will leave after a shoe ends because I am down more than $1k for my spread ($25-$200/$300 for Dd/6d)."

Whiskey ? Tango ? Foxtrot ?

This should not come as a surprise.

ZeeBabar is stating that he spreads as high as $200 or $300

and then leaves the casino if he loses $1,000

So -- he departs with his tail between his legs if he loses 3 to 5 Max bets !

It also means that if he is at a loss entering a DD, he may leave (at completion)

with just one Max Bet, and may be traumatized if he drops below his "stop loss"

midway in a shoe game. He must have a lot of truncated evenings in K.C.

Will he scramble to the A.T.M. machine ? Only the Z-man knows for sure !

**NotEnoughHeat** · 02-01-2016, 12:30 AM

Is your max bet at a super high count? If not, I agree, that seems a little premature. I usually leave when I don't have enough money to start a shoe, which would be (if I were in your shoes) 2k/3k.

**Ali D** · 02-01-2016, 02:54 AM

Originally Posted by Ryemo

These type of losses happen. I lost 344 units in one (very long) session once. You HAVE to come to the tables financially prepared! My max bet is 2x$200 to 2x400 (depending on game/store/etc.), but I usually carry no less than $10K to my sessions. It IS rare that you will experience such a huge loss in one session, but I have had 3 sessions this year where I had to buy in for more than $6K in one sitting. The last thing you want to do is walk away from a positive count, because you came to the tables under-funded. When I'm on a trip, I will take AT LEAST twice as much as I would to a normal session.

Listen... these losses happen. Don't let it discourage you and DO NOT EVER allow your emotions to dictate the way you play. Those big losses can be emotionally taxing (not so much once you become numb to the swings), but the last thing you want to do is go on tillt because you couldn't emotionally accept those losses. Good luck!

I totally agree with you, I am planning my next trip in 2 weeks and I am going to slash my bets to half and play with zero stress until I am back to my original level of betting