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Thread: Keep your sessions short

  1. #1


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    Keep your sessions short

    I have always heard “keep your sessions short” as good advice. So here is what I do:

    If I win a certain amount, I just immediately leave and go home happy. I used to set this amount at 10 units, now I set it at 33 units. Sometimes I only play for an hour or less.

    Of course, if conditions deteriorate, or I get tired, or if I make a mistake or two, I go home.

    If I lose, and everything else is fine, I play until I break even. I hate to be a loser. But sometimes I will play for 12 hours straight or more. So if I am down 100 units, but then stay until I win it back and break even, does Surveillance see me as “This guy just won 100 units”, or are they smart enough to realize, “This guy just broke even - no threat, no evaluation of his play, he’s fine”

    So my question is, in this situation (I.e. long, but break even session) does my play expose me to Surveillance??

    Is this a moronic question? If so, please spare me the grief and delete this thread.

  2. #2


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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Ed View Post
    Is this a moronic question?
    The question may not be moronic, but what you're doing is. You play short sessions in the hopes of not exposing your play to scrutiny. Winning or losing should have nothing to do with it! So, playing till you break even, because you hate to lose, is an extremely stupid thing to do. Besides, what makes you think that, once you're down big, you can will a win to break even? You're almost 50% to just lose more, so what's the point?

    You have a gambler's mentality, and that's a VERY bad thing.

    Don

  3. #3


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    thoughts

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Ed View Post
    I have always heard “keep your sessions short” as good advice. So here is what I do:

    If I win a certain amount, I just immediately leave and go home happy. I used to set this amount at 10 units, now I set it at 33 units. Sometimes I only play for an hour or less.

    I hope you dont leave if the count is high - Otherwise np

    Of course, if conditions deteriorate, or I get tired, or if I make a mistake or two, I go home.
    correct

    If I lose, and everything else is fine, I play until I break even. I hate to be a loser. But sometimes I will play for 12 hours straight or more. So if I am down 100 units, but then stay until I win it back and break even, does Surveillance see me as “This guy just won 100 units”, or are they smart enough to realize, “This guy just broke even - no threat, no evaluation of his play, he’s fine”

    Even though many do what you do it is not good
    Read Anderson on the importance of booking a loss


    So my question is, in this situation (I.e. long, but break even session) does my play expose me to Surveillance??
    Assuming you play for real money 99% yes

    Is this a moronic question? If so, please spare me the grief and delete this thread.
    No question is moronic

  4. #4


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    Quote Originally Posted by DSchles View Post
    You play short sessions in the hopes of not exposing your play to scrutiny. Winning or losing should have nothing to do with it!
    There should be a footnote here.

    If you are playing at a place you value for one reason or another (being close to home, good offers, etc.), it can make sense to have a stop win in order to not attract attention to yourself. Flying under the radar is not a bad thing.

  5. #5


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    Thanks! It sounds like a “stop win” is definitely a good idea to avoid attention.

    I noticed that my money often goes up and down by 50 units within a typical session - well within my session bankroll. But if I am down by 50 units after a couple of hours, and then it bounces back to break even, I just call it a day and go home, where the compulsive gamblers will just “keep riding that lucky streak” and end up just losing all over again. But it sounds like Advantage Players don’t let actual wins or losses enter into the stay/go decision at all!!

    What actually makes me happy is my long term winnings. I like to take total winnings and divide by total hours played. Total winnings go up and down as sessions accumulate, but as long as it’s above zero, I am happy.

    As far as “using my will power to make up for a big loss”, part of my definition of “deteriorating conditions” is that when a non-logical thought like that crosses my mind, it’s time to go home.

    But I am always happy walking out of the casino with some of their money in my pocket. And if lose that session, I am still happy because I look at my total winnings.

  6. #6


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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Ed View Post
    But it sounds like Advantage Players don’t let actual wins or losses enter into the stay/go decision at all!!
    I thnk this is probably the toughest "skill" of all to learn because you have to overcome the natural psychological response of emotional discomfort when losses start to pile up.
    The whole game is to just play as many hands as possible when you have the advantage. Winning or losing each individual hand shouldn't matter. Easier said than done though. Kind of like a psychological muscle you build up over time.

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