Page 10 - January 2003 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
“I Never Win” by Bill Burton
This morning I was at the car dealer getting routine maintenance done on my new car. In conversation with the service manager I explained that I was having the oil change done a few miles earlier than required because I was driving to the casino.
This caught the interest of his assistant who asked if I played blackjack. I told him that I did play blackjack, and I also wrote about the games.
immediately go home. If you are ahead, lock up your buy-in and a small pro t. Play with the excess and when that is gone, get up and take a break. Walk around, see a show or get something to eat.
There is nothing that feels better than winning in the casino. Players should learn to savor that win. By taking a break from the games while you are ahead, you can enjoy that winning feeling while you engage in other activities at the casino. You can always go back to the games later.
On the ip side, nothing feels worse than going home broke knowing that you were a winner, but gave back all the money you won. Too many times a player feels that when they win they are playing with the casino’s money.
He then said, “I like to play, but I never win.”
BeforeIcouldsayawordheadded,“Iwasonacruise last month and I was playing in the casino on the ship. Iboughtinfor$40andwasup$100butlost.”
I said, “Wait a minute. You said you never win, but you just told me you were up $100 after buying in for forty. That’s a win!”
He replied, “But I was only playing for twenty minutes and we were out to sea and there was nothing else to do, so I wanted to play some more.”
I told him he could have played some more and still left a winner. He looked puzzled and asked me how.
I said all he had to do was to lock up a pro t. He bought in for $40 and had $140 after twenty minutes. He could have put $90 in his pocket and played with $50 of his winnings which was $10 more than his original buy-in.
I went on to explain that what separates a winner from a loser is the ability to walk away from the table when you are ahead. A winner will guarantee
himself a win by locking up a pro t, while a loser will give back any pro ts and usually most of the original buy-in as well.
I can’t count the
number of times a person
has come up to me and
said they never win at
the casino. I always ask
if they were ahead at any
point during their visit.
Many times the person
will admit that they were ahead, but then give one of following excuses for not quitting:
1) They had just gotten to the casino.
2) They felt lucky.
3) Their friends didn’t want to leave yet. 4) They thought they could win more.
It’s easy to walk away when all your money is gone, but it’s harder to quit while you are ahead. If you do win, this does not mean that you have to
In reality once you win, it becomes your money.
It’s not that most people never win when they visit the casino, it’s just that they never leave with their win- nings. If you learn to savor your wins, it will make your
casino visits more enjoyable. Good Luck!
Until next time, remember: “Luck comes and goes...Knowledge stays forever.”
Bill Burton is the Casino Gambling Guide and columnist for the popular Internet portal About.com. He also writes for several national gaming publications. See his articles at http://casinogambling.about.com. He is the author of Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold’em available for $15 postage- paid. Send checks to Bill Burton, P.O. Box 310299, Newington, CT 06131-0299.
“What separates a winner from a loser is the ability to walk away from the table when you are ahead.”
Page 10 January 2003
Column: Bill Burton About Gambling