Quittin' time

9 May 2017

By Frank Scoblete

In the epic Academy Award-winning movie Gone with the Wind, Big Ben, a delightfully happy slave who works tirelessly in the brutally hot cotton fields, calls out the end of the work day by saying, “It’s quittin’ time!” and all the other happy slaves end their day of backbreaking work for their kind and gentle masters.

Yes, Gone with the Wind, an otherwise intense and articulate portrayal of life in the Civil War South, didn’t get the slavery thing quite right. Man’s inhumanity to man in slavery’s case was more or less glossed over.

The end of the work day for each and every worker is a great time. It doesn’t matter if you work in a shop, a corporation, a public school or any one of a seemingly endless list of jobs, “quittin’ time” is almost always a great time.

Except in casino gambling.

Too many casino gamblers have not yet figured out when their quittin’ time should occur. You can see sloshed individuals lumbering to the elevators in casino hotels, completely unaware of how much time they actually spent on their favorite pastime and quite often how much money they lost while doing so.

Many gambling aficionados like to say “Quit while you’re ahead,” thinking such advice has any real meaning.

“Quit while you’re ahead”? What if you get ahead on the very first decision? Do you quit? “Honey, check out of the hotel, we’re flying home. We’re ahead!”

No one would probably do such a thing. People come to casinos to gamble, not just to win a first decision and scurry on home.

Still, when to stop playing is an important aspect to every casino gambler’s play day. Too much play is no good, as it leaves open the possibility that a player will go on tilt, betting outrageous sums in order to win back somewhat outrageous losses.

So when to quit? Here are a few ideas:

• Give yourself a time limit. “I will play for one hour and then take a break.”
• If I am winning at the end of that one hour but I desire to continue playing, I will take half of my win and continue to play with that until I play another hour – but only if that half-win sustains me for that time.
• I will not allow myself to get drunk while playing. Better to drink after your play day is totally finished.
• Give yourself a set number of sessions to play in a day. You might have four or five one-hour sessions.
• Give yourself a total amount of money to play with during each session and if you lose that, or feel bad about any losses, you quit until the next session or you quit for that day.

“Quittin’ time” is important. Too much play will make Jack and Jill fall down that hill – far more often than not. There are only a few casino gamblers who are ahead of the games they love to play – some advantage players, some who have hit mega-jackpots, and some who have been blessed by the gods.

Knowing quittin’ time is an important ingredient in play.

[Read Frank Scoblete’s books “I Am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack,” “I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps” and “Confessions of a Wayward Catholic!” All available from Amazon.com, on Kindle and electronic media, at Barnes and Noble, and at bookstores. Visit frank’s web site at www.frankscoblete.com.]