Losing It

8 September 2022

By Royal Flushes

CINDY: The worst topic any gambling writer can write about is going on a losing streak, be that streak just one session, or one day, or one trip. Losing is the worst aspect of playing casino games. Would you agree?

ABBY: Definitely. None of us goes to the casino in order to lose our money. If we have casino fantasies those are about great wins and such. No one fantasizes about getting clobbered.

CINDY: Maybe a slot player can have a fantasy about being hammered and then suddenly the machine becomes a chest of gold and that slot player wins millions.

ABBY: Okay, so we know we play against the house edge at every game and we try to keep that edge at bay as best as we can but losses will come. Knowing how to play the games perfectly is no guarantee of wins of any kind. We just do the best we can in every situation. That’s the bottom line.

CINDY: I want to look at the times that our own emotions and our situations actually contributed to big losses. Most of the times when we lose, we do not get hammered because our money-management saves us from total destruction, but what about the times we have been brought low because of what we did? Where it wasn’t so much the impact of the house edge as the impact of our own play?

ABBY: I know what word you are looking for – stupidity. I have had some sessions where it was my own fault that I had big losses. There were sessions where I should have pulled the plug but instead, I kept playing, I foolishly kept playing.

CINDY: Those are the times I’m talking about. Utter self-destruction!

ABBY: Me first.

CINDY: Be my guest.

ABBY: I am not a big drinker. I might have a glass of wine or two at dinner but that’s it. I do not usually get tipsy but one night ----

CINDY: Oh, I remember that night!

ABBY: We met some friends for dinner and we had a great meal and, yes, great wine. When we finished dinner, we went to the craps table and I just played like a fool. I made every stupid bet on the table.

CINDY: And you ordered wine while you were playing.

ABBY: I actually don’t know what got into me. It was almost as if I thought I was going to hit some outlandish hot streak and win a fortune. Instead, I drowned. You had to help me back to my room! Oh, that was so embarrassing!

CINDY: Two glasses of wine are great; not two bottles!

ABBY: You’d think that as an adult I can avoid acting like a child. It didn’t happen on that trip. I am guessing that something such as that has happened to other players too. I lost it is the only way I can put it.

CINDY: I had four losing days straight. Kept my head about me but I couldn’t win a session. I bet lower than normal halfway through that trip to reduce the amount I lost. I just kept losing. I played fewer hours. Nothing helped me. I couldn’t win at blackjack or craps or roulette. I even played for awhile on some slots. Nothing. I don’t think I ever had a streak of such bad luck for all the years I’ve been playing.

ABBY: And what does that tell us? For me, do not drink more than two glasses of wine.

CINDY: For me? Stop playing and plan the next vacation.

ABBY: Amen!