What do you do with your winnings after you leave?

[dork]

Let's postulate that you've won more than lost, for the year. You took a marker for $500 (only to save yourself a trip to the bank) and won. Now you've got $2000 after paying off the marker.

1) Do you keep a log and record your winnings?

2) Do you skim $500 off the top for later buy-ins and put the rest in the bank?

3) If you do, are you psychologically at ease withdrawing any amount up to $1500 (or whatever your log says you're ahead) for further play?

4) If you don't squirrel some of your winnings away at the bank, do you just bring your $500 on your next casino trip and leave the other $1500 at home?

5) Or do you bring it all to the casino and buy-in in larger amounts (like the Kelly Criterion suggests)?

6) Most of us don't bet our initial hand in the same amounts that we do after we get a feel for the dice... that said, once you 'get comfortable', would your bets increase by say, 300%, considering you allow for a $500 buy-in (ala Kelly)?

7) Would your incremental bets increase at all on your next (and subsequent sessions) since you're "$1500" ahead with the buy-in paid off?

[dork]

What, too personal? mundane? no time? '22 views' and no responses?? I could use some observations and guidance here.

Thank you.

[shunkaha]

Let's postulate that you've won more than lost, for the year. You took a marker for $500 (only to save yourself a trip to the bank) and won. Now you've got $2000 after paying off the marker.

1) Do you keep a log and record your winnings?

2) Do you skim $500 off the top for later buy-ins and put the rest in the bank?

3) If you do, are you psychologically at ease withdrawing any amount up to $1500 (or whatever your log says you're ahead) for further play?

4) If you don't squirrel some of your winnings away at the bank, do you just bring your $500 on your next casino trip and leave the other $1500 at home?

5) Or do you bring it all to the casino and buy-in in larger amounts (like the Kelly Criterion suggests)?

6) Most of us don't bet our initial hand in the same amounts that we do after we get a feel for the dice... that said, once you 'get comfortable', would your bets increase by say, 300%, considering you allow for a $500 buy-in (ala Kelly)?

7) Would your incremental bets increase at all on your next (and subsequent sessions) since you're "$1500" ahead with the buy-in paid off?

Ok, I'll tackle this one. I don't do markers but if I were to do them it would likely be somewhere along the road to more frequent and higher stakes play than $500 but under the scenario of that being my level of play with a marker my take would be the following.

1] On the win vs loss front I typically work it like a card counting system where I start at 0 and go up or down to arrive at my "count"... most of the time my "count" has been positive but not so much so that I could retire off of it.

2] In theory I needn't "skim" since I'd solely operate off of markers or money won and therefore would start with a marker and either settle at trip end or deposit the money and next trip I'd take out an appropriate marker as needed.

3] If all I am ahead is $1500, no I wouldn't psychologically feel comfortable committing more simply because I'd already be committing 33% of all my profit as a buy in at that point, if the number were to ever reach 5 figures or more I suppose I would adjust accordingly but that is all speculation at this point since my combined win/loss places me a whole order of magnitude or more away and the money goes out to supplement rather than sit on its own.

4] see #2 regarding bringing money vs marker.

5] see #2 and #3 regarding money brought vs marker and comfort level of buy in based on profit.

6] Typically no, I might go up an additional percentage but not 300%, though under the right circumstances I would become more aggressive regarding pressing my bets prior to taking or regressing.

7] see #3 regarding why I wouldn't change my play based of what I would see as a short term turn rather than a long term trend.

For me to fundamentally alter my outlook on fiscal risks would require a great deal more than 3x my buy in. To put it in perspective, if you walk into a casino with $25 and hit a 25 cent slot machine for $75 do you immediately walk up to $1 machines since you now have 3x your "buy"? Odds are I don't go to that $1 machine until I have $400 - $500 minimum and even then I'm not feeling good about risking it all. I guess my thoughts on this come from a few professional gamblers I know [not that I will ever be a professional gambler in all likelihood] but they don't alter their play based on a few hundred dollars. Their bankrolls are measured in the 10s of thousands in one case and in the other more like 100s of thousands, a few hundred is too small of an increase to warrant betting heavier and could easily be attributable to a lucky night.

[London Shooter]

Point 7 is an interesting one as you often see people doing this, not just in craps, but in many other forms of betting. I call it "chasing your wins" and in many respects it can be just as destructive to your betting bankroll as chasing your losses.

[$5Bill]

What Do I Do With My Winnings



I love the cash I need in order to keep playing but I also use my winnings for "The Things I Want." Every year I have made out a list of things I wanted. No matter how expensive or outrageous it might be, I put it down on a list. This way I have something to shoot for when I'm at the craps table. I love it when I can buy what I want with the winnings I have earned. I may not have gotten all the things I wanted right away. Some things took a long time before I was able to get them and some things are still on "My List of Things I Want."

______________________________________________________________

2003


Get Car Fixed (Done)

Video Card for Computer (Done)

Trip to Vegas (Done)

Get my Teeth Fixed (Done)

Games (Done)

Craps Seminar (Done 3x's)

Fan Belts and Tires (Done)

Money to See my Kids in Des Moines Jan 2004 (Done)

A Pair of Shoes (Done)
____________________________________________________________

2006


DVD Player (Done)

Oblivion Game (Done)

Editing Program for Photos (Done)
____________________________________________________________

What I want for Christmas 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013


Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2010 (DONE)

Samsung 23" LED Monitor (DONE)

Computer Mouse (DONE)

Nikon Camera (DONE)

New Tires and fix car (DONE)

External hard Drive 1 t (DONE)

Computer;HP ENVY Phoenix 800-030qe Desktop PC (DONE)

Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 software (DONE)

__________________________________________________________

2014


Tickets to See Cher in Concert (Done)

Samsung; NEW! 46'' Class (45.9" Diag.) LED 7900 Series Smart TV (Done)

Office Chair (DONE)

__________________________________________________________

Things I Still Want

http://www.pinterest.com/5billdice/things-i-want-to-do/

[heavy]

Yes, I track wins and losses. Like Irish, I maintain a separate bank account for bankroll. As for the mythical $2000 win . . .

One third goes to the bride.

One third gets plowed back into bankroll.

One third goes in my "mamma don't know" stash.

[wild child]

.
My winnings are invested

50 % Penny stock ( pink Sheet Bulletin Board Stock issues )

50 % CHAIN LETTERS

Can't help it ,I am a chance taker


W c

[Dylanfreake]

When I started gambling , I didn`t know for sure if I would even like going to casinos regularly and I did not -ever-want to use any household money to gamble with. Plus I didn`t know if my $100 gambling money would last very long. As I told my wife , "When this $100 is gone , never ask me to go to a casino again!"

I was lucky and after gambling for a year or so, I set a goal of trying to reach for a gambling bankroll of $3000 by the time I was 65. (I began gambling at age 54). I have always just used casino money for gambling , although I do have $6000 in a money market account ,drawing interest (not much),and I still consider it gambling money.

I only risk 3 to 4% of my gambling bankroll per session. This way losing sessions never bother me---MUCH!

The first bet I ever made in a casino was in August of 2000, after studying GAMBLING for a few months and that bet was $5 at a Blackjack table at Grand Tunica, which became Harrahs Tunica, which is closing down June 2. Yeah, I`ll shed a tear, maybe?

My $100 beginning gambling bankroll was from the sale of aluminum cans that I had picked up on my morning walks, which I still do today. Although the cans are taken to the Humane Society in Memphis, not far from where I work (I should say the can drop off is near where I work).

I keep a notebook in my pocket and have written down every session I have ever played . (99.9 % of my play over the years has been craps with a little BJ , Baccarat, Pai Gow poker, Holdem Poker and VP thrown in. I may have played Three card Poker and Let it Ride once each.

My advice : Play smart, have fun, be lucky.

[Bankerdude80]

1) Do you keep a log and record your winnings?
Yes

2) Do you skim $500 off the top for later buy-ins and put the rest in the bank?

I take 50% and place in a "HOME" envelope to bring home. The other 50% is "rolled forward" and is available for future sessions on the trip.

3) If you do, are you psychologically at ease withdrawing any amount up to $1500 (or whatever your log says you're ahead) for further play?

Yes, but only up to the 50% available for play.

4) If you don't squirrel some of your winnings away at the bank, do you just bring your $500 on your next casino trip and leave the other $1500 at home?

The money I bring home in my "HOME" envelope I allocate 50% to my future bankroll (401G). I put together a simple/flexible budget for total bankroll for the trip by day, number of sessions, and buy-in amounts for every trip I make. The other 50% goes to the bank/investment accounts.

5) Or do you bring it all to the casino and buy-in in larger amounts (like the Kelly Criterion suggests)?

If and when my bankroll grows to the point I can afford larger bets is when I would buy-in for larger amounts.

6) Most of us don't bet our initial hand in the same amounts that we do after we get a feel for the dice... that said, once you 'get comfortable', would your bets increase by say, 300%, considering you allow for a $500 buy-in (ala Kelly)?

No.

7) Would your incremental bets increase at all on your next (and subsequent sessions) since you're "$1500" ahead with the buy-in paid off?

No. I would only buy-in for a larger amount if my bankroll can afford it and only when I am comfortable betting at larger levels.

[Golfer]

I remember reading a post or two from this guy with the handle Dylanfreak. I thought it different. Still do. Got a chance to meet him on a business trip and wow..a true gentleman with a Bride who is one in a million. In Chicagoland we call people like these class acts.

Years ago I took a golfing buuddy to the casino after a round. Showed him a wheel of fortune and he got to spin a couple of times. On the 2nd try he hit for $100. I told him keep the $100 bill and place it down the front of his Wife's shirt. He did. Never really worked for me.


Golfer

[heavy]

I told him keep the $100 bill and place it down the front of his Wife's shirt. He did. Never really worked for me.

Maybe she just liked him better.


ba-da-boom

[offaxis]

After reading this thread, I have a new plan. 50 percent to my bankroll until it hits $5000. Then decrease to a third. 10 percent always to charity. 40 percent for things I want. Started 4 new envelopes, major one is for a trip to Hawaii for my husband and myself. Hope this looks okay typed it out on my phone.

[AtGame7]

What I find funny (odd) about myself at least, but I believe it to hold true for most players is if I want something like an new amp for my guitar, or even a new guitar I have a hard time taking say $500 out of the bank/paycheck and just purchasing it. If I have craps winnings I will try to get to the guitar store that night and buy what I want.

Several times along the way I lost $500 gambling, and I just chalk it up as losses along the way. So, to summarize:

$500 lost playing=just part of the process
$500 taken to buy something=seems hard to justify
Buying something with winnings=The reason I play!

[dork]

Thank you very much to Irish, Shunkaha, and LS for getting this thread rolling! Thank you to everyone for having your say; I needed it to get a feel for how winnings should be handled. I really don't have enough imagination to see the 'big' picture there.

I guess it's obvious from my original post that I don't know how to manage my winnings. I'm really at a loss here on how to form a plan. I've got a lot to think about. It never occurred to me that $1500 in winnings with a covered $500 buy-in isn't significant enough to allow for some adjustment in betting scale.

I'm not arguing the point; when cast in the shadow of the concept of 'bankroll', it's certainly irrelevant. But two ideas had me considering larger bets for subsequent play--something (I think) Grafstein wrote made sense to me (or maybe it was one of Heavy's schemes)--when the shooter is on a winning streak and hitting PL points, it seems a shame to start out with a $5PL and 4x Odds, and still be at the same betting level when the 3rd or 4th point wins. I don't remember the incremental increases, but let's just say each successive winner should allow for 50% increase of the Odds bet (even if it requires increasing the PL bet to accommodate it.) Therefore, the second bet would be $5PL w/$30 Odds, the 3rd bet would be $5PL w/45 Odds, and the 4th bet would be $10PL with $70 Odds. (Actually, come to think of it, I think Heavy's was a recovery scheme for the last hand's losses[?]. I think he proposed increasing/doubling the Odds portion of the subsequent bet as a clean way [pure odds, no vig] to recoup losses.)

The second idea is the Kelly Criterion. I haven't figured out my advantage(s), but just the rudimentary principle of increasing the bets on a scale with the winning percentage made sense to me until I read the responses here. It seems that most players mark the bankroll number as the gauge with which to measure success, and whether they increase their wagers is a function of how much influence their winnings have on the bankroll number. ('Bankroll' denotes the amount one is willing to lose before the losses are so great the player decides to quit. Then there's trip stake, the amount of cash one brings to last for the duration of a gambling excursion. Lastly, there's the session buy-in, the amount, in chips, that one will play with for a table session.)

I never really gave the limit of my bankroll serious thought. I don't think I have a dollar limit. I think I'd be accurate in saying that time will stop me from playing--there will come a time when I can't drive to the casino; hopefully no sooner than 20 years, but that's probably both accurate and maybe a wee optimistic at the same time. I get scratchy when I lose $5-800 during a two-day gambling excursion, and I'll stop playing for a month or so when that happens--but I don't usually visit several casinos. My "sessions" are singular--I'll only go to one casino per trip (now) and I'll buy-in with $500 and go home, win or lose. But if we are to wait until we've generated enough winnings as to affect the numerical value of our actual bankroll, aren't we talking about an almost non-existent concept? Wouldn't it take so much time (using a prudent betting scheme) to gather sooo much money, that the KC is for all intents, irrelevant?

It's interesting to see how $5Bill and others allocate their winnings... I hadn't considered the idea of "luxury" items as 'separate' expenses... I guess I can throw heads, headers, a new cam, and methanol injection costs onto that list. Ooh, boy...

Grafstein (and maybe Heavy) and the concept of 'increases' the Kelly Criterion recommend, have my mind leaned to the idea that some profit should be used to leverage the bets. The consensus here though, is that that shouldn't be the general practice. I'm not so sure I disagree with this thread's authors... Grafstein's is an isolated play that shouldn't "hurt"; it's generated from "live" winnings. More importantly, it's a single bet, not an overall scheme--and I can see as I type this that I extrapolated too much 'intent' from it's theory.

Shunkaha might have illustrated the 'holding position' best with his example of a quick $75 win on a $25 stake at the slots. I wouldn't ever consider stepping up to the $1 machine because I'd won a 3x jackpot. As he says (and it's balls-on dead accurate for me, too), I'd need a $400-500 win to consider the $1 machine, and even at THAT, more than likely, I wouldn't budge from the $.25 slots.

London Shooter might have been the most succinct in describing my idea to increase my bets as, "chasing the wins".

As I said, there's lots to consider, and I think my mind is changing towards the sounder, more prudent concepts. Thank you, Evahbuddy!

[Bushido]

I don't have a wife so I don't have to share...Surplus monies goes into a money market account...