Having a break

[gerilege]

I will likely stop online gambling for a while again. This is the second time I am facing with a difficult decision, as my girlfriend doesn't seem to tolerate the downswing I have right now. Last summer I had to experience another relatively big, but much smaller downswing (I lost more than 1.200 GBP in a few months playing BJ 3 GBP per hand, circa 13.000 hands), and I couldn't convince her that online gambling was fair.

Later in the last year I did quite well, hit several good wins, cashed in a very nice profit (with the help of bonuses), which could have been more if I had more discipline, although my biggest win came from a very -EV situation. Everything went fine.

But this year is terrible for me so far. I switched to a more aggressive strategy, and suddenly 4/5 of last year's profit is gone within 4 months. I had to regularly suffer video poker sessions with 10-20% house edge and 200+ units downswings with 2-10% probability, and the big win - to put me in line with the expectations - just didn't come. The good winning BJ streaks also avoided me on all sws except probably one. The probability of the overall downswing I have is less than 5 percent. Additionally I have two problematic big cashouts, and I would really need the money right now.

So I think I will take a break, and come back later. Probably I will go back to play my old low-middle limit holdem and omaha hi/lo poker game. Less, but more plannable profit. I am able to handle those swings, but I'm fortunately not alone, and I won't let variance kill my personal relationship.

I will be here on the forum, and I wish you all the best.
Good luck!

[AudiManinBoro]

ahhh girlfriends and gambling, will they ever really go together lol

[CasinoForumu]

Good luck with your decision.

[KasinoKing]

ahhh girlfriends and gambling, will they ever really go together lol

Same with wives & gambling.
As to wives & girlfriends... don't even go there!

My misses is very tolerant, but only cos I usually win.
Having said that April was pretty diabolical, and I can totally understand why runs of bad luck make people re-assess the whole malarkey. But this is a good thing in a way because it teaches us to be more careful in the future.
No-one should gamble with more than they are fully prepared to lose, and never chase your losses!

Good luck to gerilege and anyone else taking a break from this crazy habit.
KK

[EasyRhino]

Probably better off with a gf that doesn't like gambling than one who loves it

Two questions for you:

1) Why were you playing video poker with such huge house edge? You could find much better payouts.

2) It really sounds like you started "overbetting your bankroll". In real-life gambling, I count cards, and there it's absolutely crucial to not overbet relative to the amount you have available to lose, and that's in a game where you have a small advantage!

When you're just gambling for fun, it's even more important to pay attention to what you're wagering. Unless your wealth increased substantially, a "more aggressive" gaming pattern will necessarily result in either a) shorter sessions, or b) bigger losses. And you know, it's often easier to find small limit tables on the Internet than brick and mortar. Heck, it's one of the few advantages the online casinos have.

... and I understand the desire for a break. I just took a $2k haircut over the weekend, and I think I need one too!

[suzecat]

It is a very wise man who sets his limitations.........hats off to you!

[soflat]

If the probability of your downswing was around 4 or 5%, that is not a low percentage. You have to plan for having those regularly whether you play blackjack or texas hold'em or any other game.

[gerilege]

Probably better off with a gf that doesn't like gambling than one who loves it

Two questions for you:

1) Why were you playing video poker with such huge house edge? You could find much better payouts.

2) It really sounds like you started "overbetting your bankroll". In real-life gambling, I count cards, and there it's absolutely crucial to not overbet relative to the amount you have available to lose, and that's in a game where you have a small advantage!

When you're just gambling for fun, it's even more important to pay attention to what you're wagering. Unless your wealth increased substantially, a "more aggressive" gaming pattern will necessarily result in either a) shorter sessions, or b) bigger losses. And you know, it's often easier to find small limit tables on the Internet than brick and mortar. Heck, it's one of the few advantages the online casinos have.

... and I understand the desire for a break. I just took a $2k haircut over the weekend, and I think I need one too!

1. Sorry, English is not my native language, and I was probably mis-understandable. I played full pay JoB, usually 4handed, so the expected house edge would be 0,46%. What I meant that I had a lot of sessions playing 4handed JoB like this:
Wagered 2285 GBP ( 457 rounds * (4*1,25 bet), lost 375 (=75*4*1,25) GBP. So the house edge for that specific session was 16%. Ok that is variance, and I understand that, but I had many sessions like that, and my girlfriend doesn't understand that. And I could cite more examples of bad luck, like losing the last 11 "toss-a-coin" situation on Blackjack with my deposit+bonus. It's just as frustrating as if someone would play roulette, and the black would come 11 times in a row when you bet on red (at least that never happened to me so far as I never play roulette).

2. I don't think that I started "overbetting my bankroll". I started to play more aggressively when my bankroll grew up enough. But loss is loss, and it is a bad feeling, no matter how big your bankroll is. The aggressive betting was necessary to create more +EV situations for the bonuses. The problem is that I was on the good side of variance last year, and my girlfriend felt that that money was ours for good. And when the downswing came, she asked my why did you lose the money which had been already won.

I started playing poker in 2004 from freeroll winnings and micro stakes online poker bonuses, and by the end of that year I managed to reach a bankroll that was enough to comfortable play 3/6 USD fix limit holdem even with the downswings. My biggest downswing there was 200 BigBets, and 600 BigBet bankroll is considered comfortable for FL hold'em, and I had a lot more than 600 BigBet. By the end of 2005 I added online casinos to the pack with easy bonuses, and continued to play hold'em, and my bankroll (and my poker knowledge) reached a point when I could comfortably play 5/10 FL holdem and omaha hi-lo. The relationship in which I live in began that time. Within a few months I switched to play casinos rather than poker, because I could manage my spare time better playing casinos. I played with very low bets, and my bankroll grew, then I had the first downswing which I mentioned in my first post, that put me back a little, but then things went in line with the mathematical expectations, and by the end of 2006 my bankroll reached a level which was comfortable for playing 15/30 FL holdem, and suitable for higher risk casino bonuses.

Then the downswing I mentioned came, and it killed 50% of my whole bankroll and 80% of last year's profit. I can manage it, and right now I'm really down on variance slope, and things will get better on the long run, and my bankroll is still very comfortable, although I would like to have the reinforcement with the problematic cashouts. But my girlfriend says that she doesn't believe in online gambling any more, and I should stop it. And I can't convince her. This is why I will probably go back to play poker, my bankroll is still very comfortable, and the risk (just like the expected hourly rate) is simply lower.

I will probably continue with the casinos later, but I will likely avoid one software provider on which I lost 50% of my whole losses. I don't say it's not fair, it only has psychological reasons, especially for my girlfriend.

I really appreciate all feedbacks.

[gerilege]

If the probability of your downswing was around 4 or 5%, that is not a low percentage. You have to plan for having those regularly whether you play blackjack or texas hold'em or any other game.

Yes, you're right. I thought I was prepared for the downswings, but I am yet to recalculate the probability, because my notes, excel sheets and available gamelogs are far from being perfect. At least this is one lesson that I learned.

I had such downswings with the same probability earlier, this one simply took much longer and more money was involved. What I have also learned that it could take much more time to recover from casino downswings than from poker downswings. Playing proper poker the edge is basically on your side, playing casinos it's basically on the casino's side, no matter you play in +EV situations with bonuses, because the chance for a downswing is influenced by the house edge. This difference between the casinos and poker is what I probably didn't consider.

[Avatar73]

I thought 10pc house edge was very clear!

I recently played a slot with an 90pc house edge over £200

(my "pc" key is broken)