How do you know when to cash out?

[bw2006]

I love playing online slots and my biggest problem is knowing when to stop. I have cashed out which is always awesome but more than not I have gotten up and then lost. Does anyone have a rule of thumb when playing slots that they use to know when to say that's enough? Just curious to hear others viewpoints on this. Thanks!!!

[kenneth2816]

The great thing about playing online is that you can step away from the computer and nothing will change until you return. After a substantial "win", such as a free spin or bonus round, take a short break.

You are playing a game on a computer program that has no logic, no ulterior motive, and does not care if you win or lose.

You on the other hand, have all the control. The "law of averages" dictates that it is highly improbable you will hit a substantial win two or more times within a few spins. You can decide to cash out, lower your wager for awhile, or raise it.

I vary my wagers based on win ratios. if I am playing 50 cents per line on a 20line slot and win substantially, I drop back to 20 cents per line for at least the next 10-15 spins because I know it is highly unlikely I will hit another "big hit" so soon.

Before you deposit, set a goal. If you deposit $100.00, decide how much is "enough", and make a plan to cash out at 200% or 300% (or whatever) profit and try to stick to it.

On the other hand, stopping your play while you still have money is difficult. But if you set a % limit of how much you are willing to lose, you can come back tomorrow, so it works both ways. Most people are willing to wager their entire deposit and lose it. If this sounds like you, try upping your deposit by 25%, (let's say $125.00) and if you run down to just $25.00, stop.

The length of play often has a great deal to do with cashing out. Since you have a limited pool of funds and the casino does not, it is not possible to "break the casino." The odds are the longer you play, the greater the chances of losing both your winnings and your initial deposit.

I play slots because of the rate of return. Having some sort of plan, even if it isn't scientific, on when to cash out and sticking to it, means I NEVER have to have a Zero night by losing my entire deposit, or wasting my winnings chasing MORE winnings.

As an example, if I depost $100.00 tonight, leave $25.00 and deposit another $25.00 tomorrow, I am "building" on $25.00 I likley would have already lost had I not exercised a little self discipline.

However, I can truly say that if you have ever wagered say $10.00 total on a single spin and won $2,000.00 (as many have playing slots) it does tend to ruin your "logic"!

I gamble for fun, excitement, and enterntainment. It isn't a "second income" nor do I think I am building a retirement fund. On the other hand, after several years at it off and on, I got tired of just chasing my own money and decided to implement a few variations in my play. All told, I guess I am "up" about 23% overall, and it doesn't come in big enough chunks to help or hurt me at any given time.

Best of luck. Great question too, by the way.

[bw2006]

Kenneth,
That's great advice! It has been difficult for me to stop as my money starts dwindling but I like your idea of stopping at the $25.00 mark and waiting until the next day. I often will lose and then deposit to try to make up for the last which is the wrong thing to do. I will also take a break after a win - another great idea. Thanks for the post - I enjoyed reading that!

[doomed4ever]

Well the past month or so I have been hitting the cash out button everytime I hit 200 or so. I then cash out half that and then immeditaly get the withdraw flushed so I cant reverse. Anything less that around 200 i dont bother. I usually deposit around 25 to 50 usd/gbp at a time. I know with a few mg slots they somtimes give another set of free spins within a few spins of the last one so I always play 20 or 30 spins after getting a decent free spin feature. If the free spin feature plays crap then I move on. The cash out method has worked so far for me as Im well up this month on all the MGS I play at. All that said I dont always get to the magical 200 mark and then bust out.

[KasinoKing]

I agree, that was an excellent post by Kenneth!

My cash-out point is determined by the bonus I'm playing - once I have made WR I cash-out straight away if my balance is higher than my deposit.

I never really thought about it before, but I stop & take a break like Kenneth does too; if I'm having a rotten run & my bankroll is plummeting I nearly always stop before completely busting out.
Like I was playing a Rival casino last week and at one point my bank was over $800; over several days this dropped to about $350, then I "went a bit mad" with big bets and it dropped like a stone. However, when I got down to about $25 I stopped.
I think it's psychological - I just hate that "gutted" feeling you get when you spin your last cent away.
So I'll leave it a day or two, then go back & low-roll with my $25 & see if I can make anything from it. Not very likely, but you never know. And if I do bust out it will only be from a starting balance of $25, which doesn't seem so bad somehow...
Strange, isn't it!

KK

[pinkfloyd]

i recently encountered a situation wish i could have avoided
i deposited 50 and for the first time in a long time i got on a roll , and got up to 340 bucks , nice win , while i was playing my friend sends me a screenshot of 5 wilds 2.50 bet over a 1k collect
i was very happy for him but my brain automatically started looking at my 340 bux as not a win ( stupid brain ) and i went and played limits which i totally avoid , i might spin a dollar or 2 when im on a roll , but i never play machines where im betting 3 bux a spin min , next thing i know im bust trying to match my friends win instead of being happy with 6 times my deposit !


rules ... always set yourself goal before you start ...an amount x your initial deposit 3x or 4 x , if u have a win over that automatically withdraw , but leave yourself some mad money
even if you deposit 50 and say 150 is my goal , and u win 400 on some mad spins , withdraw 300 and pretend the 100 is a new deposit and set a new goal ;-)

never never look at your transaction history after a win , u might win 200 and go to withdraw it , see that you have lost 300 without a collect and decide 200 is no longer good enough , that you have to win 600 to win , big mistake


and never never accept screenshots during a session ! lol

[Stovetopp]

I agree, that was an excellent post by Kenneth!

I think it's psychological - I just hate that "gutted" feeling you get when you spin your last cent away.
So I'll leave it a day or two, then go back & low-roll with my $25 & see if I can make anything from it. Not very likely, but you never know. And if I do bust out it will only be from a starting balance of $25, which doesn't seem so bad somehow...
Strange, isn't it!

KK

LOL Thanks KK for starting off my day (7:30am here on east coast) with a great big Laugh...Great attitude too about gambling on line Think I will try it
A little story here Sunday my computer experienced the "blue screen of death"
and left me with 2.98 cents......After several tries at restart finally was able to connect and low rolled Finally , was able to cash out 250.......however, in my haste to cashout , made wrong xfer and the bank fees totalled $79.00 bucks So not so good!

[love2winalot]

Hiya: The fact of the matter is, most people have no idea when to cash out.
"I am up $42, but i want to win more than that"
"I am only down $50, so i might as well keep on playing"
"WoW, I am up $700, so i have a good profit no matter what, so i will keep playing some more, with the profit"
"Darn, i only have $40 left, so that is to little to cash out, so might as well keep on playing"
and so on.......................

I use a 2 stage cash out process. First, is when i am able to x2 my deposit. Put in $800, and when it goes over $1600, I withdraw the original $800 + any fee's that may be due.

Now, i have my $800 profit, left to play with. My goal is to double it again, and cash out $800 again. But, if it is becoming difficult to do, I will cash out 1/2 of what ever my current balance is.

In either case, I want the money i end up playing with, to be profit, and even if i lost it, I can start the process all over again, and am still ahead of the game.

ps: I am never in any hurry to do this. It takes about a week, or sometimes 2, to turn $1000 deposit into $2000+ balance. To me, having a Win Goal, and sticking to it, combined with a deposit limit, and withdrawing as stated above, is as good of way as any to gamble. imhop

[bernynhel]

That's easy! As soon as you get to the point where if you make one more wager, you'll never have as high a balance as you would have had if you had not, instead, made that particular wager. So at that point, before you make that next bet, cash out! What else you wanna know?

[4 of a kind]

I clicked on one of KasinoKings web sites offered at the bottom of his posts, and read about his personal strategy. Not suited for my style of play, but you may find it interesting. I'd give it a read.