 
Gambling Money Management, Record
Keeping Tips and Odds and Ends
By
Will Veda
To
succeed at gaming, learning the proper strategies of casino
games is not the only approach.
Controlling your money and educating yourself on record
keeping is just as important.
Serious gamblers know that money management is vital to
retaining a lucrative gaming career.
Money Management
Possibly
the most important aspect to successful gambling is utilizing
a form of money management.
Setting bankroll allotments, win goals, and loss limits
can result in beating the dreaded house advantages.
The most imperative aspect of management, however,
comes in simple human restraint and self-control.
Namely controlling that ever-present human ego.
It
would be wise to set Win Goals and Loss Limits for each game
you play and abide by these.
I can’t stress how important it is to walk away when
one or the other is achieved.
And sometimes it may be wise to use a 90% factor.
Say your win goal was to double $100 at a Blackjack
table and it seems like every time you reach a $90 profit, you
go on a tailspin, then make it up to that $90 again—keep it
and walk away with satisfaction (see ESPV below).
Set
aside a gambling bankroll, which is money used only for
gambling. One of
the worst situations in gambling is using scared money, that
is money not set aside for play, i.e. disposable
income. Don’t
bet your mortgage payment, car payment, or your childrens’
college funds in hopes of doubling.
I swear the sheer thought in the back of your mind will
hinder your playing decisions; hence the term scared money.
If you are short on funds, try to take a small bankroll
and play short sessions of profitable results to gradually
increase your bankroll. After
a quick win of say 10-20%, quit that session and return
another day for another 10-20% win goal and quit and return,
etc. These short
spurts can give you a nice gambling-only fund.
Of course, you will not always win, so loss limits must
be set at a really low percentage of 5-10%.
No need in going deeper and deeper into the
non-gambling-fund abyss.
Always
keep in mind that the cheques in front of you or the credits
registered in your machine are in fact your money.
Casinos purposely want to play with “fake” money in
hopes that you are not as conscience about the “real”
currency as you should be.
When
on a gambling trip, set aside a fixed bankroll amount for each
day and do not, absolutely do not touch another days’
allotment if that day’s bankroll is depleted.
Playing on-line may be a little tougher to control
since your bankroll is in digits not in paper.
On-line play takes a lot more management because of the
comfort of playing at home without the realization that your
money really is at stake.
Choosing the right games to
play is also relevant. Learn
the games that have the least house advantage, such as
Blackjack, Video Poker, and Live Poker.
But if you must play those high vig games, set you loss
limits accordingly.
Betting Systems
We
have all seen the advertisements for sure-fire winning
techniques to casino games.
Most are just a sham to make you part with your
hard-earned cash for schemes that do absolutely nothing in
regards to winning. Throughout
gambling history there have also been wager-progression
strategies that appear to legitimate, but with further
analysis, they do not work.
A classic example is called the Martingale Betting
System where you
start with one bet; if it wins you remain with the one bet.
If it loses, you double the bet and each time you lose,
you double your last lost bet.
The theory is that you are going to eventually win and
when you do win, you would get back all your lost bets plus a
one bet profit over your original wager.
The problem with this system is that it has a really
low return and if you keep on losing, the casino’s maximum
limit will possibly not allow you to make an enormous wager to
recuperate. This
system is not worth the risk.
Other
similar systems exist, such as The D'Alenbert System, which is
basically the same as the Martingale, except the bet is
lowered after a win. There’s
also Labouchere System, where the gambler sets a betting
progression that they desire, i.e. 1
(unit)-2-3-4-5-6 and bet the “outside” numbers (1 and 6,
which equals 7 units), if they win, you cross out the 1 and 6
and move to 2 and 5, also 7; if they win, you cross them out
and go to 3 and 4, 7 again; and then start all over.
If you lose the 1 and 6, you next add a unit to make it
1 and 7 for an 8-unit bet; and continue the trend.
The problem, once again is; if you keep on losing, the
table max’s may not allow you to recoup.
Many
more betting progressions have been created that all seem to
have the same result: when you lose, it’s hard to get back
those losses. I
do not suggest flat betting because you will hardly ever have
success. I
recommend that when the table seems to be going well for you
gradually increase your wagers and when it’s cold decrease
your wagers. Unfortunately,
that’s easier said than done.
ESPV
And
now, I must mention an unconventional and controversial aspect
of successful gambling. I
just happen to possess a slight twinge of psychic ability and
there are friends and relatives that will vouch for this
claim. I
sometimes call home runs while watching baseball games and
find myself quoting sports commentators seconds before they
speak. Many times
these quotes are verbatim.
I cannot however control these intuitive occurrences or
know when they will be delivered.
If I could, I would have bought a Caribbean island with
my Mega Millions winnings.
I
do, however, know that every time I gamble and that ESPV (Extra
Sensory Perceptive Voice) says: “It’s time to walk away”
and I don’t listen, I lose either that game’s profit or
even the full buy-in. Every
time. By
no means am I Mr. Kreskin or the little clairvoyant girl in The
4400, but I believe that each and every one of us possess
a slight amount of this gift.
I’m
not suggesting that you rely on hunches or whims or the
devil/angel-on-the-shoulder debaters, but if you find yourself
capable of occasionally predicting phone calls, friends’
arrivals, or just noticing coincidental forecasts, use that
voice in your head to your advantage.
Intuition can be a strong ally.
I’m aware that there are many gaming experts that
scoff at this belief, and I do not dispute their reasoning.
But like I said, every single time I have ignored my
ESPV, I blew my wad.
Charms, Superstitions and Good
Luck Tactics
Any
heads-up penny I find goes directly into my left shoe and it
remains there during the next gaming adventure.
Along with the penny, I always carry around a set of
lucky coins (one quarter, one dime, one nickel, and one penny
that equal 41 cents) in my back pocket; I always wear a
certain ring and necklace; there’s a picture of my daughter,
Tara, in my wallet; and I never play on-line during the same
day as a casino visit. I
read my horoscope. I
don’t kill any of God’s creatures, no matter how minute.
I admit that I am one superstitious person.
Sports stars are notorious for
their good luck antics, like eating the same thing before a
ballgame or stepping over the chalk base line or never
changing their underwear during a hitting streak, yuck.
And
then there is Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, who won the 2004
World Series of Poker while wearing a pair of really spooky
lizard eye sunglasses and placing a fossil on top of his cards
for protection, hence the nickname.
You can’t tell me that these weren’t superstitious
good luck charms. He’s
now a millionaire.
Do
these tactics work? Who
knows, but it is a comfort factor and comfort is important to
successful gambling or at least for courage when your money is
on the line.
Record
Keeping
I
strongly recommend keeping detailed records of your gaming
sessions for several reasons.
Detailed records can be used for tax purposes when
reporting gaming income and needing to deduct losses, which by
the way, you can only deduct as much as you have won in a
reporting year (see Gaming Tax Reporting below).
Detailed records can be used for keeping track of your
“lucky” machine(s). Most
important, detailed records can help you keep track of your
play and if you are in a rut, seeing it in print may help you
to give up on the session before it becomes a disaster.
In 1997, I designed a Casino Summary Logbook (patent (de)pending),
which I still use, that includes details of each and every
table or machine I have played at, including the machine’s
number, and/or location, and notes of the outcome.
My details include the game’s buy-in amount, average
wager amount, time spent playing, closing amount, and win/loss
amount.
Always
use your Players Cards at both table games and machines for
comps and cash back benefits.
Getting something in return for playing actually cuts
into the casinos’ house advantage.
Of course, it is imperative that you do not remain at a
cold machine because you need 1000 more points to get $10 back
in cash. That can
be very costly.
If
you find yourself unable to control your money, it may be the
right time to refer to the chapter on problem/compulsive
gambling located on this website.
Do not be embarrassed to admit to a problem, help is
just a phone call away.
Gaming Tax Reporting
If
you receive a W-2G form(s)—which will have to be included in
your tax return along with your occupation W-2 form(s)—for
$1,200.00 (the minimum single-win amount that casinos are
required to report to the IRS) and your overall losses for the
year are $2,000.00, you can only deduct the $1,2000.00 in the
Other Miscellaneous Deductions section on your Schedule A.
Proof may be required if audited and keeping a detailed
diary is acceptable. In
reality, you’re supposed to report all your wins and losses
to the IRS, but doing so is not an easy task.
However, every casino is required to provide a report
of a person’s recorded play (data gathered from table rating
and players’ cards) when requested.
At the beginning of a new year, contact the casinos’
players’ club departments, request a win/loss statement and
within a few weeks one will arrive.
There is always an “estimated amount statement”
printed on the statement, especially with table play because
pit personnel sometimes have to estimate the players’
session results. Reporting
gaming tax laws can be found in the IRS website at: www.irs.gov.
In Closing
When
I first became enamored with gambling, I thought that I would
become the most famous gambler of all time by breaking all the
casinos’ coffers. It
did not turn out that way.
In fact, my first few trips to the casinos after
learning the games resulted in some mighty losses.
But I also discovered that with discipline and learning
when to walk, I could achieve success in my gaming adventures.
There is no way I could ever imagine becoming a
professional gambler because of the grind it would take and
quite frankly, most jobs just are not any fun.
I am a recreational gambler and I gamble to have fun.
Winning just enlightens the fun.
09/30/05
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