Big Bets...Foolish?

I have written several blogs based on strategy and the importance of keeping your emotion in check when you are gambling. The theory being that it is better to win small consistently and get to your winning goal than to risk a big bet up front and have a better chance of losing everything. Despite my writing and playing this way a vast majority of the time, I find myself occasionally losing my way and doing stupid things. This doesn't happen nearly as often as it used to, but it still happens every once in a while and I end up walking away with nothing. My blog today is about my occasional splurges with non-strategy large bets and whether or not gambling is more fun when you stick to a strategy.

The biggest fault I find in myself is in playing table games like Roulette and Blackjack. I find myself playing the strategy card in Blackjack for quite a long period of time, but then end up getting bored. I tend to be pretty impulsive person, though that has changed for the better as I have gotten a bit older, and my experiences with gambling tend to be influenced by this. As an example of my foolishness, I tend to start out with a smaller amount to bank with and will build my chips up to roughly double what I had. After a while I end up getting bored and will start playing hands that I cannot sustain according to most normal strategies. My $10 bet per hand will turn into $20 to $25 per hand as I look for a quick way to double my bank total quickly. When the cards fall in my favor this does work well, but a lot of the time I end up losing my money back to the starting total.

In Roulette I see myself putting big bets down on either Red or Black. While this can be a quick way to money up, I know that it can quickly end up with me losing my bankroll. However, I can state with all honesty that I don't play Roulette as often as Blackjack, and have only done this a couple of times with mixed results.

When looking at my impulsiveness I know that what I am doing is bad strategy, but it begs the question as to whether or not winning small is as much fun as risking it big. When I started gambling I played for the trill of risking something of value of mine against something the casino values...money. Now as I have done this more and more I see that it really is best to be methodical in the way you risk. Playing with strategy is worthwhile financially, but I notice that it gets to be awfully robotic. Where I tend to get that big roller coaster feeling in my stomach is when I risk it big. Splitting Aces is fine at $5 a hand, but splitting Aces at $25 a hand? That is a thrill, and let me tell you this happened to me about a month and a half ago on a Shufflemaster machine at a land based casino.

The thrill I feel from risking it big is certainly addictive, but I am also smart enough to know that I cannot afford to do this regularly and continue to have any funds left to gamble with. This really ends up being a once in a blue moon thing for me- kind of like going out to a really nice sushi restaurant and having over one hundred dollars in fish and sake. I tend not to think of big bets as pure foolishness, but a treat that I am entitled to once in a while that helps keep the games I play regularly fresh and thrilling.

What are your thoughts on the occasional big risk gamble; fun or foolish? Let us know what you think!