When Should You Hang Up Your Betting Boots for the Day?
•Quit as soon as you are in front for the day? •Set a stop loss
and quit betting for the day if you reach that point? •Set a
profit target and quit as soon as you reach that goal? •If your
first few bets lose, then you should quit because you luck isn’t
with you today? •If you win your first few bets then you should
quit because you have already used your luck for the day and
from now on you must have bad luck? Sound familiar? I am sure
you have heard them all before. Most punters usually will
advocate one of the above, or a slight variation of one of the
above. They say that this one decision is just as important as
the game they are playing or the skills they possess in the
game. Which is correct? Well, if you are a serious long-term
player, there is only one answer (well, to be honest, maybe
two). Quit Betting For the Day if You No Longer Have an Edge. I
want you to read this one line, out loud 10 times, as it is that
important. This is the only reason you should stop betting
(providing of course, that you hold an edge). I am not plucking
this idea off the top of my head. No, this is a mathematically
proven fact! I don’t care how much money you have either won, or
lost, on any particular day. If you have good bankroll
management and your judgment is not affected by a winning or
losing run (which it shouldn’t be, once you become experienced),
then I would suggest that you continue to bet. It is that
simple. You should not view your betting as separate sessions
where you calculate your profit or loss. No . . . You must view
your gambling as one continuous session, which NEVER ends. This
is the reason it would make no sense to quit just because you
are ahead or behind. This is reality. As long as you have an
edge, tell me why would you stop betting? OK, we all have to
sleep, eat and live our lives. I believe this is the only other
reason as to why you would consider calling it quits for the
day. Also, if you are mentally fatigued, it doesn’t make good
business sense to continue your betting either. In saying this,
I certainly can understand how punters perceptions may lead them
into false beliefs. After all, how many times have you been a
few hundred in front at the TAB, casino or track, only to leave
with your tail between your legs and twenty cents in your
pocket? On the way home you think to yourself, ‘I knew I should
have stopped when I was ahead’. How did you know? Keep in mind I
am assuming that you hold a long-term edge on your game of
choice. If you don’t hold an edge, then yes, you should quit
while you are ahead, or to go one step further, you should be
playing with small stakes for a bit of fun only. However,
providing you hold an edge on the game, are still mentally
alert, have not become emotional (become over confident or are
reeling from a loss), and would like to make some money, then
you should continue to play your game regardless of recent
results. Providing you continue to make positive expectation
bets, tell me why you would stop, if you lost a couple of bets
in a row, or if you struck a winner with your first bet? (I am
assuming you have established a betting bank that you can afford
to lose.) The only benefit I can see in stopping, when you have
either won or lost a certain amount, would be to boost your
confidence. To stop betting for the day, when you are showing a
profit, may help to boost your confidence. In reality, you are
reducing the amount that you will make in the long-term (because
your turnover is not as great), but maybe your confidence and
enjoyment derived from gambling may rise. In this case, stopping
after a couple of good wins may be the way to go for you
personally. If you don’t have an edge, and you are serious about
making money from gambling, you should develop your gambling
skills so as you can create an edge. However, if you are
gambling purely for the enjoyment, then setting stop losses,
either at a winning point or losing point, is the best way to
play. This way, by reducing turnover, and thus not losing as
much in the long-term, is smart play.
