Philosophy of gambling.

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OK, first thing you need to know about gambling is that you have to have the right mindset. A philosophy of gambling, you might say.  This mind set, this philosophy, will guide your journey, help you make decisions and ultimately lead to your success or failure in the casino.  Here are some things you need to know.

1. You aren't going to win every time you play. Duh. Self explanatory.  Sometimes, no matter how prepared you are, how well you count cards, no matter how well you adhere to basic strategy (or deviate from it if the count is in your favor) you will sometimes lose. Get used to it, it will happen and you have to keep your cool when it does. If you cant do that, you have no business gambling in the first place. 
2. You aren't going to win every time even on hands that you should win on. The cards are totally random (if they are being shuffled right, more on that later). Anything can happen.  Again, get used to it, accept it and move on to the next hand. 
3. How other players play will make no difference to your success. Again, the cards are random. Don't get pissed off at the player on 3rd base with a stiff hand who takes the dealers bust card, and the dealer proceeds to get a six card draw to 21.  This is one of the hardest lessons for professional gamblers to learn, but its true. 

Here are the two most important factors in your being successful at the casino. And if you think about it, they are equally important in how you play the game of life.

1. Money Management. Know how much of your bankroll you can afford to lose, and dont exceed it. No matter what. If you have, just for example we will keep the number low, $100 dollars that you have set aside from your pay to gamble with, you should set limits on both how much of that you will bet per hand, and how much of it you are really willing to lose at one table.  A good rule of thumb is to start at 5 or 10% per hand.
2. Exit strategy. Set a stop loss, just like your stock broker recommends. If you started with 100 units, walk away if you drop to 50. If you get up 100 units, put the first 100 in your pocket and play with house money. Once you lose down to your stop loss. Stop. Don't go in your wallet for more. If you keep winning keep rat-holing a little in your pocket, or increase your bet, but dont every follow your losses down the drain by throwing good money after bad.  Know when to walk away, dammit.

Next time we will go through what a winning and losing session will look like using these two concepts as your philosophy of gaming.