First Time in Vegas, Can you actually win here?

Hi all,

It will be my first time in Vegas, I plan to stay for a few days and have a few grand to gamble.

My question is can you actually win in this city, how many of you leave with more playing money then you started with?

I would expect true people can win, but the vast majority lose? Is this correct by your accounts?

Anyways, if you have won, where and what games where you playing?

I would hate to lose all the money, i dont mind to be up or down playing, but it would be great to even at least break even or minor loss at the end, from my understanding.

Thanks!

 

Everyone knows Vegas was built on winners!

 

Then it doesn't sound like you're a gambler.

If you don't want to lose it, don't take it.

It all depends on your game and style

but I'd say based on this post

you definitely rate to lose everything you bring on your first trip.

 

the simple answer is "yes"

and not to sound rude, but the more complex answer for you in particular (no offense) is probably not

you seem very new to gambling and you have not picked any single game or even a couple of games to learn and understand the best methods of play with the highers possibility of winning

my advice is to decide what you are interested in by general category first.....slots, video poker or table games

from there if it is table games narrow it down to one or two....baccarat and blackjack being the easiest to learn how to play properly and the odds (and for blackjack how to read what the game is offering like 3-2 for a blackjack Vs the dreaded 6-5) and the like

if slots read up on slot play

if video poker choose one or two machines like Jacks Or Better (commonly called JoB) and learn the odds and how to play and most importantly how to read a pay table

then I would suggest going online and playing one of the FREE games and make sure to pick one that gives you hints on the proper play to make each time and practice

once IN VEGAS I would go to any and all FREE available "how to" sessions for table games or any other method you choose and I would probably go to a couple of those (because hey it is almost like gambling without the wins (see losses) right)

then I would take my money that I have to gamble I would divide it up by an amount each day.....then I would divide that in 1/2 and I would walk into the casino to gamble for real on the first day with the 1/2 of that days total I was going to gamble with and start playing

I would set a period of time that I had to wait before going back for the other half for the remainder of the day (say 4 hours) where you walk around different casinos, eat, drink, see art or fountains ect and then go back for the other half if needed for that day and try again

repeat each day

I would only gamble what you are totally and completely prepared to lose 100% of not what you would like to not lose all of hoping to have that cash just in case, but not really wanting to lose it

I am sure some might say "don't take half of what you are prepared to lose each day in case you need to dig into it right then take 100% of it"........which is how you plow through 100% of what you were prepared to lose that day in a couple of hours (at best) then you are in Vegas surrounded by gambling with the remainder of your day to kill off with zero money left in your pocket to gamble with

hell in your position I would wake up, kill 2-3 hours before even starting to gamble then I would hit the casino with 1/4th of what I was prepared to lose that day with a mandated 3-4 hour wait before I went back for another 1/4th if needed and another mandated 3-4 hour wait in between going back for another 1/4th ect

so if you have "a few grand" that you are 100% prepared to lose for "a few days" that sounds like say $800 per day so hit the casino with $200 in your pocket

head to a low roller place for the first day while still learning say $10 per hand for blackjack that will give you 20 hands if you lose 100% of them and a lot more if you come close to playing decently

low level slots will probably be where you can make your money last the longest, but who knows

lastly remember part of walking away with a win or only a small loss is realizing that pretty much 100% of every game has the odds int he favor of the casino so over time and the longer you play (provided you play properly) the more those odds will come to fruition and that means the more likely it is you lose some of your money

so if you get "up" right off the bat the best thing to do is GET YOUR ASS UP as soon as you start on even the smallest string of losses and HOLD THOSE WINNINGS

if you sit down and get your ass handed to you right off you are either not playing properly or you had bad luck.....at which some might say "play through it", but when you are new and seem to understand next to nothing about gambling that is when you are glad that you have a large amount of your remaining gambling money for that day back in the room and you are forced to get up from the "action" and think about what went wrong as you kill some time before going to get more of that days gambling money AFTER entertaining yourself some other way for an extended amount of time

go to wizard of odds and read up on various games and play practice games for free and probably if you are really concerned with losses and self discipline time how many "attempts" you play in X amount of time (it will always take longer to play that amount of attempts in the casino) and see how fast or slowly you lose your cash and relate that to how much money you have and how many hours a day you wish to gamble each day

then divide money accordingly

but yes you will almost certainly without a doubt lose a portion of your money

 

I always go with the thought that I will leave my gambling $$ in vegas and always hope that I will come home with more. I only allocate what I am willing to lose to gambling, only way I can do it. Have I left a winner before? Yes - I think twice I came home with more than I went with. Most times I come home with a little of the money left and I consider that a win. But sometimes I come home with just enough to buy my food and drinks at the airports lol.

 

Of my dozen trips, I've come home ahead about 4 times. There have also been a few trips where I lost, but only a few hundred or so. Then you take into account the room charges that were comped as well as the comped hotel room. So I wouldn't classify those as losing trip. Then, of course there's been a few where I got my ass handed to me, as will happen to any gambler sooner or later. Bottom line though, its a cheaper vacation on average than any other popular destination (and more fun IMO), provided you understand how the system works. That's what people who aren't Vegas-savvy don't realize.

Also, what are true people? And, if someone is not a true person, what are they?

 

I'd suggest you check out http://wizardofodds.com/ to learn about the games.

The house has the advantage just based on the rules of the game. Some games give the house more edge than others. Basically the easier a game is to learn the greater the house advantage.

Slots and Keno are easy to learn but probably have the highest house advantage, they are also the cheapest to play, pennies, nickels, quarters and up. House advantage likely to be 15% or more.

Blackjack, Craps, and Video poker have a much lower house advantage if you play the right games. House advantage can be less than 1%.

How long till you go?

 

My first time to Vegas in 2006... I brought $3,000 to play with. If I lost every cent of it, that was okay. I brought it to "spend". Cheap airfare, cheap hotel and even if I lost the $3,000 it was still a cheaper vacation than Disney World, Hawaii, heck even a California adventure trip. On my first trip my wife and I only played slots, we didn't know much about the table games. Anyway, that first trip we lost $1,300. I was ecstatic that we came back with than half with what we brought.

We have a rule, that whatever we come back with will be spent on somethng, anything (On my next trip, I was going to put money back into my pergola fun, but decided... nope, it's vacation money that I'm taking - NOT pergola money).... anyway, we're only taking about $5,000 (maybe $6,000) for our next trip. If we lost it all... no biggie, if we come back with money... we'll need to find something spend it on when we get back. Either way, the money will be "gone".

We don't take money that we don't want to lose

 

Let us not forget blind luck. Yes a rational gambler knows the odds are against you. How many times have you seen someone who has no idea what they are doing go on a streak at BJ or hit a royal the first time they play VP. If you want to win you have to stop playing when you are ahead. Most of us will not set a reasonable win/stop limit because we came to play the game. If you are not a real gambler take a shot at something if you get ahead ----QUIT. I think that is the way a casual gambler can go home a winner.

 

Thank you sincerely for tips, i like your ideas very much, actually i always considered to jump the gun and play high stakes immediately, but your advice is solid, the first day take it easy, low ball it, and see how the real thing goes before upping the bet

 

this sounds like the normal vegas experience haha, im sure mine will be the same.

 

forgot an "its" in there its true that people can win, lol

 

hi, i did check out wizard of odds extensively, it seems BJ is the case, but to me it still has the luck factor to it, the more i see the more i find out about counting cards, they have the simple strategy but to me seems a bit odd,

honestly im just playing to have a good time, but dont want to get competely broke in front of my GF , that would not be a nice experience, especially that she doesnt like gambling much

but since its my first time in vegas, i definitely want to have a true gaming experience, spending and hopefully recouping or even winning at least a few grand

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going in 3 weeks from now, will be there for 3 nights

 

you know what , honestly i think this is the absolute best strategy, take the money gamble it all, if there is some left at the end spend it, its gone either way on something fun!

thinking to do the same

 

some of my friends have the strategy to play 1 game, only 1 game in vegas, 1 game the entire stay

1,000-3,000$ blackjack hand, win or lose, they are done after that

for me, i would not do that, because the entire game is what is fun, but i do think no matter what i played, if i was ahead by at least 500 i would probably "try" to stop there, but in real life this is impossible

 

Blackjack is a terrible game for this. You're probability of winning is about 43%. You reduce the house edge to it's optimal level by splitting and doubling and other strategy moves where you either put more money on the table when it's in your favor or reduce your loss via Surrender if it's available. My first thought is your friends should find a single zero roulette table. I suppose a hit and run on baccarat is also possible.

As a long term winner at poker, I'd ask you to drop your money at the poker table. It's a slow game where a hot streak can really pay off. And at least some of your losses go to the players and not the house.

In my opinion, the proper way to view gambling is entertainment with an occasional rebate. You're going to lose. Just view that as paying to play the game. The difference is that if you take your GF to a concert or show, the house doesn't occasionally walk up to you and give you $3k because you got lucky.

 

A lot of that time will be spent looking around, I would suggest sampling a few games.

Where are you staying?

 

LOL great analogy!!

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Will be at cosmo and mandarin oriental, love playing texasholdem but not very confident

 

Having any angry or impatient wife or girlfriend watching over your shoulder can quickly take the enjoyment out of gambling. If you find that you're not having fun at the tables for that reason, I would recommend taking a break from gambling, and using that as an opportunity to shop, eat, or just walk the strip.

 

Black Jack has decent odds if played correctly! Buy or download a strategy card and practice online so you get comfortable with the game. Then, go for it! You are allowed to bring said strategy card to the table with you; but you'll find that if you practice after a while you'll only need it for a few hands.