vpFREE2 Forums

Memories

#1

Someone asked me to recount some the big Jackpots I've hit, and I suddenly realized I could recall almost none of them. Without digging out my tax slips, I have almost no recollection of any specific result I've had over my long career--even ones as recent as a few months ago.

I can easily remember to the penny all my big one day losses, and my worst year where I made slightly over minimum wage.

I was wondering if this is normal, or if I'm strange. OK badly worded, we know I'm strange, but am I strange in this particular regard.

I seem to remember loses over wins.

Just curious as to what's "normal"?

~FK

#2

Normal is to remember the things that stand out in our minds. We remember the things that are exceptional.

Since you are a pro and your mind is set up to expect to win, then winning is normal.
Your mind is not set up to accept losing, so when you lose that is exceptional, so you remember it.

Recreational players remember the big wins, because they are exceptional.

Myself, I fall in between and remember the out of the ordinary wins and out of the ordinary losses. I think my mind is programmed to break even.

Regards

A.P.

···

--- On Tue, 5/17/11, Frank <frank@progressivevp.com> wrote:

From: Frank <frank@progressivevp.com>
Subject: [vpFREE] Memories
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, 7:12 AM

Someone asked me to recount some the big Jackpots I've hit, and I suddenly realized I could recall almost none of them. Without digging out my tax slips, I have almost no recollection of any specific result I've had over my long career--even ones as recent as a few months ago.

I can easily remember to the penny all my big one day losses, and my worst year where I made slightly over minimum wage.

I was wondering if this is normal, or if I'm strange. OK badly worded, we know I'm strange, but am I strange in this particular regard.

I seem to remember loses over wins.

Just curious as to what's "normal"?

~FK

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#3

i think tendency to remember positive events more strongly than
negative events, or vice versa, is a personality trait.

people who remember positive events more strongly are much more likely
to become recreational gamblers. it makes sense - i mean, suppose
you're flipping a coin for $1. if a win will make you very happy and
you'll remember it a long time, whereas you don't care about a loss
and will soon forget it, that's an emotionally +EV wager!

even if you're betting the $1 on black on a roulette wheel, which is a
bet with 95% ER, it's still emotionally +EV if you have that
personality trait. of course, if the money isn't trivial, and you're
putting the month's rent on black, then the cold hard math becomes a
more dominant concern.

even among professional gamblers, an awful lot of pros are former
suckers, who learned to make money at their former bad habit. so
they're likely to share the personality trait of being more affected
by wins than losses.

so, the short answer is yes, you're weird. among people you'll find in
casinos or talking about gambling, very few will remember losses more
strongly than wins. however, if placed among NON-gamblers, what you're
describing isn't weird at all.

(for what it's worth, i'm the same way. i remember losses keenly, but
i have to take a moment and check my bank account to remind myself
that i'm winning. a lot.)

best wishes,

five

···

Frank <frank@progressivevp.com> wrote:

Someone asked me to recount some the big Jackpots I've hit, and I suddenly realized I could recall almost none of them. [...] I can easily remember to the penny all my big one day losses, and my worst year where I made slightly over minimum wage.

#4

No, you're not strange, in this regard, you're just risk averse. You would be an excellent candidate for the Kelly system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_aversion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_and_information_theory#Kelly_Betting
http://www.jazbo.com/videopoker/kelly.html

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Frank" <frank@...> wrote:

Someone asked me to recount some the big Jackpots I've hit, and I suddenly realized I could recall almost none of them. Without digging out my tax slips, I have almost no recollection of any specific result I've had over my long career--even ones as recent as a few months ago.

I can easily remember to the penny all my big one day losses, and my worst year where I made slightly over minimum wage.

I was wondering if this is normal, or if I'm strange. OK badly worded, we know I'm strange, but am I strange in this particular regard.

I seem to remember loses over wins.

Just curious as to what's "normal"?

~FK

#5

Most "winners" talk about the big jackpot but neglect
to "remember" how much $$$ they have in the Machine.

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Frank" <frank@...> wrote:

Someone asked me to recount some the big Jackpots I've hit, and I suddenly realized I could recall almost none of them. Without digging out my tax slips, I have almost no recollection of any specific result I've had over my long career--even ones as recent as a few months ago.

I can easily remember to the penny all my big one day losses, and my worst year where I made slightly over minimum wage.

I was wondering if this is normal, or if I'm strange. OK badly worded, we know I'm strange, but am I strange in this particular regard.

I seem to remember loses over wins.

Just curious as to what's "normal"?

~FK

#6

Frank,

Just another reflection of the difference between you and many of the posters on
the forum. Your attitude toward a big RF progressive hit was probably similar to
what most people feel when its time to go home from work: TGIF, or TGIFO'C. The
RF was the end of a day or longer of anticipation and work, not a signature high
point in a day/week/month/year's worth of playing.

Your big losses were memorable because they were the exception that proved the
rule; you were working from a different perspective. Most "recreational"
players, or those that do not make a full-time living at VP have their own
drudgery (i.e. their day job) but a big RF (of whatever $ amount depending on
the stakes being played) therefore becomes the most memorable exception.

I can't claim to remember every RF I've ever gotten for 3 reasons: it has been a
lot of years playing, there have been a lot of royals, and I have a bad case of
CRAFT.

But I can certainly remember many memorable ones dating back to at least 1996:
the 20K hit on DDS,
the 2 in six hands (2 trips) for 4K and 10K,
the two on a cruise, days one & two,
the LV trip where the bride got one RF in diamonds, then I followed up with one
in diamonds, then a SF on DDS in diamonds, then trips that turned into quad A's
with an ace & deuce, both diamonds on the draw (all within 45 minutes),

and several others of note.

So although we come at it from what would appear at first glance to be different
angles, I would posit that it pretty much is the same - we remember the truly
memorable and different from OUR norms.

Someone asked me to recount some the big Jackpots I've hit, and I suddenly
realized I could recall almost none of them. Without digging out my tax slips, I
have almost no recollection of any specific result I've had over my long
career--even ones as recent as a few months ago.

I can easily remember to the penny all my big one day losses, and my worst year
where I made slightly over minimum wage.

I was wondering if this is normal, or if I'm strange. OK badly worded, we know
I'm strange, but am I strange in this particular regard.

I seem to remember loses over wins.

Just curious as to what's "normal"?

~FK

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#7

No, because it is a job for you. I remember the bad days on my old job and not many of the good days! Guess it is good I am retired!

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Frank" <frank@...> wrote:

Someone asked me to recount some the big Jackpots I've hit, and I suddenly realized I could recall almost none of them. Without digging out my tax slips, I have almost no recollection of any specific result I've had over my long career--even ones as recent as a few months ago.

#8

Thanks for everyone's insight. I was truly worried this peculiarity of my selective memory might be an indication of an overly negative outlook on things. All your comments have put me at ease. Perhaps I'm my own worst judge.

In looking back on things, I've noticed another deviation from norm pertaining to a lack of deviation from the norm.

I remember very clearly the times in my life when I played something and got exactly what I was expecting.

In my first year, I calculated the hourly return of a game at $94.00 an hour and after 9 months of playing, found I had gotten $93.89 and hour. There's some other examples as well. When I played 3% edge dollar Loose Deuce's with 7 partners and after two weeks came to within .25c of the expected hourly. And three months ago we played a progressive and hit it in a perfect cycle at perfect cost. I was tickled pink.

For some reason doing exactly as expected sticks in my head even more than losing or winning. It even makes me happier. If I play some $40 an hour play for 10 hours and walk away with exactly $400, it's far more exciting to me than dumb luck and a big win.

~FK

#9

I tend to remember the times that my returns are smack on the numbers also.
I think it is because it reinforces our beliefs.

Regards

A.P.

···

--- On Tue, 5/17/11, Frank <frank@progressivevp.com> wrote:

From: Frank <frank@progressivevp.com>
Subject: [vpFREE] Re: Memories
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, 6:52 PM

Thanks for everyone's insight. I was truly worried this peculiarity of my selective memory might be an indication of an overly negative outlook on things. All your comments have put me at ease. Perhaps I'm my own worst judge.

In looking back on things, I've noticed another deviation from norm pertaining to a lack of deviation from the norm.

I remember very clearly the times in my life when I played something and got exactly what I was expecting.

In my first year, I calculated the hourly return of a game at $94.00 an hour and after 9 months of playing, found I had gotten $93.89 and hour. There's some other examples as well. When I played 3% edge dollar Loose Deuce's with 7 partners and after two weeks came to within .25c of the expected hourly. And three months ago we played a progressive and hit it in a perfect cycle at perfect cost. I was tickled pink.

For some reason doing exactly as expected sticks in my head even more than losing or winning. It even makes me happier. If I play some $40 an hour play for 10 hours and walk away with exactly $400, it's far more exciting to me than dumb luck and a big win.

~FK

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]