Shoulda Quit While I Was Way Ahead
There was a small casino on the cruise ship. I was hoping they would do a Hold 'Em Tourney but they didn't. There were only a dozen tables in all and one dedicated to poker where they played $5-10 Hold 'Em. You can drop a ton of cash at those levels so I stayed clear of it.
However, they did have one single deck blackjack table. Before my poker obsession, blackjack was my game of choice. I can happily play for hours at a $2 (try to find one of those these days!) or $5 table. This was a $10 table but I was OK with that. I was on vacation, after all.
I went to the casino Saturday night after dinner. It took close to 45 minutes before a seat opened up at the table but I was patient. As soon as I sat down, I started hitting. I had more blackjacks than I could count - it was awesome! As the evening wore on, people would come and go but there were four of us who stayed, knew what we were doing and won.
Won a lot, actually. It was like we couldn't lose. The hours went by and I was getting tired. They said the casino was supposed to close at 3 AM but they would stay open if people were still playing. I stopped drinking about 2 and by 3, I was getting the head nods.
However, I just couldn't leave. None of us wanted to walk away. Finally, at 3:30, two of the people said they were done. I said, "Thank God!" and colored up. My original $100 was now $450. Sweet!
I should have cashed it in right then and there. But, no. I wanted to go back and win more on Sunday.
Come Sunday morning, the casino was supposed to open at 11 AM. It did, but the tables weren't set to open until noon. I had a wine tasting to go to so I did that then debated hitting the table. However, I took the time out to go watch two of our guys in the belly flop contest.
Finally, the lure of the cards was too much to overcome. It was actually surprising that I held out as long as I did. I got in at the single deck table again and hit the coldest deck ever. I'm talking Arctic. As lucky as we were on Saturday night, we were equally unlucky on Sunday afternoon.
My hand went something like 12-14-15-16-14-15...
The dealer showed an 8, 9 or 10 90% of the time. She also had many blackjacks.
If, by some chance, I didn't bust on taking my card, the dealer would hit 21 and still take my money.
I wasn't the only one getting beat up. I don't think anyone came out ahead that sat down to play. I was probably the most stupidly stubborn of the group, though. And, I was sober! I just couldn't believe that it wouldn't turn around. Finally, I looked down to see that my $350 in winnings was now just $100. I got up at that point and cashed out, counting my blessings that I at least was still doubled up.
The dealer ended up busting everyone and they actually closed down the table. It was that bad. I ended up consoling the dealer because she felt so horrible about it. I'm such a giver.
Lesson learned? Hopefully. I'd like to think that I won't chase as hard the next time.
However, they did have one single deck blackjack table. Before my poker obsession, blackjack was my game of choice. I can happily play for hours at a $2 (try to find one of those these days!) or $5 table. This was a $10 table but I was OK with that. I was on vacation, after all.
I went to the casino Saturday night after dinner. It took close to 45 minutes before a seat opened up at the table but I was patient. As soon as I sat down, I started hitting. I had more blackjacks than I could count - it was awesome! As the evening wore on, people would come and go but there were four of us who stayed, knew what we were doing and won.
Won a lot, actually. It was like we couldn't lose. The hours went by and I was getting tired. They said the casino was supposed to close at 3 AM but they would stay open if people were still playing. I stopped drinking about 2 and by 3, I was getting the head nods.
However, I just couldn't leave. None of us wanted to walk away. Finally, at 3:30, two of the people said they were done. I said, "Thank God!" and colored up. My original $100 was now $450. Sweet!
I should have cashed it in right then and there. But, no. I wanted to go back and win more on Sunday.
Come Sunday morning, the casino was supposed to open at 11 AM. It did, but the tables weren't set to open until noon. I had a wine tasting to go to so I did that then debated hitting the table. However, I took the time out to go watch two of our guys in the belly flop contest.
Finally, the lure of the cards was too much to overcome. It was actually surprising that I held out as long as I did. I got in at the single deck table again and hit the coldest deck ever. I'm talking Arctic. As lucky as we were on Saturday night, we were equally unlucky on Sunday afternoon.
My hand went something like 12-14-15-16-14-15...
The dealer showed an 8, 9 or 10 90% of the time. She also had many blackjacks.
If, by some chance, I didn't bust on taking my card, the dealer would hit 21 and still take my money.
I wasn't the only one getting beat up. I don't think anyone came out ahead that sat down to play. I was probably the most stupidly stubborn of the group, though. And, I was sober! I just couldn't believe that it wouldn't turn around. Finally, I looked down to see that my $350 in winnings was now just $100. I got up at that point and cashed out, counting my blessings that I at least was still doubled up.
The dealer ended up busting everyone and they actually closed down the table. It was that bad. I ended up consoling the dealer because she felt so horrible about it. I'm such a giver.
Lesson learned? Hopefully. I'd like to think that I won't chase as hard the next time.
