# What's the most you've ever won or lost gambling? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 30, 2007, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094 "2007-03-30T08:59:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/21 "2007-03-30T17:16:59Z")
I played in poker tournaments every week for over a year, but they were just friendly $20 games so I think the most I ever won was $100 or so. But that also means that the most I ever lost was $20. šŸ™‚ All of that will change in June, though, when my boyfriend and I go to Vegas (look for a thread in May asking which casinos have cheap poker). It will be my first time there, and I plan to bring about $1k to gamble with. Iā€™m spending the time between now and the trip getting used to the idea of kissing that money goodbye. šŸ˜‰ [QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] Lose? About US$4K at the New York, New York Casino in Vegas on blackjack. The dealer had remarkable breasts. [/QUOTE] How long ago was that? I donā€™t really want my bf to lose money, but he loves blackjack _and_ remarkable breasts. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/22 "2007-03-30T18:12:28Z")
Iā€™ve usually been lucky at roulette, for some reason. One time in Vegas, I got 35:1 on a $5 chip, then promptly lost most of that. A couple of years ago on a cruise, though, I played roulette again, and slowly built up to around $120 by starting with $20 and placing modest bets; for instance on just a third of the numbers, or betting a single number, but hedging with a block elsewhere on the board. At that point I got another 35:1 win, and gracefully cashed in and went back to the cabin at that point. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/23 "2007-03-30T18:23:29Z")
Iā€™m slightly behind over my lifetime of gambling. Nor is that mathematically surprising, since I play Blackjack, basic strategy, which concedes to the house an edge of about 1%. So why wouldnā€™t I be slightly behind over my lifetime? Biggest loss: $500 in about 45 minutes. I could do no right. Even getting dealt a blackjack saw the dealer get one as well. It was a nightmare. Biggest win: $2300 or so. I had started with a $250 bankroll. After about four hours I was up to $775, and colored up to go take a dinner break. I was about to leave the table, and I looked at the chips in my hand: a $500, two $100, and three $25. That was, I thought, my $250 start, a profit of $25ā€¦ and an extra $500 free chip. So I said, ā€œIā€™ve always wanted to do this,ā€ and put the $500 chip down in the circle. I got a blackjack. Most awesome win of an awesome seriesā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/24 "2007-03-30T18:29:41Z")
When I was in [Jackpot, Nevada](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackpot%2C_Nevada) I won $300 on a 50Ā¢ slot machine, lined up a row of red/white/blue 7s for the payout. This was in 1993. The most I have lost in one dayā€™s play session is about $200. ---
**Author:** ![annanate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@annanate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annanate)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/25 "2007-03-30T18:59:48Z")
Last Feb. I won just over $5K on a video poker machine at the Palms Casino and then roughly a month later I won $8K on video poker at the Wynn Casino. Exciting wins, but now that taxes are due, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/26 "2007-03-30T19:05:45Z")
[QUOTE=glee] This is very true - when did you last hear a gambler say ā€œI lose regularlyā€? Consider that the Casinos in Vegas have to pay salaries (dealers, pit bosses, security, cleaners, receptionists etc), running costs of the building and repay the mortgage - entirely out of gambling profits. [/QUOTE] Oh, of course the house always wins in the long run. Thatā€™s why they built the house. šŸ™‚ I already knew that, but that doesnā€™t mean itā€™s not a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![annanate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@annanate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annanate)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/27 "2007-03-30T19:11:12Z")
The worst part of gambling is that the games that can be beat (without cheating) are the ones that are incredibly boring to play. By beat, I mean over the long term and not per gambling session. But, windfalls and jackpots aside, there are games that can be beat, if you know which ones they are and how to play them. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/28 "2007-03-30T19:21:54Z")
Iā€™m very much a small time player. I view gambling as entertainment. Thinking about a casino trip next week. When I go, Iā€™ll usually buy in to a $5 blackjack game with $100. When that is gone, Iā€™m done for the night. For my Franklin, Iā€™ll receive 3+ hours of entertainment, all the beer I can drink delivered by a cute gal in a short skirt, and at the end of the gaming session, Iā€™ll get comped to a very nice meal. I have walked away from the table with as much as $150 of the casinoā€™s money in my pocket, but I have also walked away without anything left from the hundred. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/29 "2007-03-30T20:43:05Z")
I won $400.00, the top jackpot, on a slot machine in the Mirage several years ago. It was a 25 cent machine and I was playing the max bet of 3 coins. If I go on a day trip to a casino, I prepare to lose up to at least $100.00. If things donā€™t turn around, I quit playing. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/30 "2007-03-30T21:09:49Z")
Lost: around $200 on cockfights Won: around $150 playing poker ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/31 "2007-03-30T23:46:05Z")
Biggest loss: $2200 in a poker game. Biggest win: $7800 in a poker game. ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/32 "2007-03-30T23:46:53Z")
The most Iā€™ve ever lost is $100 in a night. Iā€™ve never been willing to lose more than that, so Iā€™ve never wagered more. Which is probably a good thing, considering how badly I usually play. I canā€™t be TOO bad, though, since I came in 5th out of 90 in the first poker tournament I played in. Walked away up $350. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/33 "2007-03-31T00:08:38Z")
[QUOTE=Unregistered Bull] Lost: around $200 on cockfights [/QUOTE] _ **Cockfights!!?!** _ I think youā€™re lost, my friendā€“the 19th century is thataway. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/34 "2007-03-31T00:36:13Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] _ **Cockfights!!?!** _ I think youā€™re lost, my friendā€“the 19th century is thataway. [/QUOTE] Itā€™s the second largest sport in the world next to football (soccer). Itā€™s a legal sport in Puerto Rico, Guam, Louisiana, and New Mexico until June 15. Itā€™s legal in many foreign localities. It is practically the national sport of the Philippines with high rank politicians and celebrities involved in the sport. There are many, many types of game fowl and styles of fights. In the US, the heyday of game fowl was in the 2Oth century. Legal in several states, no powerful animal rights movements, illegal fights not even on law enforcementā€™s radar screen, etc. Go to any Latin America country or the Phillipines and they use American originated breeds from the 20th century. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgonzola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e480ec/32.png) [@Gorgonzola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgonzola)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/35 "2007-03-31T01:11:08Z")
Biggest loss: $1500 in a 15-30 poker game. Biggest win: $2000 in a 10-20 poker game. True to form, since over time Iā€™m only a slightly better than break-even player. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/36 "2007-03-31T01:58:49Z")
$20 in nickel slots on a rainy day (rainy day #4) of our Carribean cruise. I would have had more fun tearing up the $20 and letting it fly off the end of the ship, watching it goā€¦It took me approximately 37 minutes to lose this money. Never had an urge to go back and give the casino another try. Good luck in Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![Grits\_and\_Hard\_Toast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Grits\_and\_Hard\_Toast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grits_and_Hard_Toast)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/37 "2007-03-31T03:09:17Z")
My biggest ROI score was at Keeneland. They had just started offering dime superfectas. So for $2.40 I picked four horses and boxed them. They came in for me and I won a bit over $1,700. Last yearā€™s Derby was a good one for me. I hit the exacta for $587.00, and had the place horse that paid $28.00 several times. I felt like I had earned that money though, as I had been following that group for a year and half. I hit a $900 dollar exacta for half, but that was plain silliness on my part. I didnā€™t have time to handicap the race. I just got the track and saw that the trainer I was using at the time had a horse entered. My horse that he had wasnā€™t doing so well, so I reasoned it was because he was spending so much time on this other horse. ( I knew that wasnā€™t the case, I just wanted to think that over thinking my horse wasnā€™t that good) I stopped by the paddock and picked the horse that looked the most ready to run, and coupled him with my trainerā€™s other horse. I ran to make my $4.00 bet. When I found some friends, they asked who I had. I told them, they said, ā€œswinging for the fences today?ā€ It was then I noticed I had boxed the two longest shots in the field. They came in, and everyone wanted to know my picks the rest of the day. The craziest thing was one night shooting craps. I rolled for over two hours. I had never experienced anything like it. The table was going crazy, everyone making money. When I finally was out, everyone at the table applauded and starting throwing me chips. I scooped them up and cashed out. About $1,200, most of that being ā€œtipsā€ from the others. I also stick to a very firm budget. I consider gambling money to be entertainment money. I know what my husband spends on golf weekly, so I take the same amount of money and budget it for horses, or save it up for Vegas. I can say I am way ahead of him on ROI. Overall I would think I have to be down, but the amount I am down each year is much less than what my girlfriends are out on clothes and shoes. And I have had a few up years. I would be down until Breederā€™s Cup day, then hit a couple of nice ones to bring me up for the year. I call Breederā€™s Cup Day ā€œChristmas.ā€ My most cost effective way to spend time in casinos is low level Texas Holdem tables. I can usually find a few men that no matter what wonā€™t go head to head with a woman. Once I spot them, I know to wait until they really like something they have. I will stay in, and just keep raising. At a certain point they always fold. I donā€™t know why that it is, but it works for me. It isnā€™t the case at the higher level tables, just the lower ones for some reason. So on that one angle alone I can sit and play for hours, and not use up any of my budgeted money. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/38 "2007-03-31T03:22:10Z")
About $200 at the quarter slots in Vegas. It was pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Capa84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8edcca/32.png) [@Capa84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capa84)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/39 "2007-03-31T03:52:00Z")
Iā€™ve won two online tournaments with a prize packages that were each worth $12,500 (seat at WSOP +$2500 expense money). Finished 1st in a 150 man $45 live tourney for $1700 Finished 2nd later in same tourney a couple of months ago for $980 I have quite a few online final tables that paid anywhere from $200-$1000 Won a small MTT on a cruise ship here with a $125 buy in, and made some cash playing 2/5 and left the ship up a little over a grand in 3 hours, but Iā€™ve also gone on the same cruise, bubbled the tourney, and lost a buy in on the 2/5 table to drop 400 or so in 3 hours. Finished 583rd at Main Event last year for $20,600 ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094/40 "2007-03-31T04:05:58Z")
Biggest loss: about 5 bucks on a scratch card. Biggest win: $100, also on a scratch card (that was a very, _very_ good night at work :D). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-youve-ever-won-or-lost-gambling/398094.md?page=3)