DON’T quit while you’re ahead

“Quit while you’re ahead!” You’ve probably heard people say this dozens of times, especially when it comes to casino play. But have you ever heard someone say, “DON’T quit while you’re ahead”? Well, you’re hearing it now, and if you’ve watched many of my videos, then you know this is the philosophy I live by at the casino. (Actually, I just made a bunch of new t-shirts – maybe I should have printed that phrase on one of them… Perhaps next time…) Anyway, I digress; slot play is NOT primarily a financial transaction for you, is it? You’re not using it as a replacement for smart investments, are you? Slot machines are for leisure, not for profit – nobody, and I mean nobody, profits from slots long-term. So, if you’re having fun playing slots, and you can afford it, then why on Earth would you quit? There are countless occasions upon which, had I ‘quit while I was ahead,’ not only would I have missed out on hours and hours of slot enjoyment, I also would have missed out on some serious jackpots, if I had quit just one spin before this one, or this one, or even this one. There are many good reasons to quit slot play at a given time, but ‘being ahead’ isn’t one of them. Let’s discuss:

If you’re playing smart, then you’ll be playing on a budget. As I’ve said countless times before, don’t bet what you can’t afford to lose. But if you can afford to lose it, then lose it! Spend it on slot machines for enjoyment, in the same way you spend money on theme parks for enjoyment. If you win a big prize for your first kid at an amusement park game, you don’t ‘quit’ when you’re up one stuffed animal, do you? Of course not. You try to win a stuffie for your second kid too, even though it will cost you more money to do so, and you probably won’t win – but your kids will appreciate it, and those games are fun. Well, so are slots. The caveat: When you’ve hit your budget for the day, then quit, with no ifs, ands, or buts. Remember that time I lost 100,000 on slots in 10 minutes? Yeah, it sucked, but I did not go over my budget that day (even though that’s a huge budget by most standards).

Another good time to quit: When you’re just not having fun anymore. As you can see in this recent live stream I did (as well as most of my other live streams too), when a game gets boring for me, I just stop playing it. Yeah, maybe I would have won with another spin, but so what? I was bored. It sucked. I’m there to have fun, not to win at all costs. So, don’t play games just because you’ve heard they ‘pay out more often’ (which probably isn’t true anyway). Play the ones that you’ll like playing, and quit when you don’t like them anymore. It’s not rocket science.

Admittedly, it is a little trickier is to distinguish that fine line when you can’t focus any more. There have been times when I’ve been on budget, and I’m still having fun, but I’ve just been playing for so long that my vision gets blurry. Once, I played live for four hours straight! It was fun, but something I probably won’t ever do again, mostly because it’s just a little bit nuts, and how can anyone focus on anything for that long? (Or maybe I will try it again…)

So sure, quit if you’ve maxed your budget, or quit if you’re bored out of your mind, or quit if your eyes have fully glazed over, but never, ever stop playing just because someone told you that you should “quit while you’re ahead.” Can you imagine if I would have quit just one spin before this massive win, just because I was “ahead” at the time? The excitement I would have missed out on, not to mention the cash! Let’s all join together and change the public’s perception on this issue. Next time you’re driving by a mountain, stop your car, climb to the top, grab one of those Ricola horns, and scream it with me at the top of your lungs: “DON’T QUIT WHILE YOU’RE AHEAD!”