Anytime you make a wager, you’re playing with your own money. 

Doesn’t matter whether you’re down a couple of bucks or up 200 units.

Once those winnings are on your person or in your account, they are yours. There is no such thing as house money. You’ve heard that term before and maybe even used once or twice yourself.

There’s No Such Thing As House Money

Maybe you’ve had a day like this story. 

You’re with a buddy that starts off his day hot. This is a normal early Saturday morning in the fall at Caliente. The Tecates are $1.25 and served in a bucket of ice. This guy’s on fire! He’s already cashed a 1^st Half 4-teamer sweeping the board on the early college football games. On his way past the table heading towards the horse racing monitors he swings by the table and orders the group another bucket of beers. Maybe it’ll be New York, Florida or Kentucky there’s quite a few tracks to play.

Now, you’ve been at the sportsbook since 8:30am (San Diego time) making sure you don’t get shut out from those 9am PT kickoffs. (The fact that we have to cross an international border just to place a LEGAL wager in the first place is a discussion for another time.) So, your buddy comes back with a winning trifecta ticket and another $150. 

This Guy Is On Fire!

It’s like 10:30 in the morning and this guy is already up like $600-$700 from what he had in his pocket when he left his house a few hours ago. The day goes on and like most of in a sportsbook with your buddies is too much fun. A morning of beer-spitting laughter, good times and since the Peso is so low against the dollar, an incredibly small bill, considering the damage four guys can do. 

College football is a rare breed. It hits you in waves! The early games start out okay, right about Noon on the East Coast. Then there’s the 3:30 starts. Hopefully, some of those winning early finals will get graded before the next kickoff so you can cash and get some more tickets in your pocket. You’ll get another rush from the 5pm/8pm games of the day. Finally, the West Coast games that can keep you watching until it’s way past midnight in New Haven. 

They Call It Gambling For A Reason

It’s a wonderful time but before it’s done you’ve been gone from your house for 12-14 hours. You smell like a combination of beer mixed with some of that incredibly good Mexican hot sauce. (They have 2 kinds & both are great, but one is just way too hot.) By this time in the adventure you just want to get home and crash.

There’s some discussion on the ride home but mostly it’s quiet with some good tunes. Everyone’s tired as the car pulls up to his place. Quietly, as he gets out, he says “I’ll be right down.” a few minutes later here he is, as promised and then you hear, “Thanks man, I really appreciated the loan.” as he slips a $100 bill into your hand. 

In Tijuana most of the clerks are pretty young ticket punching ladies. (Most probably speak less English than they actually should considering who’s betting there.) Sometime between 10:30am and 10:30pm he had given every single penny of his winnings back to the girls and on top of that he borrowed another c-note from one of the guys.

The logic of I just gave them their money back was bantered about. Hey, it was your money. You have every right to feel anyway that you want to about the fact that you lost it. One thing though, please do not ever say, “I just gave them their money back!” PLEASE!

When Was The Last Time You Saw The Missing Money?

Where was the money? That’s right, it was on your person! It was YOUR money! When you find yourself up early in a gambling environment you have to learn to keep some of it. Everybody’s heard Tony Robbins saying, “you have to pay yourself first”. There’s no excuse for not being a winner for the entire day when you’re up big early. NONE! 

Think about it:

How Many Ways Are There To Stash Your Winnings?

They say there are 50 ways to leave your lover and there’s at least that many to protect your winnings.

You can sneak up to your hotel room really quickly and hide it from yourself. 

How about turning and running for profit. We’re talking never having 2 feet on the ground at the same time hightailing it out of there and taking the money with you. Running from the elevator to the front door past the sportsbook, table games and slot machines works everywhere. Seen it done it Las Vegas, Mexico, California, Connecticut & New Orleans just to name a few.

Come on, you’ve never seen one guy give his money to another with the resolve that no matter what I say do not give me this money back? How hard would have that been? Now, most times the holding of said stash could be a PITA especially if eventually begging is involved.

Of course, you could also have a modicum or two of self-discipline and keep the money right where it is. Wallet, pocket, money clip, fanny pack, hell you can hold the money in a sweaty ball in the palm of your hand the whole time if you want. One thing we remind people at Sports Betting Lessons. is to remember whose money it is? It’s your money.

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