we all have a threshold where we we stop gambling and bank the winnings

assuming you started with $10,000 like Archie did, where is your threshhold?

For me, I would guess it would be around $100,000. Meaning if I ran $10,000 to $100,000 I would stop gambling at that point and bank the win (use it for investments or whatever else I choose).

So obviously I would NEVER EVER HAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF WINNING ANYWHERE NEAR THE AMOUNT ARCHIE WON. And neither would any of you other people ITT saying you would have kept some of the millions.

No you wouldn't have. Because you never would have won the millions in the first place because you would have banked the win far short of millions so you would NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS BE IN ARCHIE'S SITUATION.

You cannot win like Archie because you will always bank the win.

Archie won $40 million because he would never bank the win.

Archie lost it all because he would never bank the win.

Are you familiar with gambling addiction? Telling an addict to quit is telling an addict to quit. As a matter of fact, gambling addiction may be worse than addiction to drugs, including nicotine and crack cocaine. I mean there are people who can't even quite drugs for their kids (at least initially, and if they do usually takes multiple tries). Telling this guy to quit would most likely be akin to telling a drug addict to just quite and start saving the money they would use on drugs for other things.

You seem to be coming from the perspective this guy is any different from a meth or crack head. When it comes down to the addiction, he isn't. I understand you don't have that mindset but am quite confused as to how you can not understand that his approach to gambling was one of a compulsive addict, not a reasonable person looking to set aside a nest egg.

Mr. Greenstein has an excellent example in his book [I]Ace on the River[I]. In it he tells how he is gambling it up a bit and bets on all numbers but 5 when playing craps. An acquaintance of his (who was ironically enough suppose to have been there as an exhibit on how a certain technique worked at curing gambling addicts, but was still addicted and placing bets through others) asked the question "Aren't you worried a five will come?". They guy wasn't like "you're crazy for betting that much" but "you're crazy for not betting on everything."

From the little I've come across gambling addiction is one of the hardest addictions to treat and when it hits it hits hard. Even if he had set aside money in savings he very likely would have ran through it, not like he was going to lose his bankroll then just stop and live off his nest egg (heck, he wouldn't have even did what a more rational gambler would which would have been to set aside a substantial amount and if losing the bankroll just use the interest from savings to start slow again).

Financial responsibility is not something that computes in a conversation about gambling addicts or shopaholics. I'm a bit surprised that you don't understand there is a completely different mentality at work.

i do think its interesting that at least one of archie's biggest losses came when he was upset about personal matters

i cant decide whether to be in awe of him

I did a thread couple years back on him...very interesting guy.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29...er-wow-127889/

If your definition of success is telling people the sky is blue, water is wet, and fire is hot....


I tend to set the bar higher...

i agree with a lot of what u say mate .. just one thing differs .. this guy should never be ridiculed , he rode is luck to the max , if you are a gambler you are a gambler and thats a FACT . only the most dedicated would hit there target and run like mad .... but as i said when you are a true gambler you are a gambler and you have hit your target of 100k .... but it will never be enough !! ... i want 200k .... 300k ... and so on and so on , you show me one compulsive gambler in the world today dead or alive that quit when he said X amount is enough ??!! you will have a lot of trouble finding him cos he probably does not exist ... yes i speak from experiance b4 u ask . he didnt wana grind it out , he didnt wana win 100k and eat steak every night . he wanted the dream , he wanted to sit with the best , he wanted the highest stakes , no fear no regrets !! and he beat the best remember that as well !! only time he lost was V the casinos !! the man is a legend amongst true gamblers .... you leatherass grinders can carry on making your 1k a day but you will never ever know the highs the man has had playing and beating the best for millions !!

Who ?

your silly

didnt notice it before but i like it how he complements the guy in that hand...

People who respect archie and what he stands for are like the bridge between normal people and the mentally retarded.

I think it would be good for poker to ban and ideally kill people who express genuine admiration.

Well, at least the poor ones.

He is a sick whack job. Plain and simple. He didn't gamble against the best and lose. He gambled against a rigged game, where you can only end up busted at some point. He stated at one time he had such a good rep at mano a mano poker nobody would play him anymore. He would only get action from the house in craps. No true pro gambler would go near a craps table for anything but entertainment money.

What's up dude? Next time you're in town we can play some more One Hole. We start at 9-6 this time. I haven't been playing since I closed my room. 500 a game, okay? No more of that 5-3 nonsense!

This thread makes me laugh. Only a handful of people get who you are. For those that don't know, Archie would only stop when he actually busted the house, or won it! He almost did that to Binions too. Arch had ALL the $5,000 chips in his box (10 Mil worth) and Jack Binion had to start buying them back from him. He had millions in boxes at the Mirage and Caesars too!

Archie's pumped up a million or more several times since that big run, and a 100K score is all in a day's work for him. Archie is no dumb dude. Lefty thinks he was playing a "rigged" game. Meanwhile some places barred his action at Craps. Archie knew how to chuck those dice! He is one of the smartest gamblers of all time. The wise guys are very careful with him, because they know he is a threat to their bankroll. He nearly beat me out of my poolroom once.

P.S. I owe you dinner! Thanks for that.

I thought I addressed your point as opposed to ignoring it. Correct me if I am wrong but was your point that with his mindset he would never stop? If so I addressed that he didn't need to stop gambling and still could have preserved his fortune. I also addressed the point of an apex and how stopping at it is paradoxical.