6 of the Worst Mistakes You Can Make in the Casino

If you’re like most gamblers, you can hope to find a secret strategy or system to win. But you have to learn how to not make too many bankroll mistakes first.

The fact is that you’re probably making plenty of mistakes in the casino. Don’t worry, it happens to everyone. I’ve been gambling for decades and still make costly mistakes once in a while.

This article includes six of the worst mistakes that casino gamblers make. Once you understand what these six mistakes are, you can quickly eliminate them. This is the first step on your path to making profits. Eliminate these mistakes, and you can concentrate on the casino games that have the highest rate of return.

1 – The Slot Machine Curse

The worst curse on casino gamblers is slot machines. I know that more gamblers play slot machines than any other game, but the slots are designed to kill your bankroll, and they never fail.

I know that you can win when you play slots from time to time, but in the long run, the slot machine always wins. This is how slots are programmed, and you simply can’t beat proper programming.

The simplest way to avoid the slot machine curse is to not play on these evil machines in the first place. It’s not the same type of game, but another type of machine in the casino that offers better returns is video poker.

I strongly recommend learning more about what real money video poker can offer if you want to play a machine-based game in the casino. And it’s even better to learn more about other games that have a higher return, like blackjack.

If you decide that you want to play slot machines anyway, you have to learn how to reduce your losses. You’re not going to find a way to win when you play slots, but you can learn how to lose less.

The only way to lose less is to risk less. You can do this by playing slot machines with smaller bets and by slowing down your rate of play speed.

2 – Playing Games With Bad Rules

Some casino games have the exact same rules everywhere. These are games like baccarat and some of the other table games. But some casino games have rules that are different from casino to casino or even table to table or machine to machine.

Video poker games play the same from machine to machine, but they have different pay tables. Some pay tables offer a higher return than others. Blackjack is a perfect example of a casino game that plays the same but has a wide range of rule variations.

Sometimes, the blackjack tables in the same casino have such different rules that the return can be different 1% or more between the tables. You have to learn what the different rules are for each game you play in a casino and how the rules change the return to player numbers.

Make a list of the casino games you want to play, then start doing some research. Don’t gamble in a casino again until you know all of the rules variations.

3 – Not Using Return to Player Numbers

The most important thing you can use when you play casino games is the return to player percentage for each game. This is a number that you can use to pick the best games to play and to predict how much each game is going to cost to play.

Return to player is a percentage that shows you how much each game is going to return to you and how much the game is going to take for the casino. The higher the return to player percentage, the higher the rate of return for the game.

For example, a slot machine with a return number of 92% is worse to play than a blackjack game with a return of 99%. For every $100 you bet on these two games, the slot machine is going to return $92 and the blackjack game is going to return $99.

To figure out how much a casino game is going to return to you, simply multiply the return to player percentage times the money that you bet.

You should find casino games that have a return to player percentage of 98% or higher and stop playing other games.

4 – You’re Not Using Strategy

Identifying the casino games that offer the highest rate of return is only the first step you need to take. The next step is just as important.

To get the highest rate of return for a casino game you have to use the correct playing strategies when you play. Not every casino game has a strategy or set of strategies you can use, but the games that offer the highest returns do have a strategy.

Some casino games have strategies that are simple. When you play baccarat, the best strategy is simply to bet on banker. When you play roulette, the best strategy is to use even money bets on a French rules wheel.

When you play video poker or blackjack, the strategy is more complicated. But the use of strategy is worth the extra effort because some blackjack and video poker games offer higher returns than any other games offered by the casino.

The games I recommend learning strategy for include blackjack, Jacks or Better video poker, Deuces Wild video poker, and baccarat. All of these casino games offer games with decent rules when you can find them, and when you use the best strategy, the return is close to 99% or better.

5 – Not Playing Blackjack

If you want advice about the best option for casino gamblers, you should take a close look at blackjack. It’s the most common table game available in casinos and when the casino offers blackjack tables with good rules it offers a high rate of return.

It’s not uncommon to find blackjack tables that have a return of 99.5% when you use the right strategy. This is true in land-based casinos and in mobile and online casinos.

The main trick is learning how each combination of rules changes the return to player number. Blackjack has many possible rules combinations, and they can be confusing when it comes to the return to player percentage.

To be 100% truthful, there are a couple video poker games that can offer a slightly higher return percentage than blackjack. But the reason why I recommend blackjack over them is because it’s easier to find good blackjack games than video poker machines with good pay tables.

The difficulty of using strategy is about the same with blackjack and video poker. This doesn’t mean the strategies are the same. Blackjack and video poker strategy is completely different, but each strategy is small enough to fit on a small card. In fact, you can buy strategy cards for both blackjack and the popular video poker variations.

6 – Ignoring Advantage Play Possibilities

Do you know what a casino advantage play technique or method is? Advantage play is a special strategy that can give you a return of over 100%. In other words, if you can use advantage techniques you can win when you gamble instead of lose.

If you’re playing a blackjack game that has a return of 99.5% it’s a great game that’s better than just about any other game in the casino. But you’re still losing a little bit more than you win. The return is still under 100%.

For every $100 you bet, you’re losing .50. This isn’t bad, but what happens if you can get a return of 100.5%? Instead of losing .50 for every $100 you bet, now you’re winning .50 for every $100 you bet.

The simplest form of advantage play is card counting when you play blackjack. This doesn’t mean that it’s simple to learn and use, but the process is straightforward.

Don’t ignore advantage play possibilities. Start by exploring card counting, and look for other ways that you can push the return higher.

Conclusion

Don’t waste time beating yourself up for mistakes you made in the casino in the past. All you can do is make sure that you don’t make the same mistakes again.

The six mistakes gamblers make in casinos listed in this article are a good place to start when you’re looking for ways to lower your losses. Slot machines are the biggest threat to your bankroll, and other games with bad rules are the second worst enemy you face.

Start using return to player numbers to choose the casino games that offer the highest rate of return. Pick the right casino games and use strategy when you gamble.