7 Signs It’s Time to Leave the Casino

How do you decide when you should stop gambling? Sadly, most gamblers stop when they run out of money. But this isn’t the only way to tell when you need to stop.

Here’s a list of seven signs that it’s time to leave the casino. Knowing when to stop gambling is just as important as using good strategy and playing the right games.

Casinos want you to keep playing until you don’t have any money left. Don’t fall for this trap. Use these signs to help you save money every time you gamble.

1 – You’re Making Mistakes Because You’re Tired

I like to gamble for real money as much as anybody, and over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time gambling when I was tired. This used to cost me a lot of money, because when you get tired, you start to make more mistakes. At some point, I finally learned that when I get tired, I definitely need to stop gambling.

It’s natural to want to gamble as long as you can, because sometimes, you don’t get the opportunity to go back to the casino for a while. And the casinos want you to stay as long as possible. But the truth is that there are going to be plenty of future trips to gamble, so you don’t need to keep pressing when you get tired.

Notice that I titled this section with the phrase “making mistakes.” If you’re not making mistakes because you’re tired, you can keep gambling. But make sure you’re being honest when you’re evaluating your ability to play.

Admit when you start making mistakes because you’re tired and learn how to walk away. Only keep playing if you’re able to continue playing mistake-free.

2 – The Pit Boss Is Paying Close Attention to Your Play

This is mostly for blackjack players, because they’re about the only gamblers that get kicked out of casinos for their play. If you’re playing blackjack and the pit boss or other casino personnel are paying too much attention to you it’s time to leave.

Casinos fear card counters because these are some of the only gamblers who can beat the casino. The truth is that most card counters don’t really beat the casino because they make too many mistakes.

But the casino doesn’t care if you’re winning or not. If they identify you as a card counter, they’re going to ask you to leave. And in some cases, they’re going to ask you to never come back.

You don’t necessarily need to leave the casino if the pit boss is paying too much attention to you, but you need to go play something other than blackjack. Casinos don’t watch other games for card counters, so when you switch games, they’re probably going to start ignoring you again.

3 – You’ve Had Too Much to Drink

It’s difficult to tell when you’ve had too much to drink. But it’s important to learn when you need to quit gambling when you’re drinking.

Players that drink alcohol when they gamble tend to make more mistakes. And when you make mistakes for any reason, it costs you money.

The best thing to do if you like to gamble and if you like to drink is to only gamble when you’re not drinking.

If you insist on drinking and gambling at the same time, keep close track of how much you’re drinking. Set a drink limit for yourself, and when you reach your limit, either stop drinking or stop gambling.

4 – You Need to Visit the ATM

I learned a long time ago to only take the amount I’m comfortable losing to the casino. If I run out of money, I know it’s time to stop. This means that I never go to the ATM when I’m in a casino.

Not only does this usually lead to more losses, but the casino usually has the highest ATM fees you’re ever going to see.

Make a commitment right now that you’re never going to use an ATM in a casino. If this means you have to cut a gambling session short, just understand that this is saving you money. You can take more money with you the next time you gamble if you’re comfortable losing more.

The following sections deal with limits. And if you use limits correctly, they help protect you from losing too much. The key is to never do anything to get more money when you’re gambling outside of winning. Don’t try to keep gambling when you run out of money.

This includes going to the ATM, borrowing money, or using a credit line from the casino. All of these things make you gamble more, and almost always lead to additional losses.

5 – You Reached Your Stop-Loss Limit

I recommend setting three limits whenever you gamble. This section and the next two sections explain what these limits are. You’re always in control of setting your limits, but once you set a limit, you need the discipline to use it no matter what.

The first limit is the most important. It’s called a stop-loss limit, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. You set a limit on your losses and if you reach it, you stop gambling.

I already mentioned this, but the best way to use a stop-loss limit is to only take the amount you’re willing to lose to the casino. What I do is buy chips with the total amount of my stop-loss limit when I arrive at the casino. And after that, I don’t buy another chip.

That way, I still have money for food and other things, but I know that if I run out of chips, I’m done for the day. You can learn how to be somewhat flexible if you’re using advantage play. But you have to truly be able to beat the game you’re playing to do this.

I play a lot of poker and when I’m playing in a good game, I know that short-term variance works against me sometimes, even when I’m making good plays. In this situation, I can buy back into a game if it’s profitable. But sometimes, I realize it’s simply not my day and walk away.

6 – You Reached Your Stop-Win Limit

Another type of limit is called a stop-win limit. This is a limit that you should only use if you’re not an advantage player. When you’re playing a game that has a casino edge, you know that if you play too long, you’re going to win.

But sometimes, you get up quite a bit in these types of games. If you set a stop-win limit and get up in a game, you can stop playing and walk away with a profit for the day.

You might set a stop-win limit at $200. If you hit a streak of good luck and get up $200, you stop playing. Most gamblers keep playing after they get up, hoping to win even more. But this rarely happens. Usually, what happens is that you give your profits back instead of winning more. A stop-win limit keeps you from giving your profit back.

7 – You Reached Your Session Time Limit

The third type of limit is a session time limit. This is simply a maximum amount of time that you’re going to gamble. This is usually set in hours, but you can set your time limit at any amount that you want. And just because you have a time limit doesn’t mean that you can’t stop gambling before your time limit is exhausted.

Like the other limits, if you’re playing with a real advantage, you might extend your time limit. Just be careful about extending your time limit if you’re getting tired. When you get tired and gamble, it usually leads to additional mistakes.

I recommend using a stop-loss limit, a stop-win limit, and a time limit every time you gamble. These three limits help control your losses better than anything else you can do.

Conclusion

Running out of money is always a good reason to leave the casino, but what if you could read the signs and figure out when to leave before you run out of money? Use these seven signs that it’s time to stop gambling and leave the casino.

When you start making too many mistakes, whether it’s because you’ve had too much to drink or because you’re tired, it’s time to go.

A good tactic is to set limits when you gamble. This way you can use stop-loss, stop-win, and session limits to increase your chances of leaving the casino with some cash.