The Truth About Casino Gambling

The first time I went into a casino, I thought roulette was a sure thing – especially if I stuck with the outside bets that paid even money. I even got a little bolder and started placing some bets that paid off at 2 to 1.

Little did I know that the house edge on roulette was statistically one of the worst bets in the casino.

In fact, I knew so little about casino gambling that I shouldn’t have even been there.

With this post, I hope to spare you the same fate.

You’re Probably Not Going to Win Money at the Casino

Let’s go back to that expression I mentioned in the introduction – the “house edge.” This is just how the casino (and you) can measure how big the casino’s mathematical edge over you is. The house edge is usually expressed as a percentage, and it’s the average amount of each bet you’re expected to lose in the long run.

But that’s not the reason you’re probably going to lose money in the casino – at least not all of it.

Besides the house edge, the casino also has a relatively unlimited bankroll compared to you. Most casino gamblers – including you, probably – don’t have the bankroll to withstand any kind of losing streak to speak of. And the longer you play, the likelier you are to have a long enough losing streak to do some serious damage to your bankroll.

I’ve seen estimates that suggest 80% of casino gamblers go home having lost money – maybe not their entire bankroll, but a significant percentage of. On the other hand, this means that 20% of the time, you might go home a winner.

In the long run, unless you’re exceptional in ways you probably can’t even imagine yet, you’re not likely to be a net winner if you visit the casino on a regular basis.

The Free Drinks Sound Like a Good Deal, but They’re a Big Mistake

I’ll not deny that getting free drinks sounds like a good deal. In fact, if you’re a drinker, they might sound like a great deal.

But, to keep the drinks flowing, you still need to tip your cocktail waitress every time she brings you a drink. That’s only a dollar or two per drink, depending on how generous you are, but it adds up –especially when you add it to the amount of money you’re going to lose while you’re gambling.

And there’s the rub, really – to get the free drinks, you must be gambling. Real money gambling means losing money for most of us, but when you account for the adverse effect of alcohol on your decision-making skills, it’s an even worse idea.

Chasing Losses Is Probably the Biggest Mistake You Can Make

Here’s a scenario you’ll often see in a casino:

Bill the Gambler shows up and has a brief run of luck his first hour, winning a few hundred dollars. But the next hour, he starts seeing losses, and after two hours of gambling, he’s down $100.

So he decides to keep gambling during hour #3 to try to get back to even. He loses another $200 and calls it quits because he’s now broke.

Poker Sounds Like It’s Better Than Casino Games

I’ve written in the past that playing poker is better for most gamblers than playing casino games. And that advice is good as far as it goes.

Here’s why:

• When you’re playing poker, you at least have a chance of being better (i.e. having a mathematical edge) against the other players at the table.
• With almost all casino games, the house edge might as well be etched into stone. If you count cards, you can get an edge over the casino, but that’s hard to do for multiple reasons. But you don’t have to be just better than the other players at the poker table.
• You have to be so much better that you can overcome the power of the rake – the 5% (or so) fee that the casino takes from each pot to pay for your time at the table. Casinos aren’t in the business of hosting games for free.

If you and all the other players at the poker table were of exactly the same skill level, you’d break even over time. After all, everyone eventually gets the same hands the same number of times. But with that 5% rake, if everyone is the exact same skill level, everyone at the table will lose money gradually as they play.

If you’re good enough to win more often than the other players, you can still lose money.

Signing up for the Players Club Isn’t as Great a Deal as You’d Think

Casinos gives away free stuff all the time, but it really isn’t free. The so-called freebies are based on the amount of money you put into action at the casino. And since the casino has a mathematical edge over the players, you’ll lose more money over time the more money you put into action.

What kinds of freebies do you get for joining the players club?

It usually consists of food, room comps, entertainment, travel, and cash rebates. You can get the free drinks without joining the players club, but we already discussed that.

The casino has calculated how much money they expect you to lose given a specific amount of action, and they know that they’ll make a specific amount of profit on top of the incentives they give you.

In other words, if you need to earn 300 points to get a free meal at the $50 buffet, the casino knows that (on average) a player who earns 300 points loses $150 earning those points. Those numbers are just made-up, but you get the idea.

The casino only gives away free stuff if it’s profitable for them. And before you point out to me that you’re immune to the power of incentives, think about this:

Studies have shown that even brainwashing experts are susceptible to brainwashing techniques. In other words, knowledge of those techniques does nothing to make you immune to them. When the casino sends emails and mailings to a gambler, it increases the probability that they’ll visit the casino more often than they would if they weren’t sending that advertising.

And the easiest way to avoid that advertising is to NOT join the players club.

Many Blogs & Books by “Experts” Are Written by Shills for the Casinos

You’ll see a lot of bad advice from gambling writers like Frank Scoblete or John Patrick. Once upon a time, you’d also be able to take “classes” from these guys on how to gamble and win more often. The casinos would even host these classes.

Think about that for a minute, though.

Why would a casino invite a “gambling expert” to teach the gamblers how to win more often?

Read some blog posts about how hard casinos work to thwart card counters. They have sophisticated surveillance technologies and hire outside security consultants to keep track of professional card counters. And those guys have a tiny edge of like 1% on their best days.

Would casinos really hire someone like John Patrick to come in and teach you how to win at real money video poker if they thought John Patrick had anything to offer you in terms of effective strategy?

Casino Gambling Isn’t Inherently Bad, but Be Smart

You’d be forgiven for thinking that I’m negative about casino gambling.

But that’s missing the point of this post – and most of my other posts.

I think casino gambling is a fine hobby, but only if you meet one prerequisite: You must have a clear-eyed view of what’s actually happening in the casino. You’re trading money for entertainment, and so long as you understand that, you’re good.

I’d no more criticize you for gambling at a casino than I would criticize you for buying a book or a movie ticket. But if you don’t understand that the odds are against you, or if you’re going to do something foolish like chase your losses hoping to pay the rent, well…

Conclusion

Here’s the truth about casino gambling:

It can be a fun hobby for someone with some disposable income, but it’s not a means of GETTING a disposable income.

Also, if you don’t understand what’s really happening at the casino, you’re going to lose more money than you expect in the long run.

And that’s no good for anyone.