Casinos give gamblers every opportunity to make bad decisions based on bad ideas. This is how the casinos make as much money as they can, so they’re not going to do anything to stop the flow of bad ideas.
But you need to know that every bad idea costs you money, and that you can change these bad ideas if you know what to look for and do.
In this article, you’re going to learn about six bad ideas that cost you money as a casino gambler. Once you see learn these concepts, you can change the way you think and stop losing so much cash.
Lack of Preparation
How much time do you spend preparing before you start gambling in a casino? If you’re like most casino gamblers, the answer is none. And this in itself is a terrible idea.
You need to know what games you plan to play in the casino, the best way to play them that gives you a chance to win, how much you’re going to gamble with, and when you’re going to stop playing.
All of these things are covered in this article, but the most important first step is committing to making a plan and preparing every time you plan to gamble in a casino.
In order to have the best chance to win when you gamble in a casino, it requires doing some work before you start playing. For example, if you’re going to play blackjack when you go to the casino, you need to know which rules are good and which rules are bad. Also, you need to know the best strategy to use at the blackjack table.
The good news is that once you learn how to prepare for your casino trip the right way, it gets easier to do it in the future.
Playing the Worst Casino Games
Do you know which casino games give you the best chance to win and which games are the worst to play?
You need to consider two things when you’re picking the casino games you want to play. The first thing to consider is which games have the highest returns and the second thing is what kind of casino games you like to play.
Both of these things are important because if you don’t enjoy the games you play, then you’re not going to have fun. And if you play the wrong games, you’re going to lose too much of your bankroll.
The way to figure out the games that give the highest returns is to look at a list of return percentages for casino games. The casino games that can offer the highest returns, depending on the rules and how well you use strategy, include:
- Video Poker
- Blackjack
- Baccarat
- Poker
The list of casino games that have the lowest return percentages include:
- Slot Machines
- Keno
Most other casino games fall somewhere in the middle, but you should play mostly games on the first list. Pick a game or two from the first list that you enjoy and spend some time learning the right strategies before you play.
Gambling Without Getting Maximum Comps
I spent years gambling before I started getting comps. This cost me a lot of money over those years. But now, I don’t gamble unless I’m getting something for my play.
Comps are just one form of rewards or benefits that you can get when you gamble in casinos. I’m including everything you can get for your play when I say “comps.” This can include entries into drawings and tournaments based on your play, bonuses, coupons, or whatever else you can think of and get.
I know if a casino has a comps program before I start gambling. And if the casino has a program, I sign up before I gamble. I also know if an online or mobile casino offers bonuses, and I know if these are good or bad bonuses.
You have to know these same things. When you know where the best comps programs, the best perks, and the best bonuses are located, you can easily choose the best place to gamble.
No matter what you play in a casino, make it your mission to get as many comps and bonuses and perks as you can get. When you combine this with playing the games that give you the highest returns and playing them using the right strategies, then you improve your odds of winning a great deal.
No Budget, No Bankroll, and No Limits
It’s always a bad idea to gamble in casinos without using a budget, a bankroll, and limits. These things might not always stop you from losing money, but they are going to help you limit what you lose and control your losses.
A budget and bankroll are similar, and you can use them both for the same thing. A bankroll is the total amount of money you have for casino gambling, and a budget is how much you’re willing to risk during a casino gambling session.
You should have a total bankroll for gambling and use a portion of that bankroll as a budget for each gambling session. Plus, you should also use limits, like time limits, stop-loss limits, and stop-win limits every time you gamble in a casino.
The more limits you set, the more control you have over your results. I always hated it when I won in a casino and kept playing then eventually lost that money back to the casino. Once I started using stop-win limits, I didn’t have to worry about doing this as often.
Losing Control
Control is important any time you gamble in a casino. You just learned about several ways to get and keep control in the last section. So, you need to use all of the things you learned.
Casinos make money when gamblers don’t have control. The casinos want gamblers to forget about everything else and keep gambling for as long as possible. When you’re in control, you only gamble as long as you decide to gamble.
This Starts With Your Mindset
You have to make it a decision that you’re going to control everything that you can. If you’re not focused on controlling everything that you can, you’re going to slip into the trap and let the casino control your losses.
Having more control involves everything in this article. When I go to the casino, I know exactly what I’m going to play and how I’m going to play it. I’ve already learned the strategies that I need and I know good rules and bad rules.
I know exactly how much I’m willing to lose and exactly how long I’m willing to gamble. I don’t leave anything to chance that I can control. You need to do the same thing.
Not Looking For Better Opportunities in the Casino
Looking for better opportunities in the casino starts with what you learned in the second section of this page. You have to play the right casino games, and you have to play them a certain way to get the highest returns that you possibly can.
But you can take things a step beyond this if you know what to look for and what to do. Some casino games have special strategies that make the return higher than just using basic strategy and finding the games with the best rules.
For Example:
If you learn how to be a card counter, you can actually win more money than the casino takes when you play blackjack. The same thing is true when you play poker. You can learn how to use strategy better than your opponents and win more than you lose in the long run.
The first thing you need to do is learn how to keep your mind open to better opportunities. You might not have known that you could beat blackjack and poker. But now you know, so the next step is learning how to do it.
Conclusion
When you fail to prepare, you need to be prepared to lose. This is true in many areas of life, and it’s particularly true when you gamble in casinos.
This starts with learning what games in the casino give you the best chance to win and learning which games are the worst.
Other bad ideas for casino gamblers include gambling without getting as many comps as you can, playing without a budget, gambling without using a bankroll, and not using limits in the casino.
You also need to learn how to control the things in the casino that you can control and avoid the worst things that you can’t control.
Michael Stevens
Michael Stevens has been researching and writing topics involving the gambling industry for well over a decade now and is considered an expert on all things casino and sports betting. Michael has been writing for GamblingSites.org since early 2016. …
