Money Management

Most of what you are going to read here is common sense, however, we all need to be reminded of such simple things every now and then. Everything about casinos is designed to separate you from your money whilst making you think you've had an enjoyable time. The distinct lack of clocks, free alcohol, chips or tokens rather than real cash, fast play and other more devious methods all contribute to the separation process. In this article I'll discuss ways you can keep control of your bankroll and have fun in the process, whether you live near a casino, gamble online, or go on regular gambling vacations.

It's an undeniable fact that long term you will lose. Yes there are some games played with certain strategies that go against this trend however they are in the minority and the players with the skill levels to achieve this are also in the minority. Many problem gambling campaigns use the following slogan which should be in the back of everyone's mind. "Stop playing when it isn't fun anymore."

Always limit your time gambling to a certain number of hours per session, say 2 or 3, and the total number of hours per day. Remember, good gambling takes concentration and studies show we lose concentration after long periods of time. Ever notice how your performance at work reduces after you've been working for a number of hours? It's the same with gambling. With table games, the number of games played per hour is monitored. It's in the casino's interests to play as many as possible, thus increasing the revenue. It's as simple as understanding that casinos will pay out say 98% and if they deal 50 hands and $100 is wagered on each hand that's a total of $5000 of which they keep $100 (5000 x {100%-98%}). Now if they increase that to 60 hands per hour their profit is $120. Small change in this example but multiply it by the number of tables and it starts to make sense. why do you think casinos love electronic games so much? No dealers to pay and people playing by themselves play a lot quicker.

If you do play machines, hand feed the coins rather than using the bill receptors because it slows the play down and you place more value on the coins being inserted than a number on the screen showing how many credits you have. Whenever you sit at a new machine, take time to understand the game and the payouts. Also take a second to make sure you are playing correctly. You don't want to miss out on the big jackpot because you didn't play the maximum coins do you? This principle also applies for table games. Within reason, take your time to make sure you're playing the correct hand.

Playing at online casinos is a different ball game altogether. The speed at which you can play each hand is amazing. In single player games you're the only one playing and taking blackjack as an example, you can play a hand in 10 seconds. This equates to 360 hands per hour and if you are betting $5 per hand that's a total amount wagered of $1800. Great at those casinos that offer comps for amounts wagered but not good if you're not winning. Turn this to your advantage, sitting at home means you don't get embarrassed when referring to your strategy charts to ensure optimum play.

A popular misconception is that if you have won money, then you can continue playing because you are playing with the casino's money. That's WRONG. It became your money as soon as you won it. Pocket the winning and continue to play with your original bankroll if you want to keep playing. That's assuming you have an agreed upon bankroll and will not spend any more. This guarantees you will at least leave with some money.

This brings us to the idea of a vacation bankroll. If you enjoy a gambling vacation every now and then, adopting the following priniciples will help you enjoy it that bit more. If it doesn't sound like fun then just remember, losing more than you can afford is not fun either. First of all, decide how much you want to spend on gambling and keep this separate from all other vacation expenses. Divide this amount by the number of days you will be gambling and put this into separate piles. Use envelopes marked for each day if necessary. From reading the earlier points, you will also have decided how many hours a day you will spend gambling and how many sessions per day. You can now calculate the bankroll per session. I'm sure we've all seen Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation where he loses the lot in the first session! The final piece of advice is, at the end of each day, put whatever is left of your bankroll back into the envelope and don't touch it until you get back home. At least you should return home with some money that way.

Expanding on the idea of keeping your bankroll separate from your other vacation expenses, is to maintain a separate bank account for your gambling activities. This helps you keep track of how much you spend, win and lose, and if you have to declare your gambling activities at tax time then the task is so much easier. This is also a good idea for online gambling because it separates your normal expenses you put on creditcards from gambling money. For piece of mind, have a creditcard with a low limit so that it limits the amount you can bet and also reduces the possibility of large fraud occurring. Better still use a debitcard if available.

Always check with your creditcard how the charges will be treated. If they are cash advances then the costs can be high. No interest free period, possibly a higher interest rate and a fee just for using the cash advance facility are just some of the costs. Some casinos also charge an additional fee just for the convenience of providing the cash advance. All these can add up to 5-10% of the amount advance. As you can imagine, this puts you well behind even before you have started gambling and have the house edge to contend with. Finally, if you must use a creditcard, always make sure you have the funds to repay it. NEVER gamble with borrowed money.