Although many gamblers play for the entertainment value, it is safe to say that most of us play to win. Knowing that the house will do everything they can to keep you playing as long as they can, it is important to do everything you can to minimize their edge. For the most part this involves familiarizing yourself with the rules of the games, and reading up recommended strategies. However, ask any professional gambler and they will tell you – without setting limits for yourself you are guaranteed to lose.
Why is Bankroll Management so important?
Gambling is addictive. Period. You can be the most iron-willed person in the world, but if you turn $100 into $1000 in the span of a few hours, it will leave you wanting more. Plenty of people do manage to walk away with that, but the vast majority will end up continuing to play in hopes of making more – after all, if turning $100 into $1000 was that easy, why not go for more? Then the inevitable house edge rears its ugly head it bringing you down to $500. If you’ve kept playing to this point, chances are you will try to recoup your winnings back to $1000 and most times lose the rest of your winnings, and likely your initial $100.
I think this scenario has happened to everyone who has gambled at one point or another – the lure of easy money is a powerful one. When you’re up you feel like you’re on cloud nine, and the opposite holds true. My first time gambling I turned $250 into $800 playing video poker and was thrilled. The next morning I woke up early to try my luck again before driving back home. I had budgeted myself $200 for my morning session, so even if I lost I would still walk away with $650. In two hours I lost everything and drove home amazed – I had fallen into the group of irrational gamblers I didn’t think applied to me.
Setting a limit for yourself
The most important lesson I learned from my first experience was that I was missing a key element in my fool-proof strategy. I had read up on and practiced several casino games and decided upon a strategy that ended up serving me well – I had more than tripled my original bankroll after all. On the drive home I was kicking myself for not stopping when I lost the $200 that morning.
The three most important things you need to set for yourself before you decide to gamble are:
- How much will I be depositing today? What is my spending limit?
- What is my goal – at what balance do I want to cash out?
- Playtime – How much time do I want to spend gambling today?
Once you have answered the three above questions, be sure to stick to it. Try to anticipate situations that can occur, and how it will affect you – if you reach your goal in the first 10 minutes of playing (it’s happened to plenty of people) and you still feel the urge to play, then you need to alter your goal to $X of winnings, but at least 4 hours of playtime. It may sound silly to you, but it is important to give yourself a little flexibility so your plan is easy enough to stick to without having the potential of ruining your fun. Although coming out ahead is a very real possibility when gambling it should be looked at as entertainment – you don’t want to restrict yourself to a point where you aren’t enjoying yourself. Doing so will most likely cause you to alter your plan on the fly, eventually throwing it out all together.
Differences in land based and online casino
In terms of bankroll management, the same principle applies both in online casino and land based casinos. When playing online, it is much more difficult to stop yourself both when winning and losing; deposits are made via credit card or an online wallet and you don’t feel the money you are spending as if you are handing over cash to a teller or dealer. Because of this, it is easier to get carried away and deposit more than you budget yourself. Always set yourself a fixed amount you are willing deposit for your gambling session.
Online casinos oftentimes come at you with an incredible bonus offer once you have exhausted your balance – do your best not to fall into that trap. If the offer is one that you find too good to pass up, you can always deposit and claim it, but leave it dormant in your account until your next session.
Final thoughts
Never forget, gambling is about having fun – a wise person will not play solely to win. The best way to think of it is paying for the entertainment; like going out to a bar or a movie. Going out anywhere will cost you money much like gambling will, albeit with a chance to make some money. As long as you keep this in mind and don’t go over your budget, gambling can be a lot of fun with an occasional fantastic payoff.
