Visiting a land-based casino is great fun. It is anything but boring as you can experience all the glitz and glamour and you are spoilt for game choices. Unfortunately, though, many people who visit a casino will leave with empty pockets and we are not only talking about gambling addicts. It is hard to know when to stop and you might blow your whole holiday fund on your first evening in Vegas.
We want to help you out with a few simple tips that can help you control your losses. A Canadian iGaming expert, Michelle Thomas (more about Michelle) helped us with a few of her own tips.
1. Set a budget and stick with it
Decide how much money you can afford to lose on the given day and don’t take more with you to the casino. It is best to withdraw the money before you hit the casino and leave your cards at home. Casino ATMs in the US and Canada can charge ridiculous fees for withdrawals so if you are staying in a casino hotel, do the withdrawal elsewhere or use cash app casinos online.
If you play at online casinos, setting the budget is even easier. At the best online casino Canada you can set daily deposit limits and loss limits. Once you reach these figures, the system will not let you play anymore.
2. Choose games with a low house edge
As the saying goes: “The casino always wins”. This basically means that every game has a so-called house edge, making sure that the casino has a profit in the long run. This applies for a very long period of time though. Anybody can get lucky when playing for short periods of time but if you keep playing all the time you will be statistically losing the house edge percentage of your wagers.
In light of this, you should bet on games with a low house edge. Blackjack gives you the lowest house edge, but video poker and craps are also great options as long as you avoid risky side bets.
With skill games such as poker and blackjack, playing the perfect strategy further reduces the house edge. Try to steer away from slot games and keno as these games have a much higher house edge.
3. Don’t drink too much
Drinking and gambling is a dangerous combination. When you are tipsy or drunk, you don’t make sensible decisions and you risk too much because alcohol lowers inhibitions. Stop losing money because of this mistake. Having one or two drinks is fine but after that stick to soda or water.
4. Take care of yourself
A simple way to not lose in casino is to take care of yourself. Sitting down too long and not eating proper meals can blunt your judgment. When we are tired and hungry, we can get cranky and place rushed bets just to get the whole thing over with.
5. Ask for comps
If you are a regular or spent quite a bit on chips you can expect some comps from the casino. If you can get the hotel room or a meal for free, you are saving some money that you can spend on games instead. Everybody loves getting presents. If you are out of ideas of what present to get to a college student in Canada check out this article.
6. Place smaller bets
Let’s say, you decided to play for $200 today. You should buy chips in small denominations so you can place more bets with the same amount of money. Surely, if you bet more you can win more, but you might run out of money after you have placed only 10 or 20 bets if your wagers are too high.
7. Don’t expect to win the jackpot
Slot machines are like lottery tickets: everybody has a chance to win millions with a $1 wager. But how likely is that? Most slot games payout somewhat steadily but the amounts are rarely high. Slot machines in a land-based casino often have a very high house edge so, in the long run, everybody loses on them. Try to learn blackjack or video poker instead where you’ll have much more realistic chances of winning.
Conclusion
With the 7 tips we listed above, you can control how much money you lose at the casino. The key is to stay in control while having fun.