Everyone knows that there are risks with gambling and it is important to understand the fact that you need to remain in control while you are gambling, no matter what form of gambling you decide to take part in.
In this guide, we’re sharing five tips to avoid losing big money when you visit the casino or play online. Arming yourself with these tools will enable you to stay in control and ensure that you don’t regret your losses in the morning. The golden rule is to only gamble what you can afford.
Play Games With Fixed Staking
A lot of games allow you to fix the staking, rather than games like poker where you can continue to raise the stakes and end up losing more money as a result. If you go to some of the top bingo halls, you pay for a bingo card and for entry into each game of bingo, which means that you can stay in control of what money is actually leaving your account each time you buy a card.
This is true for playing online too. Be sure to keep a record of what you are staking to be involved with each and every game of bingo, and set yourself a budget. If you can afford to play ten hands or rounds of a game, that’s fine, play them, and be sure to stick to what you had planned.
Take Breaks
It’s easy to let emotion take over. Perhaps you have played a game and had a near miss, or got annoyed at closely missing out on a good hand of poker. Instead of letting emotion take over and making bad decisions, take a break.
Being able to walk away from the table can let you approach the game with a much clearer head, and to process any disappointment. Remember that gambling should always be fun, rather than frustrating or annoying.
Don’t Chase Your Losses
One of the biggest mistakes that you can possibly make is to chase your losses. For instance, if you lose out on one game then you might increase the stake for the next in the hope that you win the money back. Some gambling strategies (the bad ones) will even tell people to do this.
Chasing your losses will only work once in a while and this means that you have the chance to lose a lot more. It is a dangerous habit to get into and you can end up losing a lot more than you had ever budgeted for.
Have a Pot and Stick To It
There is a lot to be said for having a pot of money and a budget that you have set aside to gamble with, and sticking to this.
This is related to not chasing your losses, too. It might be that you increase your stakes a bit when you are on a winning run, but don’t get drawn into the idea that you need to do this, and it is another way that you can blow your winnings. When you do get some winnings, ensure that you take them in order to enjoy them to the max rather than frittering them away.
If you go to the casino with a pot of money (usually cash) then this is a good way to ensure you won’t be angry when you leave having lost more than you expected. If you have given yourself a budget of the money you know you can afford to lose, then you will be less likely to get angry at yourself if that money goes, or spend money you can’t afford.
Use The Tools Available To You
If you feel like things are getting too much or you are making bad decisions there are charities and tools that can help to control your gambling and prevent you from spending too much.
Many casino websites will direct you to supportive organizations and even have facilities such as “time out” which can allow you to click a button to restrict your own access for a period of time. There are many tools to help you to stay on top of your gambling and keep it fun.
