5 Money Management Tips at Online Casinos
Gambling is entertaining and stress-relieving, at least temporarily, but not until it wreaks havoc with your finances. A few happy-go-lucky bets may immediately burn a hole in your pocket.
That’s why having sound bankroll management matters. If you’re unsure of the dos and don’ts of it, we’ve got you covered. Check these five tips to manage your betting bankroll properly and effectively.
Divide your Bankroll
Whether in a land-based or an online live casino , dividing your bankroll is one of the effective ways to control your spending. Its main advantage is to keep you from having multiple losses and running out of money at the end of the day.
How you divide your bankroll usually depends on your gambling habit. For example, opt for a session-specific mini-bankroll if you’re an aggressive player. It can greatly help you in putting yourself under control during a losing slump. Moreover, if you tend to lose track of time, a day-specific gambling bankroll will be handy. For example, set aside two daily bankrolls if you plan to bet the farm for two days.
Once you’ve decided how to divide your bankroll, find your optimal bet size to maintain an overall gambling experience. It prevents you from losing your bankroll after a few bets, securing long and thrilling sessions.
The commonly effective way to calculate the optimal bet size is by toting up the house edge with the total hands per hour and potential player errors. For example, if you’re playing blackjack, calculating the bet size so that you can at least make 30 bets is a smart strategy.
Set Fixed Bets
If you don’t want to keep pressing your luck and instead play it safe, a fixed betting strategy can be good for you. In this system, you bet the same amount every time, regardless of how much you win or lose. The main perk of a fixed betting strategy is that it prevents you from catching a losing skid because its risk amount is only 1-2% of your starting bankroll percentage.
Additionally, after more or less 100 fixed bets, you could see a 10% bankroll growth. While it may only be around a 55% success rate, it can already be seen as a massive increase considering the 1% risk of your starting bankroll. Nonetheless, you must be patient enough to see significant gains in your bankroll through fixed betting.
Play Slowly
Think twice if you think slowly playing has nothing to do with managing your bankroll at a casino. In casino gambling, the speed of a game is equal to the number of decisions you make every hour you play.
More importantly, don’t forget that all casinos have a house edge at almost every bet at any game. In other words, the faster you play, the more susceptible your bets are to the house edge. If that’s the case, you’ll likely lose a lot of money.
Be extra careful and take your time playing fast online casino games, such as Pai Gow poker, slot machines, video poker machines, or Keno. Casinos like them in particular because gamblers can make hundreds of bets in an hour, which translates to increased exposure to the house edge.
Take Frequent Breaks
Taking breaks frequently is one of the ways to slow down your playing speed. It doesn’t only reduce your bets per hour but also helps your bankroll last longer. Overall, every rest you take is a few steps away from a casino’s house edge and possible multiple losses.
Resting is also a way to reassess your current financial situation and avoid making a huge financial mistake. It also helps you calm down from the excitement or frustration you felt from the games, preventing you from indulging in bad gambling habits, like loss-chasing.
Establish Limits
Monitoring your play time and bets at a casino has always been easier said than done, especially if you’re having a blast. It’s even more difficult now that online gambling is becoming a growing frontier around the world.
One of the reasons for the worsening impaired control of players in online gambling is that digital money disparages the psychological value of money. One study explained that players tend to perceive digital money as mere numbers on a screen with no sentimental value, so it’s easier to spend them. Conversely, pulling out real notes and stuffing them into a machine at a land-based casino feels like something is taken from them, so they’ll hesitate to make another bet.
On a positive note, there’s a way to keep yourself in the driver’s seat. One way to do so is to set limits. Self-imposed limits include:
- a playtime limit, requiring you to stop playing when your set time is over;
- a win limit, requiring you to stop playing once you achieved your win goal; and
- a loss limit, requiring you to stop playing once you consume the maximum amount you can lose over a period of time.
Many online gambling operators have also equipped their websites with some limit features, such as deposit limits and spending limits. It’s one of their measures to deal with irresponsible gamblers and, at the same time, help players develop responsible gaming habits.
Final Thoughts
Losing is common in gambling. One can’t avoid it, so exercising good bankroll management is essential to avoid more losses. It’s important to understand, however, that it doesn’t increase your odds of winning. Rather, it only helps you gamble responsibly.
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