Is it realistic to think you can double your money at a casino?
Every knowledgeable gambler knows that casinos are not in business to make winners of their patrons. They are in the entertainment business. Thus, the ultimate goal of gambling at a casino should always be the have a good time. Going with the intent of doubling your bankroll is not the recommended course of action.
But as we all know, some people do get lucky. Some people win large amounts of money. Some win double what they walked in with, while others win enough to buy a new car, a new house, even start a whole new dream life! Yes, it does happen. Those tales of fortuitous glory aren’t just melodramatic fiction. Despite their rarity, it does raise the question…
Is it realistic to think you can double your money at a casino?
Walking away with a wad of cash that’s larger than what you started with – that’s not an inconceivable notion. In fact, if you were to use the right betting system and be happy to walk away with a very minimal profit, it would be quite easy for most people. But to double your starting bankroll? That’s something else entirely.
The way the Martingale betting system works, a player can wager many times over with the end result being a single betting unit as profit. A betting unit is generally equivalent to whatever the table minimum is. This system has been documented as a viable means of winning games like roulette and baccarat, where even-money bets are wagered. The concept is simple. Double your bet until you win.
The only way to truly lose is to lose 7 games in a row, in which case the size of your next bet would supersede the table limit. At that point, your losses are exorbitant. It’s not often a player loses 7 even-money bets in a row, but it can happen. Thus betting systems are not a fail-safe plan. And the longer you play a game, the more likely you are to experience that devastating loss. This is why betting systems are only good for winning very small sums of money, but terrible when it comes to doubling your cash.
You could try playing blackjack. It’s the only game on the casino floor that offers players a chance to nudge the edge ever-so-slightly into their favor. Of course, you’ll need to count cards precisely and size your bets according to the count, all without letting the casino know you’re doing it. And you’ll be lucky to get a edge of 1% out of it. So again, you’re looking at a very slow rise in monetary profit.
Don’t Slow Play – Go for Broke
The thing with casino games is that the average player will have their bankroll slowly whittled away. The more they play, the more they lose. If you have $100 and play a $1 game with a 1% house edge, you can expect to lose $1 for every 100 bets. That’s a lot of entertainment, but not a profit. You’ll need to get lucky to actually win. As we established above, the longer you play, the more likely probabilities are to catch up with you.
If you genuinely want to double your money gambling, you’ll have to go for broke. Don’t sit there and slow play it hoping Lady Luck will take a long nap on your shoulder. She won’t. She is a capricious bitch who will stop by, kiss your cheek, whisper sweet nothings in your ear, then stab you in the back on her way to the wooing next guy. The only way to give yourself a decent shot at doubling up is to risk it all on a single bet – a true double-or-nothing wager.
Consider the risk very carefully before you take such a plunge. We’re talking about potentially losing all the money in your pocket in a few seconds flat, or doubling it and walking away. Could you bear to lose all that in the drop of a hat? If you did win, would be able to walk away? Either way, you will not experience the entertainment the casino was meant to provide. Is that really what you want?
If you answered yes to each of those questions, you are much braver than myself. I wish you luck, and leave you with this advice. Choose a game with a very low house edge, and place your single bet with confidence, knowing full well the risk. If you choose roulette, demand to play French Roulette (1.35% edge). Do not settle for European (2.7% edge) or American (5.26% edge) rules. If you choose blackjack, abide strictly to the strategy chart for the exact game’s rules. Above all, do not wager any money you can’t afford to lose, because the odds are always in the casino’s favor.
