The true meaning of winning at casino games.
It seems like such an obvious answer. Winning at the casino means you won enough to leave with more money than you came with, right? That might be the hopes and dreams of most players, but most of those players are going to leave disappointed.
The true meaning of a win has a lot more to do with the experience overall. The fact is, most players – and by that, I mean 90% or more – are not going to make a profit. If you add in all the people that chose to keep playing after making a profit, that figure increases to at least 98%.
Unfortunately, most of the players who do hit a decent win won’t quit and walk away. At that point, they are having so much fun that they decide to drop their winnings right back into the slot machine, video poker machine, or table game they won it from. Casinos thrive on this ultimately predictable behavior. So the first thing you need to do is decide what’s worth more to you. Is it the winnings, or the entertainment value of playing?
Which brings us to another aspect of winning, which is having an utterly great time while playing. Casinos are, for the most part, just another form of entertainment.
Great Entertainment is a Win at the Casino
You could spend your evening at the movies, paying for tickets, popcorn and drinks. You could buy tickets for a concert, or visit a nightclub or bowling alley. How about a trip to Disney World or the local amusement park?
These are all forms of entertainment that people are willing to spend money on. It could be an expensive vacation, or a low-cost night on the town. Either way, you wouldn’t expect to come home with the same amount of money you left with. This is the difference between traditional entertainment and casino games.
So the real question is this… Is the amount of money you’re spending to play the games a) something you can afford, and b) worth the entertainment value you’re getting from it? If you can answer ‘Yes‘ to both of these questions, then by the time your gambling session is over, profit or loss, you can say you won at the casino.
Winning at the Casino Means Budgeting
The trick is to never spend more than you can afford. Bring with you only what you know you can spend. Don’t even bring your ATM card with you. If you have to bring it, leave it in the car. Once you make the mistake of withdrawing more money to gamble with, you’ve already ruined the experience. If you lose that money, too, how are you going to feel later when you get home? There’s no fun in not being able to pay the bills because you over-extended your bankroll.
Speaking of your bankroll, make sure it’s going to last a decent amount of time. No matter how much you have to spend, you can find a game that will make it last. If you have a few hundred, you can hit he blackjack tables. If you only have $50 or so, that won’t last long at a $5 blackjack table. Try the slot machines instead, where penny games with low paylines can keep you entertained for an hour or more. If you want something more strategy-based, look for cheap video poker games.
Don’t spend all of your time on one game, either. Get up, walk around, see what other games there are to play. This will also help to extend the amount of time you have to enjoy the casino. Hopefully, you’ll be one of the lucky few that makes a profit (and know how to walk away). If not, with the right mindset, you can still leaving feeling like a winner.
