Don't Lose Control
This is the most valuable piece of advice I can give you. Even the best of us can be caught off guard and lose control when we fall into some of the casino traps.
The casino is a place of glitz and glamour. The excitement of the sounds and the general atmosphere help to add to a fantasy world. Many people get caught up in the excitement. When this happens it is easy to get carried away and gamble more than you should. This is exactly what the casinos WANT you to do. Casinos are a business, BIG business. Their primary business is separating you from your money and making you think you're having fun while they do it. They do this in a few ways.
1) They convert your cash into chips at the tables. You find yourself looking at the chips and seeing red and green tokens. You lose the sense that this is really money. This leads to over betting.
2) Dollar slot players use tokens for the machines. Once again these lose their value. If you were using silver dollars you would hesitate a little more before randomly dropping them into machines.
3) They supply you with FREE drinks while you are playing. Nothing like a few cocktails to loosen up the inhibitions. One gambling writer I know calls free drinks "Chip Remover!"
4) Finally the pace of the casino is fast. The dealers try to deal at lightning speed. They have dollar bill receptors in the slot machines so you can keep hitting the spin button as fast as you can.
Keep these subtle ploys in mind while you are in the casino. Counter act them by slowing down. Hand feed coins into the machines if you are playing slots. Take a second to make sure your are playing you hand correctly at the tables. Pay attention to your bets on the craps table and if you do drink while playing, use moderation.
One thing that turns winners into losers is the notion that once they win, they are playing with the casino's money. Once you win, that is YOUR MONEY. Don't give it back. When you get ahead take half of your winnings and put it in a different pocket.
If you don't learn how to handle
YOUR
money,
The casino will do it for you once it becomes
THEIR
money!
It's easy to leave the casino when all your money is gone. It takes discipline to walk away when you are ahead. Discipline and control is what separates winners from losers
Until next time, remember:
"Luck comes and goes...Knowledge stays forever."