Beginners Guide to Gambling

Casino owners don't care if you know how to play the games you risk your hard-earned cash on. They only care about getting you in the door. Remember that. The more you play, the more they earn. It's like that old joke your friend offered in school,"Heads I win, tails you lose." That's how most casino games are for beginners!

Unless you are an experience blackjack player counting cards, you do not have the edge. The house does, and that's how they build those big hotel towers. However, if you learn a few things before you hit the casino you'll have a lot more fun.

Casinos make a profit by offering games that are enticing. The games are fun, entertaining, and actually offer a chance to win, but not in the long-run. The house always has the edge. Eventually the house edge starts eating away at your bankroll.

Casinos aren't dangerous unless you let them control you. Yes, the slot machines are aligned on the casino floor to drive you a certain way and towards Never Never Land, but be a strong beginner and you'll make out just fine. Keep in mind that you control your budget, and your gambling bankroll.

If you go to a movie, have dinner out, or see a ball game, you know pretty well before you get there how much you have budgeted for your outing. And, you know how long your excursion will take, somewhere around two-three hours is about average.

If you plan your casino trip for two or three hours and stick to that plan it's a lot easier to get home without spending all your cash. There is know way of knowing in advance if you will be lucky and win, but regardless of wins or loses you should set a time frame and leave the casino when the clock says to.

If you work at it, even a short trip to the casino can be costly, but in addition to a set time interval for playing casino games you should set a bankroll. Gambling is entertainment. If you go to the movies your budget is probably under $50 for a couple tickets, parking and snacks. You wouldn't spend $500 at the snack bar, but sometimes the lure of gambling entices players to make bad decisions at the casino.

If you plan for a $200 evening, stick to the amount, and if you lose, well then your two-hour trip is just going to be shorter than you anticipated. If you find that Lady Luck is on your side, head home with the bucks and plan your next trip!

Table games like blackjack and roulette are easy to play. However, the better you play, the less it costs you to play per hour. If you learn blackjack basic strategy and play it perfectly, the house has only about three-quarters of one percent edge. If you play 100 hands per hour at $10 per bet, you wager $1000 in that hour. Your play will cost about $7.50 per hour. That total will be considerably higher for the average player.

Conversely, if you play roulette on a wheel with a zero and a double zero, the house edge is 5.26 percent. If you play for an hour and make $1,000 in total wagers, your play will cost you about $52.60. That's a huge difference.

New players often don't understand money management and the house edge, so to make things easy, count your wagers in a six-minute period and multiply that time ten. It's not just the house edge that gets you, it's the speed of the game. You can play Keno for $1 a game and play just six games per hour. Then, even with the huge house edge of 28 percent your play will only cost about $1.68 per hour. That's a bargain.

If you want more action than Keno presents, you should consider the number of plays per hour you are likely to see:

• Roulette - 30 spins per hour at $10 per spin, $300 in action. Cost: $15.78 Blackjack - 100 hands per hour at $10 per hand, $1000 in action. Cost: $15.00
• Craps - 50 rolls per hour with $10 pass line bets, $500 in action. Cost: $7.20
• Craps - 50 rolls per hour with three $10 come bets, $1500 in action. Cost: $21.60
• Craps - 50 rolls with mixed prop bets $10 each, $500 in action. Cost: $35.00
• Keno - 6 games per hour with $10 in plays, $60 in action. Cost: $16.80
• Let-it-Ride - 30 hands per hour with $16 in bets, $480 in action. Cost: $33.60
• Three-Card-Poker - 30 hands per hour with $15 in bets, $450 in action. Cost: $32.76
• Penny Slots - 50 coins bet, 92 percent pay back, 300 spins per hour, $150 in action. Cost: $12
• Video Poker - 25-cent Jacks or Better, 94 percent pay back, $375 in action. Cost: $22.50

The problem with the above numbers is that they are averages. With gambling, nothing is average. You may win 10-straight hands of blackjack or lose 10-straight. The thing to remember is that you should learn the games before you play, set both a time and monetary budget, and stick to it. In the long-run, casino gambling can be a lot of fun, but don't forget it is entertainment - and you're paying for it by the hour.