A Winning Objective
Most gamblers lose because they walk into a casino with no game plan and no objective of winning. They have a certain amount of cash in their pockets and are prepared to risk the entire amount in the hope of reaping a huge windfall. They over bet and they end up losing.
If you wish to become a winner, you must establish discipline in your gambling sessions. You must set an objective for an amount you wish to win. You must define a limit or stop loss on the amount you are prepared to lose. These amounts must be consistent with your overall bankroll.
This article is written for gamblers. If you are a blackjack card counter who gambles, for example you play other games and or over bet your blackjack bankroll, I think you should read this article carefully.
A gambler should understand that a winning session is based on three interrelated factors:
- A knowledge and use of percentages, example those bets with the lowest house advantage.
- Careful and disciplined money management.
- Of course chance and luck.
The careful combination of these factors into a game plan will provide the gambler with a higher probability of a winning session. But wins and losses run in cycles and are unpredictable. There is never a guarantee of winning. That is why a disciplined gambler will quit when he or she reaches a preestablished stop loss.
The realty is no strategy can provide gamblers with the means of overcoming the casinos' house advantage. No strategy will do that except card counting at blackjack. It will provide you with a good chance of going home a winner, but not every time. As long as chance is involved in our equation, there is no way to predict what your exact chances are of coming out a winner ahead but you will do all right if you study the game you play carefully and adopt the philosophy of "why not quit winners?"
Money Management
For players of casino games with an immutable house advantage, money management consists of a program that will give you the most play for your gambling dollar, while controlling your losses and offering some chance of winning and keeping a significant amount. Open to infinite variation, an acceptable program should include:
Bet size - a minimum and maximum bet scaled to stretch your playing bankroll over the length of time you desire to play
Stop loss - a predetermined point beyond which you will not go, regardless of how fast you lost or how much time remains to play.
Win goal - a predetermined amount, ideally related to your stop loss, that you will pocket and not risk in further play, again regardless of how fast you win or how much time remains to play.
If your gambling trip will cover several days, consider a stop loss and a win goal for each day, and resolve not to add pocketed winnings from one session to the bankroll for subsequent sessions. Play for pleasure and consider your losses a cost of entertainment.