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HOW TO STRETCH YOUR
MONEY IN THE CASINO By Jean Scott
Does your gambling bankroll disappear so fast that you are sure the
casinos are cheating you? Have you ever gone on a day bus trip to a casino
and had to wait in the bus lobby the last 4 hours because you lost all your
money in the first 2? Have you ever thought that you didn’t have enough fun
in a casino considering the amount of money you lost in that time period?
Have you ever wished you could take a longer vacation to Las Vegas but you
aren’t sure your gambling bankroll would last? Have you ever taken a cash
advance on your credit card (with killer fees and interest rates) when you
ran out of cash in a casino?
This is not a treatise on the technical aspects of gambling, requiring
a lot of math knowledge and special skills. It is true that by studying the
games and learning about mathematical odds you can play smarter in a casino;
but you don’t want to go to "gambler’s school." You just want some simple
advice on how to make your gambling bankroll last longer in a casino. Okay,
let’s see what we can do, by just using common-sense ideas.
- Accept the fact that the main thing casinos are offering is
entertainment. Of course everyone wants to win, but be honest with
yourself: you know that it is more likely that you will lose. So what is
your real reason for being in a casino? You want to have fun, right? Don’t
feel guilty and try to make up a more noble reason. It is a very sensible
attitude. Too many people will not admit this to themselves; and then,
when they lose, they feel very unhappy because they have "wasted" their
money. The healthy attitude is to consider this whole bankroll your "cost"
for this entertainment choice. If the casino doesn’t take your whole
"entrance fee," you feel really lucky. And what other entertainment
options give you a shot at bringing home more money than you took with
you!
- Now that you have admitted that your goal is to have fun, you
choose your gambling bankroll from the part of your household budget
marked Entertainment. This is money you sometimes use to eat out at a nice
restaurant or go to a movie or spend on a skiing trip. This is not money
you set aside for groceries or the mortgage or insurance or the kids’
school clothes. Unless you are an extremely disciplined person, you should
have this whole bankroll with you, in cash if it is a small amount, in
traveler’s checks if it a large sum. You should NOT have your checkbook or
your ATM card or your credit card with you. Therefore, you can limit this
entertainment "cost" to what you can afford. Nothing will take the fun out
of gambling faster than losing money that has already been earmarked for
necessities.
- Now when you get to the casino, take this gambling bankroll and
divide it up in some logical way and decide on some plan. Some gambling
writers suggest elaborate techniques here; others pooh-hoo the whole idea
of money management. I emphasize using good sense. If it is a day trip by
bus to Atlantic City and you have a small bankroll, but you want to
immediately "bet big so I can win big," you must face the fact that you
may be out of money in a very short time. Will you be happy to sit out on
the boardwalk and people-watch for 6 hours until the bus is ready to take
you home? What about on a 4-day vacation trip to Las Vegas? Do you want to
go for the lifestyle- changing jackpots the first day and when you (most
likely) "tap out," spend the next 3 days sightseeing?
This is a personal choice and you don’t need any advice on how to
blow your bankroll quickly. But you are reading this article because I
promised you ideas on how to stretch your bankroll. So a common-sense
technique would be to figure how many sessions of gambling you want to
plan and then divide your total bankroll evenly into session bankrolls. In
the above AC scenario, you might have $100 total and want to play once in
the morning, break for lunch, then play 2 sessions in the afternoon with a
break between them for a stroll up and down the boardwalk. You decide that
you want a longer session in the morning, so you decide on a $50 session
bankroll, with $25 for each afternoon session. In the Vegas scenario you
could divide your money into daily bankrolls and then divide the daily
ones into session ones. You can revise your strategy at anytime if you are
winning, i.e., playing more sessions with the winnings. But in any case
you never "borrow" from the next session bankroll if you lose in the
present session. That will assure that you are able to spread your
gambling time to the very end of your visit.
- Now you are ready to play! Wait. Stop and think. What denomination
should you play? If you have been playing dollars in the past and your
bankroll usually didn’t last long enough, then the sensible thing to do is
play quarters. Going down in denomination is probably the easiest
technique to use to stretch your money. If you are a new player, I always
suggest you start with quarters. On the average, depending on how the
house has the machines set, you will lose between $50-60 an hour playing
dollar slots. The same time on quarters would have an average loss of
about $20-$30. You don’t have to be an Einstein to figure out that your
money would usually last longer if you stick to quarters. If the casino
has nickel machines, then this is your best choice for a small bankroll,
for the average loss per hour would only be around $5. A warning here: it
usually is better to go to a lower denomination and play max coins than
play one coin in a higher denomination because most machines are set up to
reward full-coin players by paying proportionately higher jackpots. If you
think you won’t enjoy going down in denomination, remember what your goal
is – having fun. Isn’t the person playing nickels or quarters enjoying the
same exciting charged glamorous atmosphere of the casino as the dollar
player? Doesn’t the same cocktail waitress come by both and accept the
same order for an exotic drink that she will deliver to you both free of
charge. Don’t both have the exciting hope of winning the top jackpot on
their machine?
- Now that you have chosen your most sensible denomination to play,
you have to make a decision as to what kind of machine. Walk around and
look at what the options are. Do you like to go for big jackpots? Then you
will have to settle for fewer small wins. A rule of thumb is that the
smaller the top jackpot on a machine the more little wins you will have
along the way that will allow you to play longer. The new multi-line video
slots will give you more time on the machine because they pay off
frequently. However, be aware of their multi-coin fooler aspect. You put
the maximum coins in these nickel machines and you are playing more money
than the quarter player on the traditional slots. A quarter multi-line
plays more like traditional dollars.
- Give yourself frequent breaks. Nothing will make you more sluggish
than sitting at a machine for hours at a time. Go outside for a fresh-air
break. Hit the snack bar for a quick bite. Go to your room for a short
nap. Browse in the gift shop. Go to the sports book and check the odds on
your favorite team. Or stop in the race book and put a couple of dollars
down and watch one horse race. You can also change machines frequently to
provide variety and give you a chance to rest your eyes and stretch tired
muscles.
- Another technique that works well in stretching your playing time
is simply playing slower. There is no reward here for speed. So stop
sometimes to chat with your neighbors – congratulate them when they make a
big hit; sympathize with them when they have a long losing spell. Stop
hitting the buttons and pull the handle for a while. Feed the machines
with coins instead of using the bill acceptors. Cash out your credits
after a good hit so you can enjoy the sound of falling coins. Stop playing
and sit back and enjoy that cool drink or hot coffee that the waitress
just brought you. You can also slow down your play by choosing a machine
that requires some thought. You can zoom along very quickly with no
thought on a slot machine. Go to video poker and you have to stop and
think in order to make a decision on every hand. I observed a couple
recently that had a unique and enviable way to slow down their machine
play. They took turns playing one video poker machine while the other
watched, and every time they hit four-of-a-kind they stopped and hugged
and kissed.
Do you think you are a pretty sensible person? You work hard at your
job; you pay your bills on time; you shop sales; you budget your money
carefully. Then don’t drop your common sense at the entrance to a casino.
Take it in with you and use the very same careful thought – and you will
find that you can play longer and have more fun. |
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