How To Deal With Losing at the Casino
Nobody enjoys losing, especially when money is involved. Maybe some people love losing money, here is looking at you masochists, but gamblers try winning as much money as possible.
You need to get used to losing if you play pokies or casino table games because it happens a lot. Pokies display an RTP, or Return To Player, on their cabinet; online pokies show this in the lobby. Return To Player is what it sounds like, the amount of money returned to the player.
RTP is shown as a percentage, making it easy to work out how much you expect to receive per $100 spent. A pokies with a 97% RTP, which equates to a 3% house edge, returns $97 for every $100 wagered. The house keeps the remaining $3.
Pokie developers arrive at this figure over several billion spins. The game returns far less than the advertised RTP at times and far more at other times. Pay for billions of spins, however, and the machine returns 97% of your wagers.
Use this information to help you deal with losing. Why? Because losing is expected, so any other outcome is a bonus!
Making Losing Easier To Accept
Losing money is hard to take because you lose something physical and tangible. This is why bankroll management is essential – more on that later – and why you should consider thinking of your bets in terms of non-money.
Think along the lines of your $5 bet being five points instead. Remove the monetary value, and losing suddenly is not that bad. Losing $500 sounds awful, but losing 500 points makes it feel like a game. I know what I would rather lose.
I use this simple concept when playing poker. My bankroll is a number of buy-ins or big blinds, not sums of money like $100.
Follow a Bankroll Management Plan
Following bankroll management is crucial in everyday life and in gambling circles. It is essentially budgeting for the task ahead. Your pokies, blackjack or roulette bankroll is made up entirely of money you can afford to lose. Not one cent is allowed to be needed elsewhere.
Your $500 bankroll is actually $300 if you have a $200 bill looming with no other means of paying for it.
Playing within your bankroll helps to deal with losing easier because it is money you can afford to lose. Playing with money you can ill-afford to lose is a recipe for disaster. It results in you playing scared, gambling in spots you would not usually. Furthermore, losing the money you cannot afford to feels like your world has ended.
Do Not Gamble When Stressed or Feeling Low
Even the most happy-go-lucky person feels down on occasion. It is OK not to be OK, as the popular mental health slogan goes. Some people gamble to relax after work, with some finding it relaxing. However, gambling when stressed or suffering from a low mood can make losing feel harsher.
Losing when feeling down can make you feel worse. Furthermore, you can start thinking illogically and believing you will lose. This leads to playing sub-optimally, such as not doubling down in blackjack when you should because you “just know” losing more money is what will happen.
Similar is said for playing pokies etc., when under the influence of alcohol. Drinking and gambling go hand-in-hand but drink too much and losing are more likely. Not only will you make more mistakes, but your inhibitions also go out of the window and bet sizes increase. Wagers become more reckless, and losses mount up.
In addition, you are more likely to go on tilt, withdraw your money, or believe the many casino myths while alcohol clouds your judgement.
