How to Manage a Casino Gambling Bankroll in 7 Easy Steps

Nearly all of us gamblers set foot on the floor with very good intentions for our budget. We have a plan in place and are determined to stick to it. Then temptations out of nowhere strike. Although not as common online, this can happen. 

The excitement, the sounds and the big wins get the adrenaline going. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s important to not let yourself get too carried away by these emotions and start to let them and money control you.

An important aspect of self-control is managing your cash. You can’t ever overcome the house edge, but you can use a few tactics to limit how much you lose because of it. 
Gambling on your own predetermined terms makes having fun much easier.

Everyone needs to manage their bankroll well. Since nobody has a limitless bankroll, we are all on a budget. When you play real money casino games such as Slots, Blackjack, Baccarat, and Roulette, you should divide your available cash into manageable portions. 

If you allow yourself to get into a mindset that you’re playing with the house’s money after a win, all your winning stories will turn into “shoulda, woulda, coulda” stories.

1 – Break into Segments

One of the easiest ways to manage your gambling bankroll is to break it into segments based on days or playing sessions.

If you take a trip to Las Vegas or another gambling destination and plan to gamble on four separate days you divide your bankroll into four parts. Or you can divide it into eight parts if you want to gamble in two different sessions per day.

You stop playing as soon as you lose your entire bankroll that you set aside for the current session or day. If you’re finished playing a session or day and still have the money you can either divide it across the rest of your sessions or days or put it in your pocket to use for something else.

Here’s an extended example if you decide to spread what you have left after each session over the rest of your playing time.

You start the first session with $125 and finish the session up $35. You divide this by the seven remaining sessions and add $5 to each of your separate bankrolls. This makes your new session bankroll $130.

On your second session, you lose $130 and stop playing.

You hit a lucky streak on your third session and end with $300. You divide this over your last five sessions and add $60 per session. Your new session bankroll is $190.

In the fourth session, you lose $190 and stop playing.

The fifth session ends with $90 so you divide that over your last three sessions and have a new session bankroll of $220.

Your sixth session ends with $100 so you add $50 to each of the last two sessions and have $270 for each.

You win a little on the seventh session and end up with $300. Now you have $570 for the final session.

It always makes me feel good to bring home some of the money I set aside for my gambling bankroll for a trip so I usually put half of what I have left after every session back and spread the other half over the rest of my trip.

2 – Set Time Limits

The fact is that most gamblers lose over time. And their losses snowball the longer they play.

So if you set strict limits to how long you play, you are able to reduce your overall losses.

When you go to the casino or plan a gambling vacation or trip, set time limits for each of your gambling sessions. This way you know exactly when you’re going to stop playing.

Once you reach your time limit you stop losing and if you’ve had a good streak you can put the money in your pocket as profit.

You can also decide to play longer if you’re winning, but remember that in the long run, you’re probably going to lose. By walking away from the game, even when you’re up, you protect your bankroll.

If possible, I make dinner reservations and buy show tickets ahead of time so I have a set schedule. I also set a time to sleep to make sure I don’t get too tired.

3 – Set Loss Limits

Loss limits are a great way to protect your gambling bankroll. With a loss limit, you stop playing any session where you lose a certain amount.

You can set your loss limit at whatever amount you’re comfortable with, but the important thing is to stick to whatever you decide. If you don’t you may try to chase your losses, which usually just makes them larger.

Loss limits can be put into place by the playing session, day, or trip. This is much like breaking your bankroll into segments, covered in the first section.

Let’s say you bet no more than 5% of your total bankroll on any single game. So if you have a $1,000 bankroll the maximum bet you make on any game is $50.

If you win a few games and your bankroll goes up to $1,100 you can bet $55 per game. But if you lose a couple of games and your bankroll goes down to $900 you only bet $45 per game.

You can do the same thing when playing any casino game by periodically determining your total bankroll and adjusting your base bet to make it a percentage of your bankroll.

4 – Set Win Limits

Most gamblers don’t think setting win limits to protect their bankroll, but they’re one of the best ways to manage your bankroll. Remember that most gamblers lose in the long run, so the longer you play the more likely it is that you’re going to lose.

How many times have you been gambling and got up on the house only to later lose all of your wins back?

If you set a win limit you stop playing when you get up a certain amount and lock in profits for the session. Many gamblers combine win and loss limits when they play.

5 – Play Slower

One of the most powerful things you can do to protect your bankroll is to play slower. The slower you play the less you lose.

Even if you play games with a high house edge like slots or keno, if you play slow you lose less over time.

Some of the games that play slow or allow you to play slow are:

• Pai Gow Poker
• Keno
• Video Poker
• Slot Machines
• Almost every online casino game

The slower you play the less you wager per hour. As you’ll learn in the next section, the house edge chips away at your bankroll as you play. So anything you can do to lower the amount you risk, including playing slower, the less you lose.

6 – Play Low House Edge Games

Casinos are designed to have an edge over the players. Each game has a house edge built-in. Some games have a higher edge than others, so your choice of game goes a long way in determining how much you’ll lose.

Some of the games that offer the lowest house edge include:

• Blackjack
• Baccarat
• Craps

Here are some of the worst house edge casino games:

• Caribbean Stud Poker
• Keno
• American Roulette
• Slot Machines

If you know the house edge of the game you play, how much you bet, and how many decisions you have per hour you can get an idea of your expected loss per hour.

7 – Play Tournaments

One of the best ways to protect your gambling bankroll and have the chance at extended playing time and a possible big win is to play in tournaments.

Tournaments have a set entry fee so you can schedule an entire trip around tournaments.

Poker tournaments are the most common, but you can find slots tournaments, video poker tournaments, and blackjack tournaments available in most gambling destinations.

If you’re planning a trip of five days and have $2,000 to gamble with you could play in a $400 or less poker tournament each day or play in two of $200 or less each day.

Conclusion

You can use the 7 best techniques for managing your casino gambling bankroll to play more and have the chance to win more playing sessions. You can use each of the techniques above one by one or combine many of them together for maximum results.

Gamble on.

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