Any real punter is well aware that Lady Luck is a fickle mistress. You can hit it all day playing penny slots, think you have a hot hand, then lose it all and then some more in a few bets of high-limit Blackjack. 

There is no real way to predict when luck will strike next. If you’ve gambled long enough, you’re already well acquainted with gambling’s extreme highs and lows.

If you want to hear some wild casino stories, talk to a couple of veteran punters. Stories of million-dollar wins flushed down the toilet on the way back to the cage, or bad beat stories of winning 6 figures and losing it all in the same night. 

 

So, if you enjoy gambling, it’s best to learn how to control gambling risks in Canada and keep your finances safe from unlucky streaks – that way, you can keep gambling happily, well into your old age.

Guest author Michelle Thomas shares key money management strategies that will help players protect their bankroll better. Read more about the author here. 

Here are the four top four tips for money management as gamblers:

Create a Casino Budget and Take It Seriously

Unless you’re a millionaire, it’s always best to segregate your gambling funds from other funds. Gambling funds are essentially the money you can afford to lose.

Gambling remains a fun diversion as long as you fulfill all your other responsibilities. Be strict with yourself about playing only with money you can burn and not lose any sleep about. 

Brutal downswings happen every day in casinos. Budgets allow you to keep better track of your spending, and prevents your gambling from adversely impacting other parts of your life. Make sure you have enough in your budget to walk away and come back another day.

If you specialize in one casino game, but occasionally try out other games you’re not used to, you can also create separate funds for different games. Canadian players who like playing different casino games will be able to find a great selection of games at Jackpot City casino.

If you’re mainly into slots, keep your slot machine money separate from your Baccarat funds so you can keep your primary action going even when you lose big on your secondary games.

Log Your Sessions

As gamblers, we tend to focus more on the few times that we won or lost big, ignoring the small wins and losses along the way. Over time, we fixate on these big events, failing to get a sense of our actual win rate.

Most gambling sessions end with small wins or losses that we easily forget. A lot of punters in Canada believe they’re bigger winners than they actually are, which can be a problem when deciding if gambling fits with your lifestyle.

Recording every casino session helps remove this mental block by giving you an objective record of your win rate. It also keeps you grounded enough to know when to keep playing, and when to stop to get back on your feet.

Have Realistic Casino Expectations

Let’s face it: in the final tally, you most likely won’t win much from casinos. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just as you wouldn’t expect to get money back from a live concert that you enjoyed. Think of any gambling winnings you received as bonuses to that enjoyment.

Treat your gambling budget the same way as a live concert ticket. If you get lucky and win a prize, that’s well and good, but what you’re really paying for in a Canadian casino is that unmistakable casino experience. So make sure to enjoy it by having realistic expectations.

Learn to Walk Away

One of the key things that separate successful gamblers from the rest is the ability to shrug off losses and go home.

For instance, take slots.

One of our best tips for casino slots players is to recognize that the slot machine doesn’t owe you anything, no matter how many dollars you plunk in. So if you’re losing your bankroll at a rapid clip, understand that this is not luck conspiring against you, but simple math. 

Slots do have a theoretical return to player rate of around 90% on average. However, such rates are calculated by computers using millions—if not hundreds of millions—of theoretical spins. Even if you end up with 1,000 spins back to back on one machine, that is still just a drop in the bucket in terms of variance. 

The same principle applies to all casino games in Canada.

Learn to take losses on the chin and make sure to keep pride in your check. There’s always another day, as long as you make sure to gamble only with your gambling money.

Conclusion

The best way for you to enjoy your casino experience is to set money management strategies and then ensure you follow them at all times.