You have been attracted by the potential loads of money available playing online casino games. You have dabbled a bit and made some, but not a lot of money, and now feel the time is right to up your game. After all, you want to make sure that any increase in money in is balanced by a quantum increase in money out.
First, though, you must understand that professional gambling is not a game. You are not there for fun. You are there first and foremost to pay the rent and put food on your table. It is your job. To be a professional gambler takes immense mental discipline. If you cannot remove yourself emotionally from the gambling arena then you should not be there.
Bear in mind there are very few poor casino owners or bookmakers. They have been made rich by people not realizing their limitations and carrying on far beyond the bounds of common sense.
Here are some tips to help you to be.
Choose your online game wisely.
Choose a game you know and understand like Backgammon, Poker or Roulette. The chances of being burned are far less than if you go for some home-grown game on the casino website.
Don’t believe all you read.
The majority of online blogs giving gambling tips are written by the casinos themselves. They aren’t going to help you take money from them. Often if you follow their advice you will win for a while and all of a sudden you hit a bad patch and lose your stash.
Set a Loss Limit and stick to it.
Decide how much you are willing to lose and if you reach that limit in a session, stop and come back another day. The chances of your making it all up on the last throw of the dice or turn of a card are very slim. It’s difficult, but you understand that the mental discipline you need to exhibit demands that you apply a loss limit.
Set a Profit Limit and when you reach it, cash out.
On the reverse side of the coin, set a profit limit, and when you reach that, cash out. Start again if you wish with your original stake, but the profit you have taken is your wages for the session you have just completed. Do not be tempted to use those profits if you hit a bad patch.
Take a long view.
The corollary to this tip is to know when to say when is enough. The House has an inbuilt edge, in the case of legitimate games of casino roulette of about 5%. Online games should be similar but often are not with the house rigging the game. Apart from lower winnings, it means that if you play continuously, over time you will lose. There are similar edges for other games. That is why you need to take your profit and keep it. Keep a Profit and Loss ledger showing the results of each session.
Buy a decent watch.
Both physical and online casinos don’t have any clocks. They want you to stay in their cocoon of suspended time and keep playing to increase their chances of taking all your money from you. Keep wearing your watch or set an alarm on your phone to tell you when to stop.
Leave your credit and ATM cards at home.
One of the saddest sights I have seen was a guy, paid on the 31st of the month blow all his salary in one night at an online casino and be completely broke by the 1st. Every time he ran out of cash, he replenished his pot from his bank account using online banking. A recipe for poverty and gambling addiction. Also, your wife beating you around the head with a heavy object.