7 Tips To Becoming A Smart Gambler - Part One Of Two

Sure, anyone can walk up to a casino game and plunk down a bet. And anyone can lose their butt too. If you're going to play often and win over the long run, you've got to be smart, really smart.

Today I'll share with you 7 tips designed to get you thinking in the right frame of mind. All smart gamblers know these tips and soon you will too. Perhaps you already know some of them. Just remember, knowing and practicing are two different things.

1. Know the house edge.

That's right. As a smart player, you must know the house edge for the games you play. Not knowing the house edge is just plain dumb. And it's easy enough to find out. And this goes for all the wagers within the game too. For instance, the house edge on a Pass Line wager in Craps is much lower than the house edge on a Any Craps wager in Craps. Know them. Live them.

2. Setup and use a bankroll.

Never, ever go into a casino (or login online) without setting up a bankroll for your playing session. You should set a lose and win limit. And keep them realistic. For instance, you might set your bankroll at $200. This means if you lose $200, you're done. I like setting my win limit to 200%, so it would be $400 in this case. Not having a bankroll, and sticking to it, kills most of the gamblers out there. Don't let it be you.

3. There is no house money.

All day long in any Las Vegas casino you'll hear something like, “I'm playing with the house's money” Not true. This is a stupid psychological weapon launched onto gamblers. Once you win, it's your money. Read that again. You are never, ever playing with the house's money. People think this and their mind uses it as a reason to care less about the money in their possession. This is dumb.

This line of thinking also keeps people from walking away-until they are back to “even” or worse. Smart gamblers always respect the money in their possession. It's theirs and not property of the house. So there are the first three tips to becoming a smart gambler. In our next article, we go over more smart gambling tips.

These tips are nice and all, but they don't mount up to a hill of beans unless you rigorously practice them. And you can be guaranteed that you'll be tested. In a casino, it's very easy to break these rules-in good times and bad.