Category: Culture

The phrase “going on tilt” is commonly used in reference to poker players. However, it is something that can happen to any gambler. Understanding the dynamics of what is occurring and how it can affect your gambling behavior are important to combat “going on tilt.”

“Going On Tilt”

Poker players are notorious for “going on tilt” after receiving several “bad beats.” A “bad beat” is when a player makes the mathematically correct play and is the statistical favorite to win, but loses the hand anyway. This happens to every player on occasion, but when it happens on a particularly big hand or over and over again, it can be emotionally devastating. The player is unable to rationalize the losses and begins to become unhinged emotionally. This in turn affects the player’s decision making process. Their play becomes irrational and their mood usually becomes angry. They begin betting wildly without control. These irrational decisions usually result in greater financial lose.

Emotional Control

Gambling can become problematic whenever emotional control is lost. This is not a problem that is limited to poker players. The difference between a professional poker player “going on tilt” and the average gambler is the assumption that the correct decisions were being made before the loss of control occurred. Regardless, it is the loss of control that is important. Even if a gambler is not making the mathematically correct decisions while gambling, as long as their rational mind is in control they are less likely to sustain financial loss that they cannot afford.

How to Avoid “Going On Tilt”

The biggest key to avoid “going on tilt” is limiting the length of each gambling session. One of the most common mistakes made by gamblers is gambling for too long a period of time. The longer the gambling session is, the more fatigued mentally and physically you will become. Gambling can be mentally exhausting. The emotional roller coaster, the highs and lows, all effect the decisions you make. When a session lasts for too long, you are more likely to lose emotional control and “go on tilt.”

Limit your gambling sessions to a maximum of two hours at a time. Ideally, you want each session to be around an hour and a half. Give yourself at least a thirty minute break between each gambling session. It is important that you remove yourself from the casino floor during this time. Don’t go hang out at the bar on the casino floor for thirty minutes. Go to your room, go for a walk, go to a show, but make sure you are away from the casino atmosphere.

casino tactics

Most businesses use different tactics to try and maximize their profits. The casino industry is no different. Casinos are notorious for implementing different strategies to manipulate gamblers into gambling more than they intended. They know that the more their customers gamble, the more likely the casinos will make money. This is due to the built-in house advantages on casino games. Gamblers need to understand these tactics so they will be less likely to lose control.

“Good Luck”

The next time you visit a casino, count the number of times casino employees say, “Good Luck,” to you. This may seem like a kind gesture, but there are hidden motives behind these remarks. The primary intention is to create a show of support. The casinos want you to believe they are on your side, that they want you to win. While it is true that they do want you to win occasionally because they know if you never win you will eventually stop returning, they do not want you to win consistently. If gamblers won consistently, there would be no casinos.The other reason behind the words, “Good Luck,” is a bit more subtle. It’s a common misconception that successful gambling is a result of luck. While it is true that short-term gambling success can be a result of luck, long-term winnings are a result of mathematics and skill. Casinos would much rather a patron rely on intuition when playing a game like blackjack, rather than statistically sound decision making. They know that knowledgeable gamblers that use mathematically sound principles can reduce the house edge significantly. Don’t rely solely on luck to dictate your gambling results. Learn the proper methods for the games that you are going to play, and use skill to lower the casino’s advantage.

Casino Layout

Have you ever been sitting at a machine or table game and get up to leave but before you reach the door you’ve sat down at another game? This happens all the time in land-based casinos. Gamblers get up to leave, but end up playing a different game before they can remove themselves from the casino environment. The casino industry is fully aware of this habit. That is why casinos are designed like mazes. There is no easy escape. You find yourself lost and searching for an exit. Meanwhile, a new game catches your eye and you decide to play. When you have reached your gambling limit, leave immediately no matter how long it takes to find the way out.

Lights, Bells, and Whistles

This tactic is common knowledge, but most people don’t realize how powerful it can be. Entering a casino for the first time can put you on sensory overload. The bright, flashing lights and the celebratory sounds bring an instant feeling of excitement. It makes you want to join the fun and be a part of the celebration. Enjoy the atmosphere but don’t let it overwhelm you.

This is only a partial list of tactics casinos use to influence behavior, but it should make you more aware of the environment you are in when you go to casinos. Use this awareness to maintain control of your gambling behavior.

Money management is a term that applies to everyday life, and you probably know what it is. What you may not know is that it’s extremely important when you walk into a casino. Casinos are designed to take as much money as possible, and even the strictest of players can lose more than they planned if they don’t look out. Learning how to manage your money before you walk in the door is one of the most important tools to minimizing your losses.

Take Only What You Can Afford to Lose

This is the most important rule of money management while gambling. Gambling should be within the realm of culture and entertainment, and you should have an idea how much a night of entertainment is worth. Before you leave, decide how much you can spend without cutting into funds allocated for something else. Walking into a casino with no limit as to how much money you can spend is downright dangerous. Doing so will almost always mean you’ll spend more than you should.

Leave ATM and Credit Cards at Home

Once you’ve decided how much you want to spend, take out that amount of cash before you leave. Then take your identification and leave everything else at home. This is especially true if you know you will be tempted to take out more money. Not only will you not have access to more money, but you’ll likely be more conservative with what you do have. You’ll also be missing out on the high ATM and credit card fees the casino charges to get more money.

Set a Win Limit

When you’re winning, it can seem like you can never get enough. The problem with this thinking is that you will eventually start losing. When you do, you’ll want to get back the money you’ve won, which probably won’t happen again. You can avoid this by deciding beforehand how much is enough. When you’ve hit that limit, force yourself to walk away; you’ll be glad you did tomorrow.

Don’t Chase Your Losses

When you’re losing, it’s easy to think that your luck will turn around eventually, but this isn’t always the case. Remember, the casinos always win, and the longer you play, the more you’ll lose. Learn to see when you’re on a losing streak, and get up. Trying to get your money back will almost always cost your more money. You don’t necessarily have to leave the casino; sometimes just changing tables or even playing a different game can help.

Set Strict Time Limits

Before you leave the house, decide how much time you want to spend at the casino. Money is like time; the more you have the more you’ll lose. If you’re going on a gambling vacation, such as to Las Vegas, set time limits for how much time you’ll be gambling. Plan on doing other activities during your trip to limit your time at the casino and combat boredom that you might face if you’re not gambling. It can be difficult to make yourself leave, but do your best to try.

If you walk into a casino with no idea how much time or money you’ll spend, you will always spend more than you like. Learning how to manage your money is not always easy, but if you like to gamble, it’s crucial to avoiding devastating losses. Setting limits on both your wins and losses will help you walk away. If you walk into the casino knowing what you’ll spend, you will have fun. Treat gambling like entertainment, and you’ll have a much better time.

The culture of gambling is one in its own. There are many different games to play, rules to follow, and bets to be placed. Some games even offer side bets or special bets that unknowledgeable players would be otherwise unaware of. One of these bets is the lucky ladies.

What Are Lucky Ladies?

The lucky ladies are a bonus bet in the game of blackjack. This bet is based off of only the first two cards that a player gets. The goal is to have a total of 20 between the two cards. If a player gets 20, he or she will win a 4 to 1 ratio at minimum. This game is rarely found in casinos today, however there are still some that offer it. Lucky ladies bets are common in online gambling settings.

When Did Lucky Ladies Start Appearing?

The game of blackjack may date back as early as 900AD. History puts players engaging in games with wood blocks in Ancient China and Egypt. The game appeared in Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries. The game was given the name of 21 in the 1800s. Later in 1931, blackjack went main stream in the United States. The ideas of side bets in blackjack including lucky ladies were not introduced until 1963.

When Can This Bet Be Placed?

In order to place a lucky ladies bonus bet, first there must be a standard blackjack bet. After this is done, a bet in a small circle of at least one dollar can be placed. If the first two cards of the hand equal 20, the player wins. Different combinations of 20 result in different amounts of winnings. If the first two cards dealt add up to anything but twenty, the money is lost.

What is the Payoff?

There are several different payoffs for a lucky ladies bet. The payoff is based off of what the first two cards actually are. Different combinations of 20 equal different winnings. If a player bets one dollar and the first two cards equal 20, the player wins four dollars. If the first two cards equal 20 and are the same suit, the player wins nine dollars. If the first two cards equal 20 and are exact matches, the gambler takes $19 in winnings. If the two cards are both the Queen of hearts, the player wins $125. Finally if the two cards are Queen of hearts and the dealer gets a blackjack, the final winnings total $1000. An increase in the original lucky ladies bet will of course increase the payout.

What Are the Odds for Winning?

The house usually has a pretty considerable edge when it comes to lucky ladies bets. For a house dealing with a six deck shoe, the average house edge is around 24 percent. This means that the average player will pay about 10 times as much then a standard blackjack bet. If playing with the same six card deck, the chances of winning the basic total twenty side bet is a 0.89. The probability that a gambler will win the biggest payout of the Queen of Hearts with dealer holding a black Jack is 0.000015.

When sitting down at the blackjack table, consider all the possible options for betting. There are many side bets that are available to gamblers in this culture. Many people miss out on lucky ladies because they are unsure or unaware of the ability to play. Betting usually starts at just a dollar, and the reward can be much greater, if you win.

There is only one culture in gambling, and that is to take every advantage available when it comes to winning. Reverse line moves can be a very lucrative when betting on a number of sports as long as you know how to take advantage of it. It takes savvy bettors to fully understand how to take advantage of this type of betting. The bets are always placed on the unpopular side or on the team expected by the majority of bettors to lose.

What Are Reverse Line Moves?

Reverse line moves or RLM occur when a large number of bettors place their bet on one team and despite this, the betting line moves in the opposite direction. A good example of this might be explained in this manner. The Seattle Seahawks opens against the Green Bay Packers at -7. At this point more than 70 percent of the bets are placed on Seattle. At this point you would rightly expect the line to rise, but it doesn’t, instead it drops the Seahawks to a -6. According to RLM this would in fact make the Packers a + 6 bet.

What Causes this Phenomenon?
Since the aim of most bookmakers is to attempt to keep the bets relatively balanced, what causes the RLM? The simplest answer to this is savvy betters. It involves the small percentage of gamblers who make the unpopular bet and in doing so actually bet more money than is bet on the popular team by the larger number of better. This tips the scales in favor of the team who is expected to lose. In the end this becomes a much smarter bet.

When is the Best Time to Place the Bet?

It is important for the better to wait until the appropriate moment to place the bet. Caution is the keyword when it comes to making this type of bet. Many RLM gamblers spend a great deal of time watch the way the movement of the line on every game they plan to place bets on. They will watch the line and wait until the game is almost ready to start before placing their bets. However, by this time it is possible the line may have moved too far rendering their bet practically worthless.

What is the Best Way to Place Your Bet?

According to punters, the best way to place this type of bet is to do so when the line has moved one full point in the reverse direction from the opening line. This is equal to ten points in NHL or ML. This type of betting has its risks as the line can just as easily turn around and move back in the opposite direction. These are the risks you take when gambling, but in the long run this method of betting has a very high record of paying off. If you suffer a line turning around from time to time, the positive aspects of this type of betting will overcome the losses.

Is This a Guaranteed Winner?

As with any type of gambling system, betters want to know if better reverse line moves is a guaranteed winner. The reality is that when it comes to gambling, there are no guarantees. You should restrict the vast majority of your bets to placing them on the teams favored to win. However, if you follow the lines, you have a better than average chance of taking advantage of the RLMs as they occur. There are a number of websites such as Sports Insights offer the latest line movements on all major sports such as NFL, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, and the NBA. Some even tell the movements at individual books to make it easy for you to place the bets that are more likely to pay off.

Betting reverse line moves can be and often is an excellent way to “beat the odds” with regard to a number of professional sports. These are not the type of bets you should make at random. It takes a lot of time and effort to ensure each bet you place has the best chance of being a winner. The reason why so many betters place this type of bet is the payoff. Those who place these types of bets stand to gain far more than they can make when placing standard bets.

If you only gamble once or twice a year, then you may not need to maintain a gambling journal. However, if you gamble with any regularity, it is extremely important to keep an accurate record of your gambling results. You will see that the benefits outweigh the inconvenience of keeping track of your play. Most gamblers do not keep a journal when they gamble, and it is usually to their detriment.

Taxes

The gambling tax laws differ from state to state, but there are a few commonalities of which all gamblers need to be aware. A lot of gamblers enter the casino without any consideration of the tax implications. Winnings in casinos are heavily taxed. If you are issued a W-2G, those winnings are reported to the IRS and taxes must be paid. The problem occurs for individuals that receive several W-2G’s but have lost more money than they have won for the year. The government only knows about your winnings and not the losses. In their eyes, these gamblers still owe them money. This is where a gambling journal is essential. If you have an accurate account of all of your wins and losses for the year, it will help you offset the taxes that you owe.

What to Keep in Your Gambling Journal

Every time you gamble, it should be recorded. The journal should include a detailed account of every gambling session. It should include the name of the casino, the times you gambled, what games you played, how much you wagered, and the results. The more information you can include the better. Some gamblers will even write down the serial number of the slot or video poker machine they are playing. It needs to be enough information to satisfy the IRS in case you are audited. A win/loss statement from a casino is not considered a legal tax document. You must have a personally recorded detailed account of every time you made a wager and the results.

Other Benefits of Keeping a Journal

Keeping a gambling log can be tedious and time consuming, but you must realize there are other benefits besides accurate tax records. By recording your results, it gives a clear picture of your wins and losses. This forces you to acknowledge how much you have really won or lost. The mind of a gambler tends to remember the wins and forget about the losses. Immediately recording your results after a gambling session will provide you with the factual data you need to monitor your gambling behavior. It’s another method to help you keep from losing more money in a casino than you intended.

When you first begin keeping a gambling log it may feel like a chore that is taking away from the entertainment value of the casino. As it becomes habitual, you will soon see the value of having a journal. Not only will it put your mind at ease in relation to your taxes, but it will help you maintain a gambling lifestyle that is enjoyable and not problematic.