Gambling can be a fun and lucrative venture, but most people fail. The reason for this is because most people don't practice good money management. If you want to make money gambling, then you need to look at it the same way you would look at any business venture. You want to maximize reward and minimize risk. Remember the phrase that a missed opportunity is always better than a loss. However, this is only one general concept. We will delve deeper into specific money management strategies that will help you become a responsible and potentially winning player.
Sports Betting
People love to bet on sports, especially football. This makes sense considering your wager will get you three to four hours of action opposed to just a few minutes when playing other games. Add the fact that it's one of the most winnable propositions and betting on sports is a great choice. In order to increase your odds of winning, bet on fewer games. That said, sports betting can be dangerous. What makes it dangerous is that the session lasts a week, not a few hours.
Therefore, if you're having a bad week, you can end up chasing your bets. A $50 loss can quickly snowball into a $500 loss. By Sunday night, you're placing two $250 bets on the side and total in order to get your money back. Since you're chasing, you're likely to make poor decisions on who to take. Before it's all said and done, you're down $1,000 and chasing that loss the following week. The downward spiral continues. The way to avoid this is with quality money management.
When you're down $50 early in the week, decrease your bets to $25 each. Regardless of how much you're wagering, half your bets when you're down and you will never run into serious trouble. If you still want to have an opportunity to destroy the house, bet half your winnings on the final game of the week when ahead or play 6-team parlays.
Traditional Casino Games
There are three types of casino games players. They are the types who only play at live casinos, the types who only play online and the types who play both. If you only play at live casinos, it's easy to be a responsible gambler. All you need is a little discipline and to follow one simple rule. Every time you go to the casino, bring enough money for food, gas and a set amount for gambling and leave all your credit and debit cards at home. When you lose, you will be angry at not having access to more money, but this anger will only last 20 to 30 minutes. By the time you're in the car or bus and away from the casino, you're going to be patting yourself on the back for making such a wise decision. If you play online, be careful with the games that give the house a big edge. You're better off sticking with online pokies where you can risk a little, play for a long time and still win a lot of money. If you play live and online, simply combine the two strategies above.
Poker
In order to be a successful poker player, you need a bankroll. If you're sitting at a poker table and you're worried about the money you have at risk, you will not be effective. The only times you will win is with great cards. If you want to win even with bad cards, then you need to attack. The only way you're going to attack is if you know you have a lot of ammo. In order to build a bankroll, begin at the lower stakes and work your way up. This is a responsible and effective way to improve your game and work your way up the ladder. Stay away from big games where you will have to worry if you call an all-in. If you're ever in a poker game and you find yourself getting emotional, you're playing above responsible stakes.
Follow the strategies above and you will find yourself losing less, winning more and feeling a lot better about your gambling ventures.
About the author:
Dejan Wilson is a marketing specialist from Brisbane, Australia. He enjoys writing articles on various topics for several websites and blogs.
[Article submitted November 2011]
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