For those of us who enjoy going to the casino, it’s good sometimes to pause and give some serious thought to our gaming life to better equip ourselves for future casino plans.

When you visit casinos, are you happy with how much time and money you’re spending? Are you getting value? I’ll admit that when I’m in the throes of playing, I don’t give much thought to my patterns, unless I take a brutal loss. Even then, it’s more of a, ‘Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda’ and doesn’t usually lead to corrective measures that I will actually adhere to. Outside of the gaming environment, it’s much easier to consider these questions logically.

There are many different reasons why people go to a casino, but knowing why YOU go and if the outcomes live up to your expectations, can help you enjoy the casino experience more. When I really start to think things through, I consider the biggest pitfalls (leaks) in our gaming lives. 

Pitfalls and Misadventures

I will give you an example from my gaming life. I can see from my gambling log that I do not take ‘shots’ at a game, very well. By this I mean, I might tell myself that I’m going to spend $40 on a fun video poker game that doesn’t have very good odds (e.g. Dream Card video poker. For some reason, $40 always seems to be my ‘shot’ amount.) If I lose that $40 right away, I feed the machine and then I usually continue to feed the machine, until I get my money back. But, I don’t always get my money back and I end up with a much bigger loss than I had budgeted for. Many times, because it’s a ‘shot’ and I don’t think I’m going to be playing very long, I don’t have a slot card in the machine, so I don’t get credit for a relatively large loss.  

Now What?

So, having identified this problem, what can I do? Well, I can be more realistic about the obvious fact that I like to play fun games that are not optimal. I could play these games only when I am trying to put in a big day at a casino. This way, I would at least get credit for the risk I am taking. Also, I sometimes take ‘shots’ with friends, who are much better at capping the buy in, than I am. I could reserve this play for then. I could highlight these entries in my gambling log and look at the losses when I think I might be tempted to play these games. I haven’t decided what I am going to do, but this is an example of identifying a problem you may be having and thinking of a way to combat it.

It’s Your Call

Only YOU can identify if there are any problems in your gaming life. If you are happy with what you are spending and the action and perks you are receiving, then you have achieved balance in your gaming life. If not, then it might be time to reevaluate your relationship with the casino. I believe some distance from it, from time to time, may give you some insight you might not otherwise have been privy to. If you have a clear understanding of why you are there, you’ll be able to navigate your visits better. You may even decide to do something else with your time and money like shows, dining, experiences, and everything else your casino has to offer.