Be a Successful Gambler
Being successful at gambling can be done, but you must first learn how from someone who has done it.
Steps
- Begin with the bankroll. Before you can use knowledge of the game, money management techniques and eventually discipline, you must begin with bankroll. Most people will scrape up whatever money they can find and think that luck, law of averages or some other illogical theory will make them a winner. It doesn't happen that way.
- A small bankroll causes you to play scared and you will make decisions that coincide with your shortage of money. A small bankroll is such a disadvantage that you will make bad moves just to stay in the game instead of beating the house when you encounter a good hot or cold streak.
- In craps, for example, let's say a bet calls for taking or laying odds and you don't have enough money to do it. So you merely make the flat bet. The bet wins, but look what your lack of bankroll has done to you! It affected your play and caused you to change an appropriate betting decision because you didn't have the proper bankroll, which could range anywhere from $100 to $5,000 or more depending on your current financial situation.
- Set a loss limit.
- A loss limit is a limit you set on what your losses will be for a certain day, game or table. It's the limit of what you can comfortably afford to lose. You never bet down to your last chip. A session should last until your win goal is achieved or your loss limit is reached. When you lose that predetermined amount your play is over. Loss limits completely eliminate the possibility that you will ever go broke. A loss limit of at least 50% of your bankroll (and no more than 60%) should be observed. This means I can lose anywhere up to 60% but never more. The reason you take more money with you than you put at risk is to eliminate playing with scared money. If you are tempted to play with the extra money then you have no discipline. You can make the loss limit lower, but never below 25%. You give up your recovery power the more you lower your loss limit. When you are losing you don't have to wait for your exact percentage to be reached to quit. When I'm losing at a certain point and can't get going, I realize I'm in the wrong spot and pack it in at less than my established loss limit.
- Set a win goal.
- Just as important as a loss limit is the win goal. This is the amount of money you set as the goal you want to reach. This win goal must be set before your first bet, not after you get ahead. It must be set on your starting bankroll, the same as the loss limit. I usually set my win goal at 50% but never more than 60%. That is not to say I can't win more than 50% or 60%. When I reach my goal I will continue playing until I have a loss. I will continue as long as I'm still winning or breaking even. The win goal is only a point you want to reach and then guarantee your profit for the session. Win goals must be small so we can attain them easily and then go for the bigger returns.
- Accept the fact that gambling is a tough business. You must accept the fact that gambling is a tough business and that winning small amounts consistently is better than always going for that big hit. You'll have your big days when you least expect them, but the main thing is to minimize losses. If you learn and observe the money management and discipline techniques presented in the numerous Benson systems, you will see how much longer your bankroll will remain active. As long as you have sufficient bankroll allowing you to compete, you're a threat to the casinos!
- Practice good money management.
- Money management is one of the four key ingredients to winning at gambling. Money management is in essence a system in and of itself. It is your ability to control, manage, preserve and build the bankroll you started with. Every bet you make must be automatic and predetermined. There can be no emotion, no guesswork, no hunches and no depending on luck. Every bet must be logical and calculated, whether you are progressing or regressing. Your ability to properly manage your money must always focus on minimizing losses.
- Money management must be practiced at all times. A lot of gamblers practice good money management until they get ahead. That is when greed takes over, after people get ahead. Greed pushes them to try to win huge amounts. Greed replaces good money management and causes the player to make dumb bets. Greed erodes the small profits that had been accumulated and leads to disaster. It has happened to all of us. How often have you been ahead in a casino and instead of quitting a winner you gave your profits back to the house along with your original starting bankroll?
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