101 Quick Gambling Tips

They play games in the casino like blackjack and slots, buy lottery tickets, bet on sports, dogs, and horses, and play poker.

That’s quite a few people.

So I’ve put together a list of 101 quick gambling tips to help every gambler. These tips are for casino gamblers, poker players and sports bettors alike.

. You keep thinking that you just need to double up on the next hand or spin and that you’re due for a win. But when you string a few losses together in a row, which happens to be normal in many gambling games, you simply dig a bigger hole until you’re out of money.

This shouldn’t have to be included, but I’ve seen players do it before. You simply can’t ever bet with money you need to pay for where you live. Your rent or mortgage payment should always be made before you even think about gambling. If you bet the rent you might just end up living in your car.

Gambling should be a form of recreation and entertainment. You shouldn’t spend money you can’t afford to go out to eat or to the movies, so you shouldn’t gamble with it either. Set aside some money for gambling each time you get paid after you pay all of your bills.

Drinks are free in most casinos, but you shouldn’t take advantage of them. The reason they’re free is because drunk gamblers bet more and play longer than sober ones. Don’t drink while you’re gambling because it leads to poor decision making and poor money management.

Gambling systems are for suckers and the only people making any money from them are the casinos and the people selling the systems. Any system claiming to beat roulette or craps or the slot machines is garbage. These games can’t be beat, no matter how convincing the advertisement sounds. Doubling your bets after losses eventually cost you every cent you have.

You should have a strict budget every time you gamble. Don’t change your budget or bet a single penny over it no matter what. Keep control of your gambling or it’ll end up controlling you.

No matter how much a bet looks like a sure winner, the truth is that no bet is ever a sure thing. Keep track of the results of games with huge underdogs for a season. They don’t win often but they do win from time to time. Before the game or match, it looked like a sure thing but it wasn’t. The sportsbooks make a living off of the sure thing.

Casinos are designed to make money hand over fist. The games are developed to give the casino the edge. Some gamblers win every day, but on average the casino wins more than they lose. Unless you can find a true mathematical edge, never believe you can beat the casinos. The only gambling activities where this is slightly possible are blackjack, sports betting, poker, and pari-mutuel racing.

You should always take a few minutes and read the rules before gambling. You might think you know all of the house rules, but different casinos have different rules. If you don’t read the posted rules you might cost yourself some money.

Gambling can be fun and entertaining, but it can also destroy lives. If you have any concerns at all about your gambling you should seek help immediately. Most countries have gambling help hotlines and websites where you can get the help you need. Search for gambling help and your country in any popular search engine to learn more.

Some roulette wheels have one zero and some have a zero and a double zero. The single zero wheel has almost half the house edge of the double zero wheel, so never play on a wheel with a double zero.

A French roulette wheel and a European roulette wheel look the same and both have a single zero. But a French table uses the en Prison rule, which lowers the house edge even more than the European table.

Many casinos have coupons in fun books or papers that offer free bets or other promotions to try to get you to play. If you use these coupons they can help you play longer and even play with an edge for a few hands or spins.

If you’re a frequent player you might earn entry to a free tournament or if you take a bus trip to the casino you might get free slots play and/or a free meal. Always keep a look out for free play and other opportunities the casino gives to players. Another great way to get free stuff is to sign up for the casino mailing list.

An overlay is when the casino offers a prize that’s bigger the entry fees for a tournament or similar event. You can often find value in these opportunities by having a better chance to win and an expected value that’s higher than you entry fee.

Casino games have a house edge which dictates the long-term expected profit from the game. You need to know the edge for the games you like to play and learn if there’s any way to reduce it. You can only do this if you know enough about the game through research.

The way to reduce the house edge as much as possible while playing blackjack is to use the best possible basic strategy. You can find strategy cards in casino gift shops and online. The difference between using a strategy card and not using one can be as high as 2%.

Video poker machines have a set way to play each hand that offers the best chance of return. The only way to know the best strategy is to use a strategy card.

You should always pay attention when you go to the casino so you can stay safe. Watch out for dangerous situations in the parking lot or as you walk to and from the casino. Most casinos are safe, but if you don’t pay attention you could walk into a bad situation.

You need to have a loss limit every time you play in a casino or poker room. This helps control your losses and helps you know when to quit playing.

It’s also a good idea to set a win limit. This way when you have a good trip to the casino you leave with a win. Just like a loss limit, when you win enough to go over your win limit stop playing.

The rules at the blackjack table have a direct impact on the house edge. If you find good rules and use the best strategy you can often play with a house edge of less than 1%. Good rules include surrender, being able to split as many hands as you receive, being able to double after splitting, doubling on any two cards, and when the dealer stands on a soft 17.

In order to keep the game as close to even as possible while playing blackjack, you have to play where they pay 3 to 2 on a natural blackjack. If you play where the payout is only 6 to 5 it creates too big of an edge to overcome. If the casino where you like to play doesn’t have 3 to 2 tables you should find somewhere else to play.

The odds bets at the craps table are one of the only truly even money bets in the casino. You should always take advantage of them after placing a pass line or don’t pass line wager. If you don’t know how to place an Odds bet, you ca ask the stickman or dealer at the craps table.

The baccarat table has three possible bets. You can bet on a tie, the player, or the banker. The banker bet has a commission, usually 5%, but even with this deducted it’s still the best bet at the table. The house edge is only slightly over 1% on the banker bet.

Many casinos that offer Pai Gow Poker let the players take turns banking the game. This reduces the house edge so you should always bank when you have the chance. Make sure you have enough money to be the banker.

Like most video poker games, Jacks or Better is available with many different pay tables. The machine you want to play is called a 9 / 6 Jacks or Better game. It pays 9 for a full house and 6 for a flush. This pay table pays back over 99.5% if you use the best strategy.

The best pay table you can find for Deuces Wild is called the Not So Ugly Ducks, or NSUD. The NSUD pay table pays 4,000 for a natural royal flush and then has the following payouts:

200 – 25 – 16 – 10 – 4 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1

This may sound a bit pessimistic, but remember that the casino is designed to take your money. If you always assume that you’re going to lose when you gamble you’ll never be disappointed. When you win from time to time it’s a nice bonus.

Even though the casino is filled with different games, you should pick a game and learn to play it as well as possible. Once you learn everything about it that you can, look for another game to learn about.

Learn the best strategy so you can reduce the house edge as much as possible. Some games don’t have a strategy, but most do. Blackjack, video poker, baccarat, and craps all have a proper strategy.

You should plan to take regular breaks when you’re gambling. It’s healthy to get up and walk around a bit every couple hours. If you can, walk outside and get a breath of fresh air before returning to the tables or slot machines.

Statistics suggest that over 95% of sports bettors lose in the long run. This means that whatever it is that they do to pick games is no better than flipping a coin. It’s fine if you want to gamble on sports, but realize that you can probably get the same results picking teams at random.

Casino games are designed to take your money as quickly as possible while giving you hope that you can win. One way to extend your playing time and bankroll is to play slower. This is especially important if you play slot machines. Many players spin the reels 300 to 500 times per hour. If you cut this in half you can still play a bunch of spins and play twice as long.

As I just mentioned in the previous tip, slot machines are one of the fastest playing games in the casino. They usually have a higher house edge than other games also. This combination is deadly to your bankroll.

Keno usually has the worst house edge in the casino. Most keno games have a house edge of 25% or more. In comparison, slot machines range from 2% to 15% house edge and blackjack is often under 1%.

The only thing worse for your bankroll than playing keno in the casino is playing video keno in the casino. The house edge is usually the same as regular keno, but it can be a bit better. But the problem is that you can play hundreds of draws on video keno an hour and normal keno only draws every five to 10 minutes.

It’s easy to get distracted and let your mind wander when you’re gambling. Many of us want to be distracted from everyday life when we gamble. But you need to pay attention to make sure you stay safe and don’t make costly mistakes.

Most casino dealers are decent people and try to deal a fair game. But the do make mistakes and it’s your responsibility to point it out if you get a short or incorrect payment. When this happens, don’t touch the chips used for the payout until the error is corrected.

Not all thieves use a gun or threats to steal from you. Some of them simply steal a chip or two from your stack when you’re not looking. This happens most often around a busy table like roulette or craps but can happen anywhere where you might be distracted. Always protect your chips and try not to get distracted.

If you find the best rules available, use the proper basic strategy, and get comps on your play and use coupons and free offers when available, you can play blackjack at a close to breakeven pace. It isn’t easy, but many players are able to do it. If you want to improve your chances even more, you can learn more about counting cards.

I mentioned that you should always take the odds bets at the craps table. The only way you can take odds is by first placing a pass line or don’t pass line bet. These three bets are the only ones you should ever place playing craps. All of the other bets are at a higher house edge.

Pari-mutuel betting is available on horses and dogs in some areas. In a pari-mutuel betting system, all of the best go into a pool and the track takes a percentage of the pool. All the rest of the money is paid out to bettors based on the winning horses or dogs. This means that you just need to learn to bet better than the other people in order to turn a profit.

Insurance is a bad bet at the blackjack table because it only pays 2 to 1 and has true odds of 9 to 4, or 2.25 to 1. Every time you take insurance it increases the house edge.

With rare exceptions, the side bets offered on casino games are designed with a higher house edge than the main games. The side bets may look interesting, but every time you play them you give the casino more money and shorten your playing time.

The more you know about the games and gambling opportunities the better your chances to win. You also can learn how to play longer on the same bankroll and find the games that offer the lowest house edge.

If you specialize in one game and learn as much about it as possible you should already know the best way to play. Many dealers and other players like to offer advice on how to play, but most of this advice is wrong, even if the intention of the giver is good. Learn how to play well and ignore any incorrect advice.

Progressive jackpots are enticing because they’re usually big enough to change your life. But most progressive jackpot games involve a higher bet than normal and have a higher house edge than other games. You can take a shot at a progressive jackpot, but be aware of how fast it reduces your bankroll.

The house edge on every bet on roulette is the same, so it doesn’t matter which bet you make. As long as you play on a single zero wheel you’ve done everything you can to lower the house edge.

I know that one of the earlier tips said to never use systems. But this isn’t the type of system I meant. If you want to have as close to a 50% chance of breaking even or winning every time you go to the casino try this. Take the total amount you plan to gamble with and bet it on red or black on the roulette table. If you lose you’re done for the day, but if you win put your original bankroll in your pocket and gamble with your winnings.

Video poker games pay a bonus amount on the royal flush, but only if you bet five coins per hand. If you don’t bet five coins you increase the house edge by a considerable amount. You can play on a machine with a smaller base bet to reduce the total amount wagered per spin.

Sportsbooks are just like casinos so they’re always looking for ways to win more money. One way they do this is by offering exotic bets. These are bets on almost anything you can think of for a game or match. But most of them are at worse odds than common spread bets or money line wagers.

Thousands of sportsbooks are available around the world and online. Not all of them have the same lines, so you can often shop around and find better lines on the games you want to bet on. This can make the difference between winning and losing many bets over the course of a season so it’s worth the extra time it takes to shop the lines.

Home teams win more often than visiting teams and many sportsbooks tilt their lines against the favorites because the public likes to back them. This can create value in some games where the home team is the underdog. You can’t bet these games blindly, but you should evaluate them for possible value.

You should always keep track of how long you gamble. The casinos are designed to fool you into forgetting about time. No clocks can be found in casinos and most of them don’t have windows either. It’s easy to lose track of time, so always be aware of your playing time.

When you split your total bankroll into equal parts for a number of playing sessions it makes sure you don’t run out of money. It also gives you an automatic loss limit for each session and still gives you a chance to win any given session.

It may seem like an easy way to make a few bucks, but avoid any cheating activities at the casino. In some places, cheaters are prosecuted heavily by the local law enforcement agency, and at best you’ll be banned from the casino.

Poker players who usually play with people who don’t play as good as they do tend to win more than they lose. The ones who always play against better players tend to lose more than they win. When you play poker, try to find tables filled with worse players than you and you’ll end up winning more often.

Casinos are always looking for new games to introduce. Many of these games look interesting, but the problem is that you don’t know the best strategy. When you don’t know the best strategy to use you make mistakes that drain your bankroll quicker. Wait until a new game has been studied by the experts before you play.

You can find dozens of different card counting systems, ranging from simple to advanced. If you want to count cards start by using a simple system that’s easy to learn and use. A few simple systems include the ace five, red sevens, golden touch, KO, and hi-lo.

The main reason poker is a beatable game is because the house just takes a small percentage of each pot, called the rake. This means that you’re competing against the other players instead of the house. So if you can beat the majority of the other players you show a profit.

A pair of eights creates a hard total of 16, which is the worst possible hand at the blackjack table. But when you split them you stand a good chance of getting a 10 or ace card on at least one of them, creating a strong total of 18. Aces have a chance to get a 10 or face card creating a blackjack and are only worth 12 if you don’t split them.

When you receive two 10 value cards at the blackjack table it’s a hard 20. This is such a powerful hand that you lose money by splitting them. It might seem like a smart play to split them, but the math has been worked out by computer simulations and the most profitable play is to stand.

Some blackjack games have a surrender rule where you can surrender or fold your hand and get half your original bet back. By learning the best hands to surrender you can save money over time.

The player’s or slots club gives you rewards in the form of comps when you play in the casino. It doesn’t cost anything to join so you get free stuff for something you’re planning to do anyway.

Casino war is much like the game many of us played when we were children. It also has one of the simplest strategies you can find for a casino game. The strategy is to go to war on all ties.

Millions of people enjoy playing bingo around the world. You don’t even need to go to the casino to play, with many games running in local communities around the world. Bingo is easy to play, but it has a high house edge in comparison to many games. If you enjoy the social aspect of bingo it may be worth it to you to play, but if you’re worried about giving up too much profit you should play other games.

When you bet the minimum you can play longer on the same bankroll. If the minimum is more than you want to bet fin a different machine or game that has a lower bet limit. When you combine betting the minimum with slow-play you greatly increase your playing time.

Most casino games that offer the chance at a high payout come with a higher house edge. Big jackpot games tend to drain your bankroll faster than other games. It’s fine if you want to chase the big payday, but realize that the cost is shorter play time on the same bankroll.

It’s often difficult to learn the payback percentages of land based slot machines, but if you can find machines with a 97 or 98% payback percentage you can play longer. Many online slot machines have published percentages for you to compare.

You can choose from hundreds of online casinos, but some of them aren’t as trustworthy as others. Find ones that are licensed by the country where they originate and ones that have a long track record of quality customer service. We review the best online casinos on this site to help you get started.

Online casinos offer bonuses when you deposit. All of these bonuses come with strings attached so you always need to read the terms. Common restrictions include when you can cash out, which games you can play, and time limits.

You can get an edge at blackjack by learning how to count cards and alter your bets. But when you play blackjack online the cards are shuffled by the software after each hand. This eliminates the possibility of getting an edge by counting online blackjack.

When you tip it reduces your bankroll. It’s up to you whether or not you tip, but tipping for good service is normal, just like in a restaurant. Just remember that if you’re no getting good service you shouldn’t feel required to give tips.

Anytime something happens while you’re playing in the casino that isn’t correct you need to ask for immediate assistance. If the dealer can’t help you it’s important to get a floor supervisor or pit boss involved right away. Don’t touch anything and wait for help.

Everything in the casino is designed and backed by mathematical possibilities. The next hand or spin can produce any result, but in the long run, the math always comes through. Short term variance is often called luck, but luck doesn’t really exist in the casino.

If your strategy for winning in the casino is based on luck you’re in trouble. Have a plan and strategy that gives you the best chance to win and stick with it. Forget about luck because gambling has nothing to do with it.

Many gamblers continue playing when they hit a nice win and end up giving most or the entire win back to the casino. When you hit a nice win either stop playing or take art of it and put it away a profit.

Because all gambling activity is based on and influenced by mathematical concepts, your emotion has no place in making bets. When you start letting your emotions influence your bets it usually costs you money. Simply stop gambling when your emotions start to take over and start again once you have a clear head.

The weather can change the outcome of any sporting event or match held outside. It influences both teams, but some teams deal with it better than others. It also can make the under valuable when the weather is particularly bad.

When teams have to travel it hurts their chances to win. This is even more pronounced when they have to travel from one coast to the other and across multiple time zones. Always consider the travel distances before making sports bets.

Almost every casino game can be played online for free. Most online casinos offer their games for free and many non-gambling sites have free games. This means that if you just like to play the games and don’t need the thrill of betting real money you can play as much as you want.

Some books and articles suggest that if you practice long enough you can learn to control the dice when playing craps. I don’t know if you can actually do it, but craps has a low house edge so if you can it’s easy to turn the percentages in your favor. One clue about dice control is the casinos don’t seem too worried about it, so it likely doesn’t work.

If you can find an old roulette wheel it may be biased. A biased wheel has become unbalanced and makes certain numbers come up more often than others. Biased wheels are rare and most casinos test their wheels often to avoid this problem.

Most gamblers lose money over time. But some people have figured out that the can make money by becoming an expert about a game or games. They write books and articles for money, telling others how to play. This may be a better way to be involved with gambling than playing if you hope to make money.

Many local sportsbooks move the lines against the local teams because most of their customers bet on them. You can find lines that offer value if you’re willing to bet against the local favorites.

Just like luck, superstitions don’t help you win when you gamble. It may seem like doing something helps you win, but unless it’s based on the math behind the game it doesn’t help. We tend to assign more value to coincidences and chance than we should by looking for patterns.

When you develop a system for gambling you need to test it. Sports bettors are always looking for a system they can use to beat the sportsbooks. Many of these systems seem to work in the short term, but they need to be tested on long term results before you can be sure they hold long term profit.

If all of the other rules are the same at the blackjack table, it’s always better when the dealer stands on a soft 17. This lowers the house edge, so you should always look for this when picking a table.

Spanish 21 is a blackjack variation using a Spanish deck. A Spanish deck has all of the 10’s removed, making it harder to make a natural blackjack. But the game has many other favorable rules so if you can learn to play with the best strategy you can play with a lower house edge than most blackjack games. The strategy is different than regular blackjack so make sure you get the correct strategy card.

Many gambling systems and models seem to work in theory, but you won’t know if they really work until you test them. Some things that should work are difficult or impossible to do in live play. So be wary of anything that looks too good to be true, because it probably is.

Injuries to important players can change the outcome of a game or match. Before you place bets you should always check the latest injury information. The sportsbooks are good at finding out about injuries and you need to be good at it also.

Different casinos have different rules. This means that every time you play in a new casino you need to take a minute and look at the rules for the game you plan to play. This way you always know about potential differences before you play.

Tax laws vary by country so it’s important to know how they relate to gambling wins. In some countries, any win over a certain amount is reported to the tax wing of the government. You can avoid some of these issues if you know the amount that triggers a report.

If you don’t play you can’t lose. The only way to be sure you don’t lose money gambling is if you never place a bet. This isn’t as much fun as gambling, but it costs less.

The lottery is one of the most popular forms of gambling around the world, but it also has a higher edge against you than almost every casino game. The big prize is usually larger than in a casino, but only a few people win the top prize.

If you want to maximize the time you get to gamble on a fixed budget consider playing in tournaments. Poker tournaments are popular, but you can also find blackjack tournaments, video poker tournaments, and slots tournaments in many casinos.

When you place bets on sporting events you need to be able to make judgments on the lines offered with a clear head. When you’re a fan of one of the teams you want to bet on it’s difficult to make good bets. If you bet on sports don’t bet on games involving your favorite teams.

Gambling is a form of entertainment for millions of people. When you decide to do something for entertainment it usually costs money. Set aside some of your money for entertainment for gambling. This way you don’t have to worry about paying your bills. It’s the same as going out to a movie and dinner, but you have a chance to leave with more than you started with sometimes.

It’s easy to watch the roulette wheel and think that something is due to happen. If red comes up three straight times it makes sense that black should come up soon to even out the slate. In the long run this is true, but every spin is independent and has the same chances to land on red or black.

The most important tip is to have fun while you’re gambling. If you aren’t having fun you should find something else to do.

These 101 quick gambling tips are designed to help you win more, stay safe, and have a good time while you play. They might not all be about games you play, but every gambler can find some tips to help them.