Online casino gaming is a craze that is spreading across the US with lightning speed. Even though there are only six states that have legalized and licensed online casinos operating within their borders, there are dozens of offshore gambling sites that are routinely visited by casino players from coast to coast.
With new players logging on every day to try out online casinos for the first time, there is a wealth of advice available online. Resources like gambleonline.co/casino/, for example, are ideal for finding reliable real money casino platforms for US players. But what about the next step, once you have found a good casino and registered your details? One of the words you will hear mentioned all the time is bankroll. Manage it well, you are told, always keep it under control. That all sounds laudable, but what does it mean in practical terms?
Bet what you can afford to lose
Casino gaming is a leisure activity that we do for entertainment, just like going to a movie or nightclub. And like movie theaters or nightclubs, casinos need to make a profit, not give away free money. When setting your bankroll, think of it as the amount you are prepared to spend on your evening’s entertainment. That way, even if you have no luck at all, you won’t be disappointed, and even a small win is a nice bonus.
Choose your game to match your bankroll
Once you have decided on your bankroll, choose which casino game or games you are going to play. New players tend to head straight for the slots, which is fine as long as you have the bankroll to withstand their volatility. Here’s the thing – a spin on a slot game takes about six seconds. That’s 10 spins per minute. Even if you only wager $0.50 per spin, you can gamble away $100 in 20 minutes!
The good thing about slots is they can sometimes pay out handsome rewards. The downside is that they can also have lean periods where they pay out little or nothing for 30 or 40 spins. If you have a bankroll in the hundreds, you have a reasonable chance of riding out the volatility. If your bankroll is $20, it can be gone inside five minutes.
In the latter case, a game like baccarat is a better choice. Stick to the player / banker bets and you will usually win about as much as you lose. You won’t hit a big jackpot in baccarat, but even with a $20 bankroll, you won’t crash and burn, either.
Don’t chase losses
Suppose you have a $100 bankroll and you decide to play a high volatility game like the Knight Rider slot, partly because you remember the TV show and partly because you’ve seen this game pay out big prizes before. 100 $1 spins later, you have won $20. You spend the $20 on 20 more spins and win nothing.
It is tempting to convince yourself that it is sure to pay out any minute and to break your own rule, withdrawing another $50 from your personal bank account in the hope that the big payout will come. That’s called loss-chasing and it is a road to disaster. The wise player walks away, ready to come back another day and see if Lady Luck will be kinder.