Page 10 - November 2004 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
My Own Worst Enemy Pby Bill Burton
them and the casino will have their money back along with some of the player’s money.
Being greedy isn’t the only way players hurt them- selves at the casino. ere are other emotions that can get in the way and cloud the judgment of the player. Playing when you are tired or fatigued can alter your thinking. Many players who travel long distances to the casino on vacation will play marathon sessions trying to cram as much playing time as possible into their schedule. When you are tired you don’t always make the best decisions.
Sometimes losing a ects players emotionally and they start doing irrational things like chasing losses.
ey start betting big sums of money in hopes of making it back with one big win. Poker players refer to this as going on tilt, and it is probably the most damaging factor contributing to many loses players su er in the casinos.
If you learn to control your emotions you will become your own best friend instead of your own worst enemy.
Until next time, remember, “Luck comes and goes... knowledge stays forever!”
Bill Burton is the Casino Gambling Guide and columnist for the Internet portal About.com. He also writes for several national gambling publications. He is the author of Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold’em available for $15 postage paid. Send checks to Bill Burton, PO Box 310299, Newington, CT 06131-0299 or online at www.billburton.com. Bill Burton’s website is located at: http://casinogambling.about.com
op singer Pink wrote a song entitled “Don’t Let Me Get Me.” e lyrics included the lines: “Don’t let me get me. I’m a hazard to myself. I’m my own worst enemy.”
For some players these words are extremely true when they visit the casino. Many gaming writers, including me, constantly write about the house edge that the casinos have on all their games. We advise players to seek the best games with the lowest edge or at least to be aware of them. What we sometimes fail to mention is that you — the player — actually have one big edge over the casinos.
Now wait a minute, you are thinking. How can I, the player, have an edge over the casino when everyone tells me the casino has the edge on all games?
It’s very simple. You can quit anytime you want to. In the short term
of each visit were based strictly on math you would never win because there would be no deviation from the long-term results. If this happened no one would play. If you knew you would lose ve cents on
the dollar every time you bet a number in roulette or pulled the handle on a slot machine it would be pretty silly to just hand over your money. However, since you can win in the short term, you
can have the advantage if you know when to stop. e way that players “get” themselves is by not
having the discipline to quit when they are ahead. Once they start winning, they start to get greedy. If they started with two hundred dollars and they are ahead by fty dollars, they think they will continue winning and turn it into $1,000. is rarely happens. Eventually the math of the game will catch up with
luck will be a big factor
in determining whether
you win or lose. is is
true of games that have
positive expectations as
well as games with a
high house edge. If you
are playing games with a high house edge, such as slots or roulette, luck will be the only way to win. In the long run you will lose at these games.
e casino will see the long term because they are open 24/7 and the math will equal out for them. But if you are only an occasional visitor to the casino, it is possible to have some short-term wins. is is the reason that people go back to casinos. If the outcome
“If you learn to control your emotions you will become your own best friend instead
of your own worst enemy.”
Page 10 NOVEMBER 2004
Column: Bill Burton About Gambling