Gambling, like any behavior, can become unhealthy to those with addictive personalities. If you’re one of those people, you should take extra precautions to minimize falling into addictive behaviors. Like with many things, the surest way to avoid falling into a gambling addiction is to not gamble at all.
If you want to gamble, however, then follow the below guidelines. Once you’re familiar with them, you can try them out at sites like stardustcasino.com.
Gamble What You Can Lose
This is something that everybody should hear when they start gambling. Before you even start creating accounts on online casino sites and start gambling, you should have a budget and should be psychologically prepared with the possibility of losing it all. You shouldn’t lose it all if you’re making good bets, of course, but you should still be financially healthy even if you lost your gambling budget. If you’re gambling away your next bill payments then you’re doing it wrong.
Accept Losses
Even when you’re doing everything right, you will still lose some of the bets you place. This is something you need to accept. A common behavior found in rookie gamblers and addicts is bet chasing. This is where gamblers, often male, can’t take the L and instead bet more and more to try and catch up. The logic is that the next bet will pay off and so, by betting more, you can maximize gains and cancel out the previous loss.
Maybe some do win everything back but otherwise, you’ll just dig a deeper hole. This can get out of hand, to the point where you’re betting more than you can lose. Your ego isn’t worth your entire financial life, so avoid this behavior at all costs.
Manage Risk
Another staple of both gambling and investing advice, you should be managing the risks you’re exposing yourself to. If you know you have weak self-control, you should avoid situations that apply pressure and can cause you to act against your interests. First, don’t drink. Whether you’re at a physical venue or having a chilled night in, alcohol impairs judgment and makes you more likely to pick fights you can’t win. Second, avoid peer pressure from both your friends and your wallet. If you have money to spare, reconsider throwing that away at the nearest online casino.
Limit Your Gambling Time
The longer you spend gambling, the higher the likelihood that you’re going to do something stupid and/or take a big loss. When you gamble online, it’s easier to spend long periods throwing your money away. Physical casinos are designed to make you lose track of time and spend more money there. You can avoid this eventuality by limiting the amount of time you spend gambling during your betting sessions.
Some online casinos will have an in-built feature that lets you time yourself and lets you know when your time is up, so you can take your gains and go. Otherwise, time yourself with your phone and clock out when that time is up. You must have the willpower to stop playing when you need to. If you worry you lack that willpower, you can get software that blocks gambling sites temporarily.
If you feel yourself getting too worked up over your gambling performance, whether that’s positively or negatively, you should regulate your emotions and take breaks if that happens. Go for a walk, get a snack, do things that generally calm you down, and return you to a suitable headspace where you can start gambling again with a clear mind.
Set A Win/Loss Threshold
Another great way to regulate your gambling activity is to measure not just the time spent but your betting performance, too. This is a great strategy to maximize wins and minimize losses, even if you’re not concerned about gambling addiction.
If you have a win, analyze your position and decide if you want to continue. It’s much easier to limit your gambling time when you’re making money, not losing it. If you do decide to forge on, you should schedule another time where you’ll reconsider or you’ll stop. When you’re looking at 25% gains, you’re in a good position and should strongly consider calling it a day. Similarly, you should stop when you fall approximately 10% in the negative.
You can combine this with a time limit. For example, if you haven’t reached any of these thresholds within an hour of gambling, perhaps it’s time to call it a day.
Gambling Isn’t Therapy
Online gambling can be dangerous if you’re trying to escape negative emotions, particularly stress or depressive thoughts. This poses the risk of gambling addiction because you’re trying to use the temporary highs of betting to avoid your problems. That isn’t the solution and you should consider getting professional help if you have been stressed or depressed for some time.
Similarly, gambling shouldn’t be your primary means of entertainment. If you’re bored or feeling listless and your first instinct is to start gambling, that makes it much easier to fall into gambling addiction. It’s also slightly naïve since these games exist to make the house money and those who play them for cash take them very seriously, they may be entertaining but you should be careful of taking them at face value and getting swindled as a result.
Remember That It’s All Chance
Lastly, here’s something that you should remember during your gambling sessions. There is no such thing as hot or cold tables. The majority of casino games, including those found online, are games of total chance that don’t change depending on your skill level or dedication to the game. The payouts you get are determined by nothing but the odds, so there are no real patterns that you can figure out to mastermind your way to a victory. You should remember this whenever you have a win or a loss and use this mentality to decide when to stop. Remember that you can’t create success from prior successes.
