SLOW DOWN IN THE SLOT ZONE
A little self-control can go a long way
By Frank Scoblete
Simon and Garfunkel sang it just right: “Slow down, you move too fast/You got to make the morning last.” (“The 59th Street Bridge Song”)
When I am talking casino playing of any kind, be it slot play, video poker play, table games of all types and bets of all kinds, I am not just talking about the morning but all day and all night and anytime you place bets at casino games.
Whenever you play, wherever you play, whatever you play, why you play, you must ease up on sending the gas to the engine. The faster you play, the more decisions you face and the more decisions you face the more the chances are that you’re behind. That is a sad but true fact of playing life. The more you play, the less you will have to play with over time.
The casinos love fast players. Why not? Since the casino has the mathematical edge over the players, that edge reveals itself over time—sometimes a short time, sometimes a medium time and some- times a somewhat long time.
There is no chance to escape the fact that the casino’s edge will ultimately win out unless you have a bundle of luck so magnificent that you never have to worry about money ever again. It is sad, but most of us will never have that eventuality.
TOO MANY BETS, NOT SO GOOD
You will note the number of games that call for more than one bet. The casino loves craps players who make many bets at once and at many other games new options have been introduced that tempt the players to bet more and more in less and less time. The casinos know a good thing for them.
Sometimes the players do not realize what is bad for them. Slot machines encourage betting more and more in order to win bigger jackpots. One credit played gets you “X” amount on a jackpot win but three credits played will win you more than three times the amount. Hmmm.
Is the above “hmmm” a true “wow!” factor? Not really. The total return on the one-play first machine and the total return on the multiple-play machine is not all that great to really encourage betting more and more money in a shorter and shorter period of time. Too many players don’t know this.
MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS
Okay, I love to play in the casinos, I do. I’ve had many years where my wife, the Beautiful AP, and I spent over 130 days in casinos throughout the country. But I am not fully able to understand why people play the way they play. Shouldn’t a part of casino play focus on saving money from the house edge?
SOME QUESTIONS:
- Why do some players bet more and more when the losses will be more and more as well? What would make that scenario fun?
- Why do players increase their bets when they have had a short lucky streak when the house edge works against that extra money too?
- Do some players lose their sense of reality when they are playing games?
- Why do many players tend to play faster and faster the longer they are on a machine or at a table game?
- What causes such a desire for length and a fast speed of play?
- Is it more fun to actually play fast when that is exactly what the casinos want?
- Why do players seem to do themselves in when the casinos almost never do themselves in?
- Are players unaware that comps are based on the potential losses of the player and not some inherent goodness of such players? Players earn comps by showing the casino how much they are willing to lose.
- Do casino executives wake up in the morning wondering why they did what they did at the games the night before as some players do?
- Why do some players think that spending seemingly endless nights of play and forgetting how much they have lost is a good thing?
HERE ARE SOME ANSWERS:
Much of casino gambling is based on anticipation of possible wins. We look forward to our trip to the casino and when we enter the Temples of Chance our hearts are beating with hope and a strong desire that today, that tonight, will be our day and our night.
Many players will start off in a relaxed fashion but soon they begin the process of speeding up their play and of increasing their bets. Anticipation has now become the gas pedal and the more the player plays, the more the player wants to play. It seems the anticipation is winning, as opposed to the actual results of the game.
Losing players often spend more time at the games than winning players.
The bottom line for me is to play a controlled game, a relaxed game, and to be aware at all times of what it is you are doing and accomplishing or failing to accomplish. You’ve earned the money with which you play so treat that money with respect.
All the best in and out of the casinos!
Frank Scoblete’s website is www.frankscoblete.com. His books are available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books, libraries and book stores.
