Online casinos have the benefit of being accessible all the time from wherever you are with an internet connection. This is also one of their biggest drawbacks. This makes managing your gameplay and budget much more difficult. If you already had an issue with spending before, you’ll need to be extra careful when playing online. It all starts with proper planning and budgeting. Here are a few tips for managing your online gambling expenses.
Have a Bank Account for Gaming Only
The first thing we suggest you do is set up an account specifically for gambling. One of the things you’re going to do with this account is deposit a set amount that will be for gambling only. This shouldn’t be over 15% of your weekly net income, or else, you might start “playing scared” or spending more than you can comfortably afford.
Even if you feel you could handle a little bit more, don’t overestimate yourself. You have to only play what you can lose. This way, you’ll play with confidence and have fun instead of playing like your life or the house depends on it.
The other thing you’re going to do with this account is deposit any winnings that you make. This will give you some space if you ever want to spend a little more when playing. You’ll be able to do it with no guilt and it will not affect your overall finances. You are also free to treat yourself from time to time if you want to buy yourself something nice.
Keep a Journal
In addition to that, you should also keep track of all your winnings and losses. We tend to have selective memory when it comes to gambling and overblow our wins while minimising our losses. Having a visual representation of how much you actually lost will bring you back down to earth and push you to be more responsible.
Don’t Chase Losses
One thing you should never do, however, even with your fund money, is chasing bad losses. This is one of the biggest mistakes that you can make, and one of the reasons why so many people end up ruined when playing online.
If you have a habit of going over the edge when you suffer bad bets, you will have to find a way to cool down or stop playing altogether. There are many things that you can prevent going and playing on tilt.
The first one is not spending too much. By sticking to your budget, you will be less emotionally involved in the money you lose. You should also have a ritual when bad losses happen. Maybe you could play a completely different type of game, go for a cup of tea, or take a walk. Changing your thoughts is the best and only way to get out of that state, so try to find something that works for you and make it a habit.
Pick the Right Online Casino
The casino you pick could also help. You should look for casinos that have interesting offers that extend beyond your traditional deposit match bonus. Take Play Live Casino, for instance. Not only do they offer bonuses to new players, but also allow offer Play Live free spins. With this promotion, you can use these spins on some of their best machines and have a chance of real money. This is the type of offer you should be looking for if you want your money to stretch longer while getting a chance at trying some of the casino’s games free of charge.
Set Your Pace and Downsize Your Bets
One thing about online casinos is that you can blow a bankroll much faster since we tend to play faster online. Online games also tend to have a naturally faster pace. So, you will need to set limits on how fast you play and how much you put down on each hand.
It’s usually recommended that you don’t bet more than 1% of your total bankroll per hand or spin. So, if you come in with R300, you should not bet more than R1 per hand. This will allow you to stretch your gameplay and not blow it all in 15 minutes.
You should also don’t get carried away when you win. Once you win money, it’s now yours and not the casino’s. The more you play, the more chance the edge will go back in their favour. So, take your wins and stick to your plan.
Pick the Right Games
You should also do your research on any game you were thinking of playing. Some games just make more sense to you as a player. The worst type of games that you can play is those progressive jackpot games with outlandish prizes. Remember that the reason why the jackpot on these machines gets so big is that so many people lost, so don’t become the next victim.
Instead, go for middle-of-the-pack machines with moderate jackpots. Those are more likely to have reasonable odds and still have good prizes. Low jackpot games can also be good, but the prizes are not always great and they’re not necessarily easy to win.
The best thing you can do is check the return-to-player or RTP ratio for any game you were thinking of playing before spending money. This is easy to find online and shows how much money the machine gives back to players. For instance, a machine that has a 95% RTP ratio will theoretically return R5 for every R100 that is spent.
Another thing you should do is check if the games at the casinos have been audited. This will give you an idea of whether the casino takes fair play seriously and get an actual screenshot of how much money was paid out to players.
Managing your bankroll and budget is something you should learn to do immediately. This is a skill every seasoned gambler has mastered and is probably the single most important for any player.