Stick to a limit

The inner dialogue of many gamblers probably sounds a lot like this :"Oh Man, it's the casino, I come here twice a year...I know I said I was only gonna play with $500, but that was before I got here and started having all this fun. It's like there are free drinks - but only if I am playing. Forget about that limit. Where's the ATM? Sure, I have been losing, but lady lck will start smiling on me any minute now."

Casino love guys like this. That's why they offer them freebies. That way, even if luck does not turn out to be a lady, you will be back the next day to flirt with her again. And eventually, the house will win because the odds are in its favour.

Casinos are designed to make players chase their losses. They reward winners, and you, of course, are a sophisticated card shark and a sultan of slots. It's tempting to try to impress folks in a casino. Take the dealer for instance, like the guards outside the Istana, they are often an impassive lot. Those inscrutable faces can entice novice players into making a bold, daring move that will raise an eyebrow or earn a smile.

The best way to avoid the chorus of sounds that lure you away from your money is to set a gamling limit before you walk through the casino's door. Don't bet more than you can afford to lose. (This holds true for the stock market as well!) And that's true if the loss is monetary or emotional. Some folks can afford to lose five thousand dollars, but if lose it makes them feel like rubbish, than the emotional toll is not worth the risk for them. Your best bet, if you are going to be at a casino for several days is to decide on a daily limit. Take only the chosen amount with you to the tables or slots.

And finally play to win. Don't think by being a cynical, too-cool-to-fool sort that you will come out feeling like a winner. If you go into a casino thinking, I am briing $500 to lose, then you are playing not to lose, instead of playing to win. You will make bets because you got a I-don't-care attitude. You will make big bets just to be able to say you did it, thinking you are going to lose $500 anyway, right? If you are playing smart, playing to win, then you are more likely to walk out a winner than a pre-determined loser.

A fool and his money....

"A fool and his money are soon parted."

"Anything that sounds too good to be true IS too good to be true."

The difference with gambling is that you CAN get something for almost nothing, and though your odds of winning ten hands of blackjack in a row or striking the huge jackpot are not the strong, it COULD happen. It provides the hope/fantasy of winning BIG and celebrating in the face of all the other gamblers. But remember one very important rule : Casinos offer games of skill and games of chance. And some with both. There are no sure-fire strategies for games of chance, the results of which are purely random. The only thing that wil cause you to win them is blind luck.

The best gambling strategies will not assure you win or lose, but they will keep you from having to mortgage your house. First of all, know how to play a game before you wager any money on it. Also, pick a gambling limit and stick to it. If you are a low stakes player, then you may decide that $200 is the magic number. Once you lose that, even if it's only the second day of your vacation, stay away from the tables. And finally, the time to raise your bet is when you are winning. Never raise a bet when you are losing. Odds are in the casino's favour, so don't throw good money after the bad. Casinos make a lot of money from novice gamblers trying to turn around a losing streak.

Attractiveness of Casinos

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Have you wondered why casinos are so attractive? Why is that with online gambling so prevalent now, that Major Corporations are still building multi-billion dollar casinos in Macau and Singapore, with more planned for in Asia? Well, casinos are the equivalent to theme parks for adults, They are filled with excitement and fast-paced action, the chance to win something for almost nothing, and even free drinks. It is just like watching a soccer match at the National Stadium vs watching it on TV, the atmosphere, the crowd and the scent of money can only be experienced in person. The shouts of winners who made the dealer bust, are like the screams of delight from kids riding down a roller coaster. And the theme park illusion is even greater from the outside of a casino, a place of fantasy and wonder.
Unlike theme parks, when you simply find a ride, wait in line for a long time and go. You need to know how to play casino games. If you walk up to a table and you are ignorant, then you are going to lose money, and it doesn't take long to lose a lot.

Slot machines are popular because they are so simple. But even they require some understanding. Some pertinent questions include : How many coins does the machine take for a maximum payout? Does the machine have bonus payouts? Is this machine part of a progressive jackpot?

Table games can be extremely complicated. Throwing caution to the winds and laying your money down without understanding the finer points of a game is not smart. For example, the rules on when a dealer must take a hot for Blackjack can differ at various casinos. Plus, your odds of winning are better at a single-deck table than one with a five-deck shoe. In a nutshell, arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible, and if patience is your virtue, take a minute or two to observe and understand before taking the plunge.

The House Advantage

You don't think those gleaming pleasure palaces called casinos make enough money to offer live bands and free entertainment? Wake up! All games of chance are based on odds: the mathematical calculation of a given outcome's likelihood. And you can be certain that the casino, or house will have the best odds for every game.

A simple way to think about odds is to take out a coin. If you flip it into the air, odds are one in two that the coin will land with the coat of arms. There are only two sides to a coin, so there are only two possible outcomes. Simple right? Even if you take that coin tossed it 25 times and it always comes up heads it is just a fluke. Every toss are independent of each other.

Of course, casino games are more complicated. Once you have figured out the number of possible outcomes, you can figure out the probability or odds of getting a particular outcome. Surely casino don't offer simple games like betting on the coin toss. Instead, they favour games with a great probability of outcomes and variable odds. The one thing all games in a casino have in common is that their odds ultimately favour the house.

At the casino. you might be on a winning streak, but odds are that over time the house will win back the money you bet on and more. This is called the "House Advantage" If after your hot streak has cooled, you come back, , it is a given that you will pay back every cent that you have earned from the casino. BUT, odds don't take into consideration, dumb blind luck. That's why all gamblers have their lucky charm and superstitious practices.

History of Gambling

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Gambling would probably be one of the oldest entertainment activities, ranking along side with prositution as the oldest trade. Dice are thought to be the oldest gaming equipment. They were found back in 3,000 BC. And gamblers attracted to the casinos in Las Vegas or Macau or Singapore (soon-to-be) may be pleased to lean that dice were also found in the great Pyramids. There is also evidence of Indians betting on chariot races in 1,500 BC. The winners took home estates, slaves, wives and finally money.

Playing cards have only been around since the 14th century but lotteries have been around for millennia. They weren't always used like Singapore Pools for charity and noble causes. The ancient Aztecs would have their still beating hearts torn from their bodies to honour their gods!

The ultimate paradise for gambling started in 1905, the wildest west town of them all of born : Las Vegas. (Though many Chinese will now dispute that it is Macau). In 1931, the state legalized gambling, and soon, small casinos sprang up around the train depot where the city began. By the 1940s, some casinos were way out of town, on the highway that led to LA. Then, in 1946 mobster"Bugsy" opened the fabulous Flamingo on what is now known as the Strip. A mobster helped transform a town filled with sawdust and cowpokes to the glitz and bright lights of the Sin City Las Vegas we all know today.