Knowing Your Gambling Limits

Gambling can be great fun for you and your friends, however it stops being fun as soon as your focus changes from having a great time to becoming obsessed with winning. There are some general principles that you can follow to ensure that you make gambling safer and reduce the risk of serious problems arising from it. The first thing to keep in mind is not to think of gambling as a way to make money. The truth is, is that casinos what ever form they come in be it land based or online are set up and programmed to take your money and pay out less – they don’t want you to win too big. Essentially you will lose more money in the long run than you will win. This is the case not just for casino gambling but all gambling in all its forms. People with a problem with gambling have false expectations that they are going to be big winners and this idea feeds the problem and drives them to lose more money by playing more. When going out on the town, make sure that the money that you have is money that you can afford to lose. Never use the money that you are going to need to pay for rent, food or tuition. LIMITS LIMITS LIMITS! Gambling limits are the most important tip that you can take away with you! You need to set a top limit as well as a bottom limit before you go out to play. The top limit says that when you reach a winning of $200 you will stop, likewise with the bottom limit, when you reach a loss and you are left with only $20 and that is money for cab fare home- stop playing and go home! Time limits are important too, when you have reached your time limit, stop gambling and go home. Knowing your limits is key! Be in a good mood when you gamble. Don’t gamble when you are depressed or upset, it is hard to make good decisions about your game when you are feeling down. Look out for your friends and if you see that they might start having problems, sit them down and talk to them or get them to phone organizations which deal specifically with helping people with a gambling problem!