What is Casino Bankroll Management?
Essentially, bankroll management is a tactic which players can use to help them win. However, we must stress that this does not directly correlate with winning big. Instead, it gives you the opportunity to remain on top of things when playing your favourite casino games.
If you successfully manage your bankroll, you should be able to play for a longer period of time. With a longer gaming session, you will have more opportunities to win. The most important things to consider when managing your casino bankroll are how much you wish to play with and how much you are comfortable losing. Essentially, you must assume that the money you gamble with is money you will lose. With that in mind, there are a few methods that you can use to manage your bankroll.
Calculate Time Spent Playing
First and foremost, many seasoned casino players will be able to analyse the length of time they wish to play in accordance with their budget and stake. The way to do this is to set a budget, a timeframe of how long you wish to play for and calculate how long a round takes.
There are many different casino games and each has a different timeframe for a round. A slot machine can take between 1 and 5 seconds whilst a round of blackjack can take around 30 seconds online and considerably longer in person. The basic idea is to divide your bankroll by the number of rounds you wish to play. This will give you a figure of how much you should set as your stake.
Here is an example when playing slots. Imagine you have a budget of $100, want to play for 30 minutes and assume that a spin takes 5 seconds. You can calculate that with $100, you can play as many as 360 spins within 30 minutes. This would come at the cost of $0.27 per spin. Thus, you may wish to find a slot with 25 paylines and bet $0.01 per payline, amounting to $0.25 per spin. This way, you should be able to play with just under $100 within 30 minutes.
If you are a roulette player, you can assume online that the average roulette round lasts 30 seconds. If you want to play for 30 minutes and you have $100, you can wager around $2 per round. This way, you will go through your $100 within 30 minutes. Obviously, these numbers will vary depending on how long you wish to play, your budget and the time of a single round.
Setting Win and Loss Limits
Managing your bankroll is made a lot simpler when you stick to the basics. A very important basic concept is the idea of win and loss limits. As always, the most important first step is to set aside an amount you can afford to lose. For arguments sake, let’s say this amount is $100.
The reason why setting limits work so well is because it is far easier than the previous method with calculating each round. This way, you only need to know where the cut-off point is. However, because it is simpler to follow, there are a few issues with it.
For loss limits, you need to know when to leave. If you set a bankroll of $100 and are happy to gamble with that amount, you should leave after it is spent. You should never chase losses, rather you have to accept that the money lost is gone. The problem with this method is that in highly volatile slots or casino games with high stakes, it is possible to burn through a bankroll in very little time and you may not be able to play for as long as you wanted to.
The alternative to this is to set limits on how much you win. While this may sound slightly counterintuitive, it can be a very effective method. If your win limit is 50% of your bankroll, you will walk away from the casino game once you reach $150. The main advantage with using this method is that you will definitely leave with a profit, which can be put towards the next gambling session. Of course, the disadvantage is you may never reach that win limit.
The best method for casino bankroll management would be to use all three of these tips. Setting win and loss limits are certainly a good way of managing your bankroll and ensuring that you do not lose more than you can afford, whilst also being able to walk away with a big win – provided luck is on your side. If you are able to calculate how long a round takes, you will be able to adjust your stake according to how much time you wish to spend gaming. By using all three of these techniques, you should be able to know how much you wish to spend, when to walk away and how much time you will spend gambling.
Using Strategies and Betting Systems
When playing online table games, such as Blackjack or Roulette, there are various betting systems that you can use. A betting system is simply a system that tells you how much you should be betting on each round. A strategy tells you what action to take when playing a particular game. Both of these can help maintain your casino bankroll.
In Blackjack, basic strategy is used to tell you whether to Hit, Stand, Double Down, Split or even Surrender. It is calculated based on your two initial cards and the dealer’s face-up card. By following the strategy carefully you will minimise the house edge, maximise your returns, and give yourself the best chance of winning. However, blackjack is one of very few casino games where it is possible to use a strategy like this.
When playing a game like Roulette, there are no player decision to be made, which means that all you can do is turn to betting systems. There are several betting systems of varying complexity, but the best known of them is “The Martingale”.
The Martingale is simple. It requires you to place even money bets and double your bet after every loss. Thus, if you bet $1 and lose, bet $2 next. If that loses, bet $4. If you still cannot win, bet $8. Eventually, you are bound to win your money back and even a slight profit on that. Once you win, go back to your initial stake and start the same process over again.
The main issue with the Martingale is that it requires you to have a massive bankroll. After all, if you go nine rounds without a win, you will end up betting $512 on the tenth spin. Furthermore, if you hit a really long losing streak, you may hit the table’s maximum bet. There are other Roulette strategies that do not require you to double your bet after every spin. One of them is the Fibonacci technique, which requires you to increase your bet after every loss based on the famous mathematician’s formula.
Tips on Bankroll Management
Outlined below are a few simple yet effective tips to help you manage your bankroll:
- Reduce your pace of play – the slower you play, the longer your bankroll lasts
- Stop playing when you start chasing losses
- Leave the casino when you have reached your win limit
- Play with money set aside that you can afford to lose
- Take breaks in between games
- Follow a betting strategy
- Play with smaller stakes to last longer
- Do not play against your bankroll