It is the march of loss, the excruciating trip. It’s been accomplished at least once by nearly all, but some people do it rather than others. After a wipeout at the tables or slots, it is the dreadful trudge to the money machine, where a player tries to finish the game but discovers his pockets are bare, except for cardboard. When he carries out a cash advance on a credit card, the casino, and the bank would incur high fees. And casino ATMs are often pricey.
A common question asked by those who want to play in an online casino but who don’t have much experience in doing so is how much money (bankroll) will they need in order to play and have as much gun as possible. In other words, what is the minimum amount of money they’re going to need to set aside to play?
Well, it would be easy to answer in a silly way and tell them they would need infinite money, even if, technically, that’s true. Even high rollers don’t have a never-ending stream of cash, though, so it’s not a helpful answer at all. The truth is, there is no real answer as everyone is different and it will depend on a variety of factors. Read on to find out what they are so you can work out what bankroll you’re going to need.
When they take the plastic out and offer charitable contributions to the money-gods Visa and MasterCard, players appear to blame poor luck, bad play, or the house edge for their troubles.
But in fact, it has nothing to do with chance, optimum play, and the casino’s edge. The game is not the root of the problem. Instead, it’s a “money management” thing. A guy may be the worst player on the planet, but if he handles his bankroll properly, he’ll never take the pain walk. Conversely, if he employs bad financial handling, a player who has an edge will also be flushed out.
To secure their bankrolls and increase their earnings, all active skilled gamblers (including casinos) use money management. The same methods will be helpful for you.
The House Advantage
The first thing you’re going to need to think about is the house advantage. This basically means how much chance the horse has of winning compared to you; how likely is it that the house will win? To answer this, it will depend on the game you’re playing. Some games, like blackjack, offer a fair house edge, whereas others, like craps, usually see games going in the casino’s favor.
When you take a look at the odds of you winning, you can determine your bankroll. If the odds are low, you won’t need so much money because it’s best not to bet a lot. If the odds are high, you can bet with more money because there is a great chance of winning it back. Nothing is guaranteed though, so it really does need to also be whatever you’re comfortable with.
Your Risk Tolerance
Knowing the house advantage and your odds of winning might be enough for some people. They will understand what they have to do and they will know what they want to spend. Others might need a little more information, and they might need to know themselves better.
By knowing themselves we mean knowing their risk tolerance. Some people love to take a risk and it makes everything a lot more exciting. Others prefer to play it safe, understanding that their wins might be smaller but at least their losses won’t be problematic either. Which one are you? If you are the former your bankroll will be bigger because you’re willing to spend more. If the latter, it will be smaller because you don’t want to risk too much.
Your Betting Criteria
Finally, you’ll need to take your betting criteria into account. Are you using a strategy like the Kelly Betting Criteria that suggests always using a certain percentage of your bankroll as it grows and shrinks? Or are you working on a different system with different rules?
Depending on the strategy you want to use when it comes to placing your bets, you’ll need to begin with a specific amount of money. This by itself could be enough to give you a good idea of how much of a bankroll you’re going to need to play with.
