Making Your First Trip to a Casino
There are few things as exciting as making your first trip to a casino if you’re a gambler at heart. These venues are are often lavish and they’re full of pokies and casino games. Entering one is like being a kid in a lolly store.
The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic means most of us are playing at online casinos. Doing so is safer and you have more choice, but live casinos are so much fun.
Those of you considering making your first trip to a casino when times are better should really read our free, handy tips for making that trip enjoyable.
Before Your Make Your First Trip to a Casino
It is so easy to get caught up in all the excitement when you’re at the casino so do your preparation at home.
Set out some clear plans before you leave home so you’re not overwhelmed when you arrive at the casino. Casinos are expertly designed to relive you of your money. Everything from the décor to the music and lighting is done for a reason.
Decide what games you want to play and what your goals are. Plans include whether you only play pokies or dabble in blackjack and roulette. Ensure you brush up on the rules of the game you want to play alongside any basic strategy. You say you’ll do it at the tables, but you won’t. Trust us!
Set yourself a stop loss and a win limit and stick to them religiously. A stop loss is figure that you stop playing if you lose that sum of money. Conversely, your win limit is when you stop playing once you’ve one a set amount.
My partner and I like playing roulette in our local casino. We set ourselves a loss limit of say $200. We stop playing roulette if we lose $200. Should we win and have $50-$100 more than our $200 starting bankroll, we take our $200 back and play with our winnings. This way we’re essentially playing for free.
Sign Up For Deals During Your First Trip to a Casino
Almost all casinos in Australia and around the world operate a loyalty program. Some venues dress this up differently to others, but they’re essentially all the same.
You’ll likely receive a card that you use when buying food and drinks, and when gambling. Doing any of these things earns you loyalty points which the casino exchanges for free stuff. We like free stuff.
The casino wants you to sign up for these cards because it helps them build a profile on you. It’s not a coincidence you get offered a free Martini from time to time if that’s your drink of choice. The casino knows this and will often comp you drinks etc to keep you playing its games.
Every Las Vegas casino has this system in place. I played a lot of poker at Planet Hollywood a few years ago. I wasn’t playing for anything close to high stakes, but was racking up loyalty points throughout my trip. Those points turned into a couple of free meals complete with beverages. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Try Not To Get Carried Away!
It is very easy to lose yourself during your first trip to a casino. The flashing lights, the cheering, and the chirping of chips can be overwhelming. It’s an exciting time, especially of you’re winning and the drinks are flowing.
Try to keep a lid on things, especially the free drinks! Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and this leads to taking more risks. The casino wants you to do this, but your bank balance does not.
Enjoy yourself, by all means, but stick to the original game plan you made at home. A bad wager is a bad wager no matter how much fun you were having when you made it.
