Gambling: You And Your Money

Should I have a "gambling budget" when planning to gamble in a casino?

A good way to budget for gambling at a casino is to setup a seperate bank account. If you add small amounts of money to this account, then you can be sure that you're not gambling away your life savings; whilst still having enough to have a good time.

Can I learn to gamble from the "free gambling seminars" offered by the casino?

Many casinos offer what are called free gambling seminars. You go up to a craps table, they teach you how the game is played at the free gambling seminar. You go up to a blackjack table, they teach you how the game is played at the free gambling seminar. However, since the house has an edge on all the bets they're going to discuss, you can't beat the house based on those free gambling seminars. But one thing you should keep in mind when you go to one of these free gambling seminars: if they don't tell you what the house edge is on all the bets, then they're treating all those bets as equally good. And they're not. You want to take a free gambling seminar where the casino says, "This is a good bet, this is a bad bet."

What are some of the scams perpetrated on casino gamblers?

When you are in the casino, you have a lot more to worry about than just the "house edge". Criminals will often resort to distraction techniques in order to relieve you of your cash or chips; they will take advantage of faulty machines in order to take you money, and some will be so brazen as to pick-pocket you on the casino floor. Another thing to worry about are "chip-stealers"; they can be avoided by carefully stacking your chips with the higher value chips in the middle.