4 First time-tips: Read this before gambling in Vegas
It’s been called the Gambling Capital of the World and the Entertainment Capital of the World; the City of Second Chances and the City of Lost Wages; America’s Playground, and of course, Sin City. No matter what you call it, Las Vegas is one of the best places in the world to gamble. If you have never been, it is something you need to cross off your Bucket List as soon as possible. If you are heading to Vegas for the first time, here are 4 tips you need to know before gambling in Vegas.
Set Your Budget
They don’t call it the City of Lost Wages for nothing. It is easy to get carried away when gambling in Las Vegas and lose a lot of money. There is an old cliché that says, ‘never wager more than you can afford to lose” and this is a great tip for any Vegas gambler. Before you head to the desert to put your money down at the tables, make a set budget with how much you want to wager while there. It may take a little will power in the moment but it will be more than worth it on the flight or drive home.
Experienced Las Vegas gambler and partner in OnlineCasinoGems, Lucian Marinescu tells novice gamblers, “take half your money and leave it in your room or give it to a friend. Same thing if you win money. Put your initial investment away and just play with your winnings. At the very least both of these things will make you step away from the table and think about what you’re doing before losing it all.”
Pick Your Game
Not all games in Vegas are created equal. Sure, part of the joy of Vegas is to have fun and play whichever game you like best but if you want to give yourself the best chance to walk away a winner, certain games are better than others. When you look at all the casino games available, you want to try your hand at the ones with the best odds. Table games have better odds than slots for the most part.
The game with the best odds on the casino floor is blackjack followed by craps and roulette. Even with these games though, you have to be aware of what version you are playing and what the odds are. With roulette, for example, you can play American Roulette or European roulette. The American version of the wheel has an additional green slot which doubles the house advantage.
If you do want to play the slots, go for it. Just know that penny slot machines generally have the worst odds in the entire casino. If you want to increase your odds of winning at slots, you will need to wager more money. The higher the bet on the machine, the better the odds usually are.
Get Your Poker Face On
If you are an online or kitchen table poker player who dreams of World Series of Poker glory, you have to go to Vegas and try your hand against real competition. Sitting at a table filled with poker players from all walks of life is a thrill that you can only get in Las Vegas and a few other places. Poker has been defined as more a game of skill than a game of chance. Because of this, when you play against players who take the game incredibly seriously, you want to be ready to match their focus and intensity.
The best way to get ready to do this is to get your poker face ready. Gambling News Magazine defines a poker face as “a key poker strategy in which you keep a calm, straight face so you don’t betray how you truly feel about the game at hand.” It is a way to avoid “tells” which are faces, actions or motions that communicate to other players what cards may be in your hand. The more you can control your emotion at a poker table, the better off you will be.
Listen to Kenny
The best advice for anyone in Vegas, whether you are a first-timer or a seasoned pro comes from country music songwriter Don Schlitz. While you may not know who that is, you most certainly know his most famous song, Kenny Roger’s hit, The Gambler. The song talks about an old gambler sitting with a young gambler on “a train bound for Georgia ”. The chorus of the song is the old gambler’s best advice:
You’ve got to know when to hold ’em/ Know when to fold ’em/ Know when to walk away/ And know when to run/ You never count your money/ When you’re sittin’ at the table/ There’ll be time enough for countin’/ When the dealin’s done
Just because it was fodder for a hit country/ pop song doesn’t make the advice any less valuable. Remember this when sitting at any table in Vegas. Sometimes it is time to cut your losses and live to play another day. And, if you are winning, pull the plug before you lose it all and end up back at square one.
Conclusion
Las Vegas can be one of the most fun places to visit in all the world. It can also be one of the worst experiences of your life if you are not careful with how you gamble when you visit the Neon City in the desert. The key to having a successful trip to Las Vegas lies in these four tips. You need to figure out what you can afford to lose, pick the games with the best odds, focus on the game you are playing, and know when it is time to get up and walk away. If you can live by these four rules while you are gambling in Vegas, you will be much more likely to have a great time and not regret your actions. If you can do this, you will not have to make your first time in Vegas your last time.
Even though I am not much of a gambler, I have had fun in Vegas when I have gone with friends. I think setting and sticking to a budget is a super good idea.
This can be so much fun. I learned the hard way to keep all your cash and anything important within eye sight. Someone stole my wallet out of my purse that I had over my shoulder. Have fun and be safe
I visited Las Vegas many years ago. I was content to just play the slots (back when you put real money in them). My boyfriend at the time went off to play craps. He won a lot and gave me some. I still have the earrings I bought there with some of his winnings. (but not the boyfriend)