BEYOND LUCK: DECODING THE SCIENCE OF GAMBLING STRATEGIES

The exhilaration that follows a casino win is so profound that people find themselves craving that feeling. It’s even better when it comes with a good prize! And now, thanks to the increase of online casino sites, people can get that dopamine hit at any time. Of course, winning starts with choosing good gambling sites that offer variety, support, and numerous payment methods. But besides banking on a good site, strategies also help. We look at how strategies work, if you should use them, and how you can keep winning in casinos: 

Debunking Strategies

From a basic standpoint, a strategy is how you move from one point to the other. For example, if you want to make more sales, you can use digital influencing as a strategy. The same applies to gambling. People who want to win often employ strategies to give them a leg up over the competition.

Consider the strategies below:

1. The Martingale System: Per this strategy, you should double your wagers after each loss. So, if you wager $10 and lose, you will wager $20 on your next bet. And if you also lose that, you will wager $40. The idea is to keep increasing your wagers so that when you eventually win, your payout will be huge. Theoretically, you should profit. But in real gambling, this is a risky approach as your wagers can increase so much that you spend more than the initial budget. Moreover, you cannot control your losing streak and can keep adding money without getting any returns.
2. The Cancellation System: This strategy works like the Martingale system but in reverse. You start by determining the minimum wager in the game before deciding how many units you want to win. Then, you start placing wagers based on these units. While you will not double your wager after each win, you may have to make big bets even when you have a losing streak, which increases the overall risk exposure.
3. Oscar’s Grind: This system also follows progression like the two above. You start by wagering one unit and keep it the same if you experience a winning or losing streak. But once you win after losing, you increase the unit by one and keep it this way until you lose and win again. It has minimal risk compared to the other systems above, but you still run the risk of exceeding the table limit or wagering more than you can afford.
4. Betting ≤2% of your bankroll: Many people have difficulty keeping a handle on their money when gambling. A great way to ensure you do not hurt your finances is to have a spending plan. Start with a budget, e.g., $100. Then, spend 2% or less of this amount each time you place a wager. So, you would spend $2 or less on each game, enabling you to control your spending and not run out of money. Eventually, you start winning back some of the wagers and can walk away with more money than you had when you started.

Do strategies work in gambling? No strategy can help you win in gambling. Instead, they can only guide you on what to wager and how to proceed after losing or winning. But these techniques do not increase or reduce your winning chances.

Playing to Win

If strategies do not work, what can you do to boost your winning chances? Consider the options below:

• Choose between skill or luck: Casino games fall into two categories – games of skill and games of luck. Games of luck, also known as games of chance, rely on random number generation for outputs. Take roulette as an example. You cannot determine which number or colour will win. Instead, you just wait for your fate. In such games, you cannot control the outcome but can control your wagers. In games of skill, players can sway the outcome in their favour by making good decisions. A game like poker is a good example. You can gauge the strength of your hand, decide if you will keep playing, and use your facial expressions to convince other players that you have a good hand.

• Practice frequently: Most successful casino players spend a lot of time practising the games. You need to know the rules, what moves can benefit your outcome, and how to stagger your wagers. And balancing it all takes time. Most blackjack players spend hours practising before playing for money. The good thing is that most sites offer demo games that you can use to improve your gameplay and boost your winning chances.

• Budget your money: Playing for money is often so fun that people sometimes forget to pay attention to their expenditures. Doing so can result in chasing losses or spending more than you can afford. So, before spending any money on wagers, decide what you can afford.

Also, use bonuses and rewards to your advantage. Many sites offer these promotions as part of their customer relationship management programs to attract and retain clients. You can use them to reduce your risk and increase your playing capital to make the games more profitable.