Introduction: Why people win or lose gambling on casino games

When people go to a casino or play live casino games online they’re thinking about their expectations of whether they’ll win or lose. This article looks at the top reasons gamblers win or lose betting on casino games. So keep reading to gain some top gambling tips on some of the most popular casino games out there.

The chances of any casino goer winning or losing on random outcome casino games is down to luck, yes. But whether you’ll win or lose has a lot to do with timing, and how much money you gamble on specific casino games.

Gamblers win or lose betting on casino games for a variety of reasons. Before we explore what those reasons are in some depth, I’m going to outline what winning and losing is from a player’s point of view.

What does it mean to win playing casino games?

It’s an established fact that most gamblers of casino games want to win. They have a powerful desire to win, thus their motive for playing. All the fun is contained in the hope of good fortune that a run of wins a night out at the casino can bring.

However, a small percentage of players don’t believe in winning. They’re happy to spend time betting on casino games just for the buzz of it. To them, casino gambling is not a business – it’s all about the entertainment or the excitement of wagering money on the casino games they love to play.

There are two types of casino gamblers

Those aged in their 20s to 50s and those aged 60 and over. The younger the player, the stronger their desire to win. Whereas older players aren’t too bothered about winning – at least not all the time. Therefore, overall, younger players are more likely to explore new ways to win playing casino games.

Yet all players betting on casino games such as, Blackjack, Baccarat, Roulette and even Slots expect to win big sometimes.

Winning isn’t about betting on the right outcomes such as when:

  • Playing Baccarat trying to get it right, whether hands will result in Banker or Player outcomes.
  • Trying to beat the dealer in Blackjack.
  • Seeing your numbers come up on Roulette games.

What players really want from a gambling session at a casino is to double or triple their money at the very least. And of course, slot players want to hit a jackpot or a significant sizable win every so often; to at least keep the dream alive.

blackjack cards

With the run of the mill payouts, let’s say where you bet £20, lose, and then bet £30 and win. This is not what true winning is about. At the end of a casino session whether playing table or slot games, most casino gamblers will either have:

  1. Lost all their bankroll following many small wins.
  2. Lost a little.
  3. Won a little.
  4. Few casino gamblers win a lot i.e. 20x PLUS their bankroll. It does happen from time to time, mostly on slots and those fantastic roulette winning streaks that draw crowds.

I’ve personally seen:

  1. A roulette player friend turn £20 into £900 in one hour (with my help).
  2. A 50 pence per spin slots player (casino acquaintance) turn a £10 bankroll into a £16,500 major jackpot within five minutes – because of my suggestion she return to playing slots after taking a break.

What does it mean to lose on casino games?

Casino gamblers lose on casino games for two main reasons:

  1. Casino gamblers lose on casino games when they place small wagers most of the time.

Even when on a winning streak, some players don’t always increase their wagers. And if they do bet more it’s not enough to bank a sizable profit, because the size of their wagers is too reserved.

The casino’s house edge (built into all casino games) fulfils its mathematical advantage from this kind of casino gambler. When players stay at casino tables or slots for too long they end up losing. This not only includes losing any winnings, but also losing the pot of money they started with.

While the older casino gamblers might expect to lose their casino gambling budget, those new to the world of casino gambling may wonder why ultimately they always seem to lose playing casino games.

  1. The second way casino gamblers lose on casino games is when they make those, “all-in,” all or nothing, big time, win or lose wagers.

This style of gambling is undoubtedly the most exciting way to wager when playing casino games. However, statistically, based on the probability of winning or losing over the long term, casino gamblers will end up losing money. That’s for sure.

The big shots, or should I say show-offs, are mostly one hit wonders. Over the years, you’ll see them in the same casino playing a big bankroll no more than on a handful of occasions, at times in their lives when they come into money.

A larger bet size doesn’t guarantee a win nor any long-term edge over a casino gambler who places small wagers. All bets are based on the reasoning players form to make their decisions.

But outcomes of all casino games are decided by randomness. And whatever your bet choice and bet size, it’s randomness that has the final say on whether you win or lose.

Even if you try to fight randomness with randomness, as a way of concluding when to bet, or what to bet on, you’ll still need to figure out how much you’re going to stake on each game.

What are the good and bad wagering tactics casino gamblers make?

Betting lesser amounts too often in casino games is bad. So too is betting big in just a few casino games. In my view, these are not the most effective wagering methods.

To avoid losing too often and to stand a fair chance of winning, the middle ground is to adjust how many casino chips you wager on the outcomes for the casino games you’re playing.

Adjust your approach when betting on the diverse types of casino games.

Should you vary your bet size when gambling on casino games?

When gambling on casino games you could:

  1. Increase the size of your wagers on the start of a winning run. 
  2. Reduce the size of your wagers when you notice your winning streak ending.

When you find you may be at the start of a winning streak, try to take advantage by increasing the size of your bets. And when you’re on a winning run, don’t be too optimistic because winning streaks will end. Therefore, you should reduce your bet size to protect your winnings.

Not every positive signal will turn out to be a winning run, so don’t try and force it by betting like crazy. Just because you bet big, it doesn’t follow that you'll win.

Try to identify any signs for when a winning streak might be about to occur (or is occurring) and when one is ending within the casino games you play on. And turn these events into a gambling strategy i.e. how much money you intend to stake on outcomes.

Should you bet more when winning casino games and less when losing?

Preserve your bankroll until the best games to bet on within your structured plan. Once you’ve formed a bet selection strategy (especially on live Roulette games) be sure to apply a bet size strategy too.

Your casino wagering strategy plan is not always going to work out. But when it does, it feels good, as if the planets have lined up to favour your wagers. Remember it’s especially important you’re careful about how much you’re wagering and stick to your plan.

Is a wagering plan for Baccarat a clever idea?

In Baccarat, if your bankroll is limited it would be unwise to make outside bets, say on the ties, as well as trying to get in front betting on Banker or Player. Depending on how many decks of cards there’re in play on a shoe, if you’re chasing tie wins this could be costly.

Tie hands can occur 10 times or more in some shoes, while in others not at all or just a few times. And there’s no guarantee that when ties do occur that they will be high paying ones.

baccarat

If you’re a baccarat tie player make sure you have a large bankroll and a decent strategy for when to bet on ties, because it’s not wise to bet on ties every single hand. Tie outcomes that are plentiful often occur in clusters and you can spot patterns by watching live online baccarat scoreboards.

This is not to say that the same patterns will form in other baccarat shoes. Just be aware of the similar types of occurrences, including that in some shoes, lower paying ties seem to dominate while in other shoes it’s higher-paying ties that are hitting.

Given there’s a low house edge in baccarat for Banker and Player bets, this is the game of choice for most chilled out, high rollers.

Is there a good method to try and win playing on slot games?

It’s fair to say winning big on slots is more about luck than skill. But slot players stand a better chance of experiencing a jackpot trigger when players make larger bets on the right types of games.

Unfortunately, as a slot player you’re not guaranteed a big jackpot win by making larger bet sizes each spin. Though bigger bets per game are likely to trigger more frequent minor jackpot payouts.

There are slot game feeders and slot game snipers

Casino gamblers who play the same slot games for lengthy periods of time (feeders) stand less chance of winning than those who don’t play so often and change games regularly (snipers).

This is what I’ve seen in land-based casinos. I’ve seen the types of slot players who win jackpots and those who don’t.

My top tips for gamblers betting on casino games

  1. How much time you spend trying to win – It’s important to stop gambling to secure winning profits or stop gambling to prevent losing more money. Sometimes luck can change for the better if you take a break when losing.
  2. How much money you stake – Look at how much you’re wagering overall and on each game. Consider the amount of money that forms your gambling bankroll and divide this into various levels to form your wagering tactic.
  3. What casino games you play – Except for slots where you could win a big jackpot, bet at the smallest stakes. On casino table games such as Baccarat, Blackjack and Roulette, the more money you stake, you stand a higher chance of winning or losing more money.
  4. Whether you’re following a strategy or just playing randomly – This is a tricky one to assess. So, let’s divide it into two areas:

Why casino gamblers should refine how they play:

On one hand, following a structured pattern involving planned bet selections and bet size wagering could result in steady profits. And this is the safest way to approach casino games when you intend to gamble on them.

But random ways of gambling on casino games can result in sudden big wins. And the gambling experience is more fun. It’s fighting randomness with randomness. Not trying too hard to win seems to attract lucky winning streaks.

Stephen R. Tabone is an English Writer from Great Britain. He is a casino games professional pattern player and outcomes systemiser. He is the Author of Bestselling Baccarat books, ‘The Ultimate Silver Bullet Proof Baccarat Winning Strategy 2.1’ and ‘The Ultimate Golden Secret Baccarat Winning Strategy 3.0’.

In 2011, Mr. Tabone earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in Creative Writing and Philosophy from the University of Greenwich, London. And holds qualifications in Law and in Business.