What is Casino Bankroll Management, and why is this Important to you?
Bankroll management is an incredibly useful tool for casino players. This can show you what betting limits to play compared to your total cash. It can also show you when to move up and back down levels. This goes hand in hand with the golden rule of casino play (never gamble with more than you can afford to lose) as one of the best things you can learn to maximize your enjoyment of casino games.
This article looks at bankroll management at casinos in several different ways. First of all, I have explained the concept and different uses in a general sense. After that, bankroll management is put into the context of table games, and then slots – with examples to show you how this works. Next I look at casino bankroll management in the context of online casinos.
Overview of Bankroll Management
The idea behind bankroll management is to divide up your total cash in such a way as to maximize your enjoyment of playing casino games, while minimizing your potential to go completely broke.
You can look at this topic at two main levels. First of all, asking the question of what percentage of your overall bankroll should you take to the casino on any one visit? Second, the detail of what bets you should make with what amount of cash.
Most people have their casino cash separated for a vacation or casino visit, and do not have an ‘overall’ gambling bankroll. If this is the case then it is just the simple matter of dividing your total by the days you plan to gamble. Any wins you book can be considered to be a bonus. If you are a dedicated gambler, then leaving 95% of your total bankroll at home and taking the other 5% with you is a standard ratio, this should keep your bankroll in play for quite a long time.
With games like poker (the player v player variety), bankroll management will help you keep from going broke. A skilled poker player is expected to win over time, so the idea is that the bankroll will be moving upwards.
Of course, casinos have a built-in edge to their games, and your bankroll will naturally go down over time. This means that the overall focus of casino bankroll management is different. Instead of trying to keep variance away while you slowly accumulate winnings, you are trying to keep your money in play for as long as possible, waiting for those short-term winning streaks to hit you.
Bankroll Management for Table Games
Each game is different, and the number of bets you keep is also a matter of your personal taste and risk tolerance. I like to ensure that I have 30 bets minimum, and preferably 50 for most table games. For example at a $10 blackjack table, $300 is a reasonable starting amount and $500 will keep you insulated from the short term swings.
What works with sticking to 30 bets is that you get a good indication of when to move up and down the levels. Staying with the Blackjack, if you did lose half of your $300 roll, then you could jump over to a $5 table, and try to rebuild there. If you get lucky and $750, then you have plenty enough bankroll for a $25 minimum bet table.
You’ll need to adjust for higher and lower variance games. For example Baccarat is much steadier than a game like Mississippi Stud or Let It Ride.
Bankroll Management for Slot Games
Slots can be very high variance; you can go many spins with just a few small wins, and then get hit with a nice big windfall. The great thing about casino slots is that you can choose your coins for every single spin.
Again, as long as you are gambling money you can afford to lose, your objective is to bet enough to be meaningful to you – yet maximize the length of time to keep your bankroll in-play. I recommend 250 spins as a good starting point at your chosen coin / line amount. If you are betting 50c, then start with $125 at the beginning of your session. If this goes up to $250, then you can move your spin amount up to $1. Remember that slots with big jackpots are higher variance than those without.
Bankroll Management at Online Casinos
The principals are exactly the same online, you should be keeping your chances of short term windfalls high, and yet not risking too much of your bankroll in one go. Remember to take advantage of any bonuses or promotional schemes which you might be offered – these might seem like ‘small change’ individually, though they will make a big difference to your bankroll over time.