How to Enjoy Gambling Without Losing Control

Gambling is a fun way to let off steam after a long week (or weekend) of work. But how can you ensure you enjoy gambling safely?

The good news is, most people are able to enjoy gaming safely, ensuring they have methods in place to stop themselves from going too far. Of course, these methods won’t work for everyone—namely, those who struggle with addiction—but as long as that’s not you, read on to learn some tips for enjoying gambling without losing control.

**IMPORTANT: If you regularly struggle with addiction or have an addictive personality, do not read further. These tips will not help you. Instead, contact the addiction hotline in your country for help managing your addiction.

Tips for Enjoying Gaming Without Losing Control

1. Set a Budget and Stick to it

One of the best tips I’ve ever heard is from a friend who regularly heads to the casino with cash, and only cash on his person. He leaves everything else at home, except for his driver’s license and keys. This ensures that no matter what happens or what he may be feeling at the table, he can’t spend any more than he brought from home.

The nice thing about this method is it can work for any gambling budget, whether that’s $50 or $500. Just make sure you have the cash in advance so you aren’t bringing your debit card to the casino at all.

2. Don’t Drink While Playing

This method isn’t the most fun, but there’s a reason casinos serve alcohol. Alcohol keeps people playing and lowers their inhibitions to the point that they might forget about the budget they set or the stopping point they agreed upon. Alcohol works so well to keep people gaming that most casinos serve gamblers for free—which is how we know that it still works.

We recommend not drinking at all if you are worried about losing control, especially because alcohol affects everyone differently, and the exact effect can be changed by emotional status. Instead, order a water so you can keep your promises to yourself.

3. Only Gamble With Friends

Friends don’t let friends bet their homes, life savings, or cars at the poker table. And if your friend has let you do this—they aren’t a real friend. In fact, one of the best ways to stick to your goals is to say them out loud to someone else, ensuring they can help you stick to them as well.

While it isn’t their responsibility to keep your gaming in check, a spoken “hey man, are you sure you want to do that?” can go a long way toward keeping gaming fun.

We recommend only gambling as a social activity, and employing the budget strategy listed in tip one alongside this one for maximum effect.

4. Have a Support Person

If you live away from friends or family, then tip number three might be difficult for you, which is why we recommend finding a support person. A support person can be anyone, a friend who lives far away, a family member, or even a member of a support group. All a support friend does is answer the phone when you call.

A support friend isn’t meant to talk you down or prevent you from gaming; they are just meant to give you something to do, as many compulsive gamblers turn to gambling out of boredom or depression.

Basically, a support person can work in two ways: one, they are someone you can call when you aren’t in a good headspace and are trying to gamble your feelings away at the casino. While they can’t prevent you from gambling, you might find talking to them relaxes you and puts you in a better place than betting 50k. Second, a support person can be someone you go to for advice—aka you call them before you get the 50k line of credit. Either way, dial someone before making large financial decisions, especially those found on the casino floor.

5. Learn About Gambling

Have you ever heard the saying “to stop a dog’s bad habits, you should train that habit”? Well, it’s true. The number one way to prevent a dog from barking is to teach it to bark on command, and we believe the same tactic works with humans.

The thing is, the more you learn about gambling, the less likely you are to bet 50k on the roulette wheel. In fact, the thing casinos don’t want you to know is that the more you learn, the less you gamble. While learning about gambling won’t stop the urge altogether, it can make it less impulsive. So, head on over to our list of books about gambling to learn more about it.

6. Time Your Gambling

One of the ways individuals lose control while gambling is by losing track of time. This is one of the main reasons there are no clocks in casinos.

Therefore, if you want to regain control, you need to take back the one thing casinos take away—time. We recommend getting a watch, one you can look at easily as you play. We also recommend setting a timer for the amount of time you want to play—whether that is 15 minutes or 2 hours. Anything to make you check back in with yourself, your bets, and your goals.

If you are using the timer method, we recommend setting multiple timers, the first one at a specified time, and the next 5 minutes later. This ensures that if you are mid-roll when the timer goes off, you can finish your roll (or hand) before being reminded it’s time to walk away again.

Overall, gambling can be a very fun pastime—but it is also a dangerous one. While these tips can help you to stay in control, you may still find yourself the victim of compulsive gambling tendencies. Remember, if gambling isn’t fun anymore, you should stop and seek help right away, DON’T continue to play.