Be Contained and Refrain

19 March 2024

By Frank Scoblete

Many times, successful casino play is not so much what you do as what you don’t do.

You’ve just won three decisions in a row, what do you do now? Do you raise your bet to take advantage of your “good luck” or do you just make your normal-sized bet because the game you are playing, a random game, has a whole variety of streaks and none of them can be predicted.

Play streaks and you lose; don’t play streaks and your money lasts longer. That’s a simple fact of casino playing. The fewer decisions for you, the better it is for you. The more decisions for the casino, the better the game is for them.

Streaks? No. Playing head-to-head with a dealer or in any game with you as the only or dominant player? Is that a good idea? Seriously, no, it is not.

Good casino players must be contained. The worst thing is to be a slave to your emotions – your strong emotional emotions will often get you into trouble. Players who parlay their bets (based on the old Paroli system of putting a win on top of your previous bet three times in a row) are not understanding what’s actually happening in the game.

If bet one is $10 and you win; you are now $10 ahead. Put that $10 win on top if your original $10 for a $20 bet and you win again. Now put that $20 win on top of the $20 bet and you are betting $40.

Okay, if you are playing a game with a two percent house edge, the expectation is to lose 20 cents on that first $10; to lose 40 cents on the next $20 and to lose 80 cents on the next $40. The true loss could be immense if your Paroli goes down the drain enough times to lose not just your expectation but your whole bet as well.

Such a playing strategy is not a dance: One-step, two-steps, three steps because you lose more often than you will win on such a betting scheme. If it were a dance you’d be tripping over your dance partner enough times that you might change such a partner. So, refrain from doing this – even if your emotions are saying “go for it! Go for it!” Refrain is a good word when playing any game when the “urge” hits you to do something not recommended.

The word “contain” is a key word for casino players as well. It means to keep everything level without the wildness that can come when you are winning or when you are losing. You want to play steady and slowly and in a relaxed fashion.

What else do you need to be contained? In short, be contained all the time! Here is a simple list governing some points to consider:

• Make sure you have separate bank account for your playing money that you can make contributions to on occasion. You only play with that money; not your daughter’s wedding money. Call this account your 401G (the “g” stands for gambling).


• Keep the size of your bets low enough that no bad evening or weekend or week can sink you. You always want to be afloat. You’ll feel better about yourself doing this.


• The folks that you might go to the casinos with should be solid casino citizens – just like you. If they drink too much, play too stupidly, you are better off making them non-casino friends.


• Keep a record of everything you have won or lost in your play. This can be difficult because it could hurt your feelings if you find you are a loser. So what?


• Income also means how much comps would have cost you if you had to pay for them? Comps are returned money. Returned money is made money. Price out cost of rooms, meals, gifts. These are part of your wins. Don’t play for them but they will invariably come to most players who have players’ cards. They do help the bottom line.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete’s books are available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books, libraries, and bookstores.