Slow Down Your Play

17 October 2023

By Frank Scoblete

Simon and Garfunkel sang it just right: “Slow down, you move too fast /
You got to make the morning last.” (“The 59th Street Bridge Song”)

When I am talking casino playing of any kind, be it slot play, video poker play, tables games of all types and bets of all kinds, I am not just talking about the morning but all day and all night and anytime you place bets at casino games. The rules of how to play are basically underpinned by the same idea – slowness.

Whenever you play, where you play, whatever you play, why you play, you must ease up on sending the gas to the engine. The faster you play, the more decisions you face and the more decisions you face the more the chances are that you’re behind.

That is a sad but true fact of playing life. The more you play, the less you will have to play with over time because the losses do add up.

The casinos love fast players. Why not? Since the casino has the mathematical edge over the players, that edge reveals itself over time – sometimes a short time, sometimes a medium time and sometimes a somewhat long time.

There is no chance to escape the fact that the casino’s edge will ultimately win out unless you have a bundle of luck so magnificent that you never have to worry about money ever again. It is sad, but most of us will never have that eventuality.

Too Many Bets, Not So Good

You will note the number of games that call for more than one bet. The casino loves craps players who make many bets at once and at many other games new options have been introduced that tempt the players to bet more and more in less and less time. The casinos know a good thing for them.

Do the players? I do wonder about that. I am not so sure the players, or at least many of them, are aware that what seemingly looks good is not actually all that good for them.

Sometimes the players do not realize what is bad for them. More money into the machine, the more money that the casino will win and the more money the player will lose – except for those lucky few whose luck has sustained them.

Slot machines encourage betting more and more in order to win bigger jackpots. One credit played gets you “X” amount on a jackpot win but three credits played will win you more than three times the amount. Hmmm.

Is the above “hmmm” a true “wow!” factor? Not really. The total return on the one-play first machine and the total return on the multiple-play machine is not all that great to really encourage betting more and more money in a shorter and shorter period of time.

Too many players don’t know this. The more money in the machine, the more the eventual losses. That is a true no matter how you slice it.

[Next week will be some answers to serious questions.]

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete’s web site is www.frankscoblete.com. His books are available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books, libraries and book stores.