Dealing With Frustration in the Casino

If you play casino games with any degree of regularity then, unless you're exceptionally lucky, you will go on some losing streaks every now and then. Although it's perfectly possible to win in the casino, and even win consistently over a given period of time, the fact that the odds are ultimately against you means that you are likely to eventually hit some rough patches.

Some casino players can shrug a bad run off as just one of those things, but some players can get affected by them. A losing streak can quite easily cause a bit of frustration, which can in turn take all the enjoyment out of playing. Seeing as a losing streak will almost certainly happen to you at some point, you should be prepared for this. In the event that you find yourself feeling some frustration in the casino, the advice we've provided below will hopefully help you to deal with it.

Have the Right Mentality

Perhaps the best way to avoid getting frustrated in the casino is to approach things with the right mentality. If you expect to lose every time you walk into a casino, or log into your online casino account, then you should find dealing with things much easier if you do indeed lose. As a side benefit, if you actually end up winning then that will probably feel even sweeter.

We've made this sound pretty simple, but of course getting yourself into the right frame of mind can be difficult. Part of the attraction of casino games is the very fact that you can win some money, and if you expect to lose every time you play then that may make them a little less appealing.

However, it's important to remember that the reality of casino games is that you're always more likely to lose than win. All the games have a built in house edge that puts the odds in the favor of the casino. Although you can get lucky and beat the odds on occasion, or even regularly if you're very fortunate, there's nothing you can actually do to consistently overcome the house edge (with the exception of counting cards in blackjack).

There are some forms of gambling where you can use skill or strategy to win without being entirely reliant on luck, such as sports betting or poker for example, but this is not the case in the casino. You will only ever win if luck is on your side, and you'll probably lose more often than you win. If you can accept that fact and view casino games primarily as a form of entertainment, then you should be able to enjoy playing them without ever getting too frustrated.

Play Different Games

If you're on a losing streak playing a particular game, or type of game, then you might want to try playing something else. For example, blackjack can be a very frustrating game. It has a low house edge, so you should in theory win a reasonable percentage of your hands, but it's quite possible to go on long stretches when you just don't seem to get the right cards. This is the very nature of random games – the laws of probability even themselves out in the long run, but anything is possible in the short term.

If you're not doing well at the blackjack tables then you might want to consider playing slots for a little while. They are entirely different to blackjack; there is no strategy involved at all and you don't really have any decisions to make. You simply spin the reels and hope for the best. If you're used to having to think about what you should do all the time when playing blackjack, then playing slots might provide you with a welcomed release.

A similar principle applies in reverse too. If you are used to playing slots, and you're on a losing streak, then switching to blackjack or another table game and having to think about what you're doing might make things a bit more interesting for a while. That's the point of switching games really. It doesn't really matter what games you normally play or what games you change to – even though you won't necessarily change your luck, just trying something different can be exciting enough to relieve any frustration you might be feeling.

Reduce Your Stakes

Reducing the stakes you play with is a simple, but effective, method that can potentially help you to deal with any frustration you might be feeling when going through a losing streak. Again it's not something that can directly change your luck, but it does have other benefits. For one thing, if you continue losing you will at least be losing your money at a slower rate. This alone should relieve your frustration a little.

Playing with smaller stakes also means you can play longer with the same amount of money, which means there is more time for your luck to turn around. Even the most brutal of losing streaks have to come to an end at some point. Even in a worst case scenario where you end up losing everything you were prepared to spend, you will still have had more playing time. That's not necessarily a great consolation, but playing casino games is ultimately a form of entertainment as we mentioned earlier. Getting more entertainment for your money should therefore be viewed as a good thing.

Take a Break

This is the last piece of advice we're offering in this article, but it's arguably the most important. It's not so much a way of dealing with frustration, but rather making sure that it doesn't lead to anything more damaging. By taking a complete break from the casino when you start to feel frustrated, you can prevent a losing streak from spiraling out of control.

It's not at all uncommon for players on a losing streak to start making irrational decisions. This can, and frequently does, involve playing with increased stakes to try and recover previous losses. Chasing losses is always a bad idea, and it invariably leads to even more losses. Many a gambler has lost far more than they should in this way.

Of course, it's not a sure thing that this will happen to you as soon as you hit some bad luck. It is something you should always have in the back of your mind though. Most casino players can deal with a bit of bad luck without too much difficulty, but you should take a break immediately if you feel like you're getting so frustrated that you might start losing control. You may even want to consider stopping gambling completely if you think you might have a serious problem.