Casino Psychology

Casino PsychologyCasinos are famous for using their formidable understanding of human psychology to help them make more money, but by being aware of the ‘tricks’ of casino psychology players themselves can identify their own ways of doing the same – or at the very least, of reducing their losses to a minimum. In this article we identify four of the main casino psychology tricks employed by casinos and suggest ways in which online casino players can adjust their approach accordingly…

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Trick #1 – No Clocks
Take a look around the walls the next time you visit an offline casino and you will probably notice that there are no clocks in sight. That’s because casinos know that the longer you play, the more time there will be for the house edge to work against you, and by removing clocks players can lose track of time and end up playing for much longer than they might have intended. Online casino players can use this “trick” to their advantage by doing the opposite of what casinos want and setting strict time limits on their sessions. Your aim should be to make a profit and then end the session promptly rather than continue to play and risk losing your profits as a result.

Trick #2 – Make it Fun
Offline casinos like their dealers and hostesses to be as attractive as possible and for the atmosphere to be as fun and entertaining as possible. This is to try and encourage players to adopt a “what the hell” attitude to their gaming, where fun is deemed more important than increasing the chances of winning. Again, the way to make this trick of casino psychology work for you when playing online is to deliberately avoid that “what the hell” attitude and to play in a rational and logical way wherever possible. You can still have fun, of course, just don’t have so much fun that you start playing recklessly!

Trick #3 – Encourage Loyalty
All casinos are businesses, and as such they do their utmost to encourage players to remain as loyal as possible. Measures most commonly used to this end include offering players regular rewards, hosting special ‘freebie’ events and generally making players feel special. As far as casino psychology ‘tricks’ are concerned, rewarding players for their loyalty is fairly harmless, but it can mean that players neglect to keep their eyes open for better deals elsewhere. Our advice to online casino players is to remain loyal to your favourite casinos if the rewards for doing so are worthwhile, but always be on the lookout for better deals and be willing to take advantage of better casino promotions when they arise.

Trick #4 – Offer Huge Jackpots
Casinos know that many players can be so tantalised by the idea of winning big money that they overlook the odds of them actually succeeding, so they like to offer huge jackpots in the games that give the house the greatest edge. As an online player you can obviously play for huge jackpots if you want to do so, but remember that you are probably overlooking gambling opportunities that give you a much better chance of winning. Progressive slots jackpots are great if you hit one of them, but if you don’t then your time and money might have been much better spent at the blackjack table or roulette wheel, to mention just two of the alternatives.

The four casino psychology ‘tricks’ detailed here will always be used by casinos to help them improve their business prospects, but now that you are aware of them you can deliberately defy them and help your own prospects instead!

Michael Hastings


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