Intelligent vs. Emotional Gambling

There are many different ways of gambling, with just about every player having their own tried and tested method of trying to be successful. However, there are two particular types of gamers that can be seen in both online and offline casinos. These are the intelligent gamblers and the emotional gamblers.

They’re very different in their ways of placing bets and acting while gaming, with one leading to a much more positive overall stance and the other seeing a player go a bit out of their own headspace in order to do such.

But what are these types of gambling? And how can they be utilized when accessing casino games? Let’s take a closer look at both intelligent and emotional gambling.

Placing wagers at a casino should always have a certain level of intelligence behind it. After all, let’s be honest, players are gambling with money. However, there are certain ways in which you can use intelligent gambling to your own advantage.

In order to do so, you need to understand and remember a few things about casino gaming. The main one of these is that you have to be aware of what the house edge is and why it matters.

The house edge is actually relative to how much of a percentage the house (the casino) has in its favor when it comes to winning a game. This house edge is represented as a long-term average, so it’s not specifically something that affects a short-term gaming session.

It’s also important for you to realize which games have the best odds. Not all of them are equally favorable towards gamers. Some have better odds and a lower house edge than others, and intelligent gamblers usually stick with games featuring the best odds. This generally relates to games like blackjack or video poker, for most smart players. Blackjack tends to offer some of the lowest house edges around, while video poker is quite similar. In total opposite forms, you need to know which games offer the worst odds. Therefore, it’s quite recommended to avoid such, with options like keno or roulette being some of the worst for this.

You’ll also need to be able to think about what you’re doing as an intelligent gambler. Bets placed by these players aren’t just thrown out at random. An intelligent gambler will consider stats and probabilities of winning in a game, and this is especially important for card games, for example. It’s true to say that an intelligent gambler is one who is able to look at a game and place a bet based off of a genuine consideration of all possible outcomes.

One final thing to remember is that intelligent gamblers won’t be too rocked by a loss. It’s important to remember that you’re not going to win all the time at a casino – land-based or online. So, if you go in there with the mindset that losses will sometimes happen as well as wins, you’ll be a lot better off. If you do lose a few times, maybe take a break or go and play a different game. It’s important to know when to stop and what to do next.

Emotional gambling, on the other hand, is the complete polar opposite. An emotional gambler is someone who allows their emotions to control how they place bets. And this is an exceptionally risky way of doing such. While it’s all fine and great to get a couple of wins and feel the happiness welling up as you see your balance increase, what happens next if you lose?

The possibilities are that losing once or perhaps twice in a row will see you get frustrated, upset, angry, and then start placing bets here and there without any kind of thought process behind it. Letting your emotions cloud your wagering judgment is generally never a great way to go.

Naturally, if you’re in a land-based casino, emotional gambling is much more of a possibility to take place. You’re playing in a location where there are other people around. Some of them may be watching your game-play, and you may see others winning money on machines or table games.

There’s so much going on in that environment that emotional gamblers are far more likely to be affected by such. That’s why land-based casinos are far more likely to elicit some sort of emotional response from players – because of how charged that kind of environment is. If you suffer a loss while someone nearby picks up a big win, how else can you expect to feel apart from envious?

If you suffer a couple of losses in a row, it can severely affect your confidence in winning money.

With such an environment and such emotions running high, snap judgments can be made that don’t benefit you at all. Placing higher bets to try and win back the amount that you’ve lost is a route that many people end up going in this instance. Or wagering amounts of money on silly bets without thinking things through first is another. It’s important to remain cool, calm, and collected. Otherwise, you’re bound to make some mistakes.

It gives you the chance to sit back and really remain calm as you place your bets. Online wagering doesn’t provide as much of a risk to players’ emotions because they can’t see what other gamers are winning or losing. Instead, emotions can be kept in check, and this means that you have a better chance of placing informed bets on games via online platforms.

In short, it’s not quite as simple as that.

Intelligent bettors and emotional bettors exist all over the place, and that’s just how these people are. It’s not right to say that an intelligent bettor will always be better off than an emotional bettor because it’s simply not true. Emotions, after all, can sometimes force us into high adrenaline mode and spur us on to a win. Therefore, it’s not something that has a one-way-is-better-than-the-other answer.

In fact, it’s probably better in most cases to utilize a nice combination of both of these. Intelligence is key in anything and everything these days, so this one is pretty much a given point. Intelligent gamblers can look over the situation, remain calm, and place bets that have taken everything into consideration.

Meanwhile, emotional gamblers, while potentially seeming like they’re letting their emotions get the better of them, can sometimes work themselves up into placing a flurry of adrenaline-fueled successful bets.

If you can manage to merge positive emotions with intelligent betting, you’re surely on to a winning combination. The important part is to remember not to get inflamed or enraged by any kind of loss. Even those that are bigger than what you would normally place.

You have to remain calm, and if you find yourself becoming frustrated or too negatively emotional, walk away. You’re not married to the casino games and tables, so there’s always the option of leaving one game for another or returning another day.

This is especially true for online casinos, where you can play games from the comfort of your home. If you feel yourself getting too worked up about something, log out and come back another day.

Well, anything that features a certain level of intelligence is bound to sound more effective than something that bases itself on a player’s emotions. After all, an intelligent decision is something that has much more basis behind it, especially when it comes to things that relate to gambling with money.

Of course, not all gamers are able to utilize this sort of gameplay effectively, meaning that it’s often the case that emotional gamblers will be found partaking in such.

Now, as it stands, we’d also normally be quick to promote an intelligent system of gameplay over something that bases itself purely out of luck. However, casino games are exactly that – games of chance. And even though some of them can be played more beneficially by incorporating a sort of strategy or by making informed decisions, ultimately, nobody is able to guarantee how a game will play out.

This is because there aren’t any guarantees when it comes to casino gaming.

Therefore, an emotional gambler does have just as much chance as an intelligent gambler of placing a bet and hitting a jackpot. Just because one uses intelligence to consider all possibilities and cover all outcomes while the other opts for a random guess doesn’t make the outcome any different in the end. It’s just that from first impressions, intelligent gambling sounds much more appropriate for this.

The point we need to make here is that both should be incorporated into casino gameplay in somewhat equal measures.

Embrace the positive emotions and try to incorporate them into your intelligent strategizing. After all, things should remain fun and light-hearted when it comes to casino gaming, rather than tense and overly structured.

It’s quite a common occurrence to see the more professional players utilize intelligent gambling and the more novice gamers be overwhelmed by emotions. After all, professional players have had more time to understand everything that is happening in their chosen games and therefore employ a certain sort of gameplay tactic to overcome any sort of emotion.

As stated before, though, different situations will often bring out different traits in people. Land-based players will often find themselves affected by the buzz of excitement or the despair of loss surrounding them. It’s only a natural knock-on effect. The key is to try and overcome any sort of negativity in that environment and remain as calm and collected as possible.

Of course, players who have never gambled before and who are having their first experience within a casino will no doubt be struck by emotional gambling, regardless of if they’re doing it online or offline.

It’s always going to be tense – the first few times that you wager money on casino games.

After all, the common thought process is that losing is not something that you want to happen, especially as a newcomer. However, this is only a natural consequence of a loss occurring, so it’s easy for newbies to end up wagering away their entire bankroll in attempts to make up for any losses they have amassed.

Meanwhile, an intelligent gambler would know that once a few losses start taking place, it’s time to either change things around with their gambling method or move on to another game offering.

On the whole, I’d say that having a healthy mix of both emotional and intelligent gambling is important. This helps to keep a balance of fun, entertaining, smart, and well-worked-out bets flowing throughout your gameplay session. My most important piece of information at this point would be to always keep your cool when gambling. Hot-headedness won’t get you anywhere, and neither will become depressed at how your gameplay session is going. Don’t get too overwhelmed by any kind of outcome, positive or negative. After all, too much elation can also lead to bad judgments.

Make sure that you’re always on a relaxed level and with a positive yet altogether informed decision-making level. That way, you can always ensure that an enjoyable time is had, without the need for worrying too much over any losses that may occur.

Of course, this is why it’s also important to never gamble with more than you can afford to lose. And remember – keep a level head, watch what’s going on in the game, and most importantly, have fun!