Advice for New Gamblers: What advice would you give to someone new to gambling?

Hey everyone!

I'm pretty new to gambling and just do it for fun. I've set a monthly budget so I don't go overboard, but I’m looking for some advice from you pros out there. What tips do you have for someone starting out? What should I keep in mind to make sure I'm just having a good time and not getting into trouble? Would love to hear your experiences and any tricks you’ve picked up along the way.

Thanks!

Hey! Honestly, if you’re new to gambling, my best advice is to just avoid it altogether. It can be more addictive and risky than it seems, and there are better ways to spend your time and money. Stay safe and keep your budget intact!

Good day, if you think gambling is a direction you should go:

1) make sure you thoroughly understand the rules of the game you are playing ... a surprising amount of money can be lost or won with those fringe rules that seldom come into play

2) have a basic understanding of statistics - understand a bell shaped curve, mean, median, variance, standard deviation, etc. ... this is important to understanding house edge and volatility.

3) understand how the casino mixes the rules and the statistics together to have an edge ... seriously, can you answer where the edge comes from in blackjack? it is completely different than how it comes in roulette.

For Online Casinos:

4) Beware the bonus offer ... yes, they can be useful - but many have remarkably strict conditions to meet ... make sure you understand what is required to successfully get money / winnings from a bonus.

For Training or Serious Play:

5) A great way to stretch your money, get practice, and learn your weaknesses is to enter tournaments. Some are free while others cost a few dollars. But for those few dollars you probably get a few hundred chips, a lot of play time, and (as you get better) a chance to win prizes (bonuses, cash, etc).

Hey, I see you've gotten some advice from the players. I would also say that the biggest win is not to play in the casinos, because sometimes it's more of a waste of money than a good win. 

But if you want to give it a try and you know you have a budget that you don't mind spending, then my best advice is to always find out as much information as possible about the casino you want to play at to avoid any unpleasantness ahead of time. Always read carefully if you are taking any bonuses or if something is not clear to you. There are terms and conditions for this. If you don't understand something, contact chat or support and ask. It's not a bad idea to take screenshots of important conversations if you have problems. We have a lot of great guides where you can find out what you need to know, and to get you started, I might share the following. Since you are new to this world, things like this - Introduction to online casinos - will definitely come in handy. It might also be nice to know what to watch out for and thus- How to choose an online casino. 

Of course, if you want to ask anything, go ahead, I think other players besides me might be able to help. 

I'll be here if you need me. 🙂

I can see that this thread is very popular among players and I'm glad to see some players' opinions. Of course gambling should be just occasional fun but I guess we know how it can end. That's why anyone with a strong will, I would say, should be able to play. 

If someone thinks they're going to win all loses all back, I'd see a warning finger. If someone thinks they can make a profit from it, I'd see it the same way.

And so I'm happy to see players who are also conscious. 🙂

I will advise you to only play promotions where your bets are +EV. For example RTP is 95%, you need to bet 100 euros to get free spins worth 10 euros. Gambling can actually be profitable. I've been doing this for 13 years, but I mostly play poker. You can count cards in BlackJack, it's not hard, not with the simplest counting method. Professionals don't do it online because the profit per hour is much lower compared to live games. But you can play +EV online. Sports betting is also not difficult to earn. With the slots, in addition to promotions, you can also play only for bonuses. By already selecting a slot and bet size. The bet is fixed because then they won't pay even if it's not written in the rules. And also only one slot is played, because again, then they may "judge" that you are in violation and not pay out the winnings.

As these things can be combined. For example, you play with a bonus on a slot with an accumulated progressive jackpot, which is one of the smallest. In the sense of a small jackpot, like a profit, relative to your bet. Or a tournament + jackpot, etc...

But with a +EV game only. Since you can't help but stumble on something you really liked, the important thing is to feel yourself and get out of this quagmire in time. Because gambling is a quagmire and no one gets away dry. Even the professionals…

Don’t bother. Find a different hobby