Money management is one of the most important keys to success in a casino environment, especially when you are playing online. Having a system of how to allocate your bankroll will keep you in action longer and give you a better chance to emerge a winner.

When you head to a bricks-and-mortar casino, one of the most important elements to use when gambling on the slot games is to decide on a money management strategy.

Slots can be quite fickle. Without an idea of how to manage your money, you can lose it all, all too quickly. The same applies to online slots. While you often get better odds playing online slots, the fact remains: if you’re not prepared, you can be broke before you know it.

So here are 5 tips about using money management to minimize your losses—and better still, maximize your gains.

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1. Never Bet Money You Can’t Afford To Lose

Everybody’s got a different idea about how much money they’re willing to risk before choosing a game. If you make $1 million a year, you may set a higher amount than someone who takes home $50K. No worries either way. Online casinos cater to any and all comers.

That doesn’t mean the million-dollar player doesn’t have a limit. She’s got bills to pay, just like the $50K player. So rule No. 1 is to bet only what you can afford to lose. DO NOT dip into your grocery money, your tuition stash, your rent check and especially not your cable/internet provider!

If you set a limit of $100 for the day, quit as soon as you lose the last dollar of that bankroll. You’ll live to play another day, and maybe even get them next time.

You can also divide your $100 bankroll into four $25 sessions. It’s easier to do when you’re at home. Simply stop after losing the first $25, go do a load of laundry, finish a task for work or grab a snack in the kitchen, away from your screen. This increases your playing time and gives you the chance to get lucky in four separate sessions.

In addition, experts suggest you set up a new account that you use only for online gaming. That way, you can only play what you’ve set aside, before going to your bank or existing account to replenish your account. That interruption should give you pause and remind you not to exceed your stated bankroll.

2. Set A Win Goal

One of the best strategies to keep you in the action is to set a win goal that will satisfy your expectations. Some people say if they double their bankroll, it’s time to quit. Others cash out the original bankroll and just play with their winnings. Either way is a rational strategy. But don’t dip back into your original bankroll if you lose the winnings. That just complicates things and can lead to a bigger loss overall.

3. Take Your Time

If you were in a real casino, you’d be able to step back, take a walk around the casino, check out the new restaurants or hit the Boardwalk before heading back in for another gambling session. Online, you’re at home or in your office, but the same principle applies. Slow down. Take a breath. Don’t be so quick to hit the re-spin button.

If you’re playing video poker, take stock of your last decision. Did you hold the right cards? Did you follow the best strategy for the game? The advantage of playing online is that you can dial up strategy cards and play perfect strategy for the specific game. So take the time before you discard. Check the strategy card. Make the right move. That’ll do more for your win rate than if you just blast through the hands.

If you’re playing slots, the quicker your actions, the quicker the house edge can work against you. There’s no strategy for slots, so it’s better to take it slow and enjoy the action.

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4. Pick Your Game Carefully

As we mentioned in the last tip, video poker is a much better game to play than slots, because just by looking at the pay table, you can determine the house edge. For the simple Jacks or Better game, you want to see a 9/6 game. That means the game pays 9 coins for a full house and 6 for a flush. If you play the simple strategy perfectly, the house only has a 0.46 percent house edge, or a payback percentage of 99.54.

If you become an expert at Deuces Wild with the optimal pay table, you can actually gain an edge over the house. Of course, the strategy is much more difficult, but you can certainly take the time to look up the strategy for each hand while you’re gambling online.

Slots are different, of course. You can’t tell which game has a higher hold percentage than another one. But the higher denominations usually have a better hold percentage. If you can afford to play 25¢ denominations, they’ll undoubtedly have a better payback percentage than any penny game.

Now, you’ll sometimes see online casinos not based in the U.S.—which are therefore illegal—advertise high payback percentages for their games. Don’t believe it. If they’re willing to illegally take your bet, why would you think they’ll be honest about the payback percentage? Don’t risk it.

Whatever game you choose, remember, you’re supposed to be having fun. So take your time, enjoy the experience and hopefully you’ll come home a winner.

5. Decide When to Quit or Press a Particular Game

How do you know when a slot machine goes cold? Technically, you can never determine it simply by playing, because each spin is independent of the previous spin. The random number generator (RNG), which determines whether winning symbols will show up, is spinning all the time, so there’s no way to know.

But if a certain number of winless spins occur, it might be time to find another game. Pick a number between 1 and 10. If that number of spins shows up without winning, maybe it’s better to move on.

What if you grab a “hot” machine that keeps winning? Slowly up your minimum bet in that case. Be aware, however, that if a machine is winning, the same principle applies that pertains to the RNG. Each spin is independent of the last, so there is no correlation between the spins. But we all know that it happens. And let’s ride that train until it slows down.

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