I saw this posted in a forum I’m a part of recently:
Can you really take $50 to $60 and win at the Casino? I see a lot of people post “took $60 and won a handpay.”
I don’t usually go anymore because for me it’s like a two hour drive to my nearest casino. I may have only $100 to go… but is it worth it?
Since it takes two hours to get there I want to at least gamble for two hours or longer. Could anyone give me any advice?
Let’s start with some simple advice: You shouldn’t go to the casino and expect a handpay. This is especially true if you’re going in with a lower budget. Your goal should be, based on your parameters, to aim to have fun at the casino for a couple of hours, and if you happen to come out ahead, that’s an added bonus. Now let’s get into your specifics.
$60 is a tough number on today’s casino floor. Lots of games are designed to get you to bet 50 cents, 75 cents, a dollar or more per spin, and you just don’t get a lot of tries for that $60 betting that high. Further, games are increasingly volatile nowadays, and spin faster – all of that works against you.
Even if you do everything right, getting $60 to last for two hours can be challenging, unless you’re doing some small bets, or just plain get lucky (which we all hope for, but realistically can’t happen every time).
Normally if I go to a casino for a few hours, and I’m even betting 40-60 cents a spin, I bring $200 because I can ride out dead periods. I aim for up to 500x my bet size, and that should last me four hours more often than not (that’s the normal math) and not go home broke much of the time.
With a budget 1/3 of that, and a goal of a couple of hours at the casino or more, realistically you’d want to try to find enough machines with a 25 or 30 cent spin to start with, and you can always bet a bit higher if you either start winning, or are hitting the end of your visit and want to swing for the fences.
My dad would always marvel about how mom could take $200 to the casino and make it last the weekend every time – and many times would bring home money. Her secret? Small bets. She’d find the older machines with 20 cent machines. She’d be very happy just playing small bets, having a beer and cigarette, and zoning out for a couple of hours.
So it’s also important to set the mindset correctly – don’t go to get a handpay, go to have fun, and if you happen to come home a winner, great! But that shouldn’t be the goal pursued. Plan on having fun, riding that casino roller coaster, and if you trip upon a handpay, that should be an extra thrill.
