There’s a negative perception surrounding drinking and gambling, whether they’re done independently or together. It’s a sound caution – drinks may ultimately hinder you rather than help.
But just as we say you can place real money wagers sensibly, you can do so after you drink too – just as long as you aren’t at the level of jamming your ATM card into the computer or rolling around the gaming floor of land-based casino. We have some handy tips to ensure you don’t dwindle away your casino bankroll, online or off, after after a beer or two.
Be responsible
As much as we don’t want to sound like a broken record, we have to advise to always be responsible when drinking and/or gambling. While the majority of players can manage a night out on the drink with a sneaky few chips on the blackjack tables, there are always those who ruin it for everyone.
If you fall into this category, perhaps invest in a truthful buddy who can tell you when it’s time to stop. If you are a sensible adult, as many of you are, you can enjoy a night out or in – if playing online – and a few cocktails or beers with your casino game of choice.
Free drinks and gambling at land-based casinos
While Australian casinos do not have this policy, if you ever venture to Las Vegas, Nevada in the United States you will find as soon as you place a real money wager you will be tendered on by a waiter or waitress who will serve you free drinks for as long as you play.
If you’re up by a fair bit, you can be drinking for quite a while which can actually save you a lot of money if you were planning on drinking anyway. Plan a night out in Vegas if you can afford to get there and gamble until your normal night out would be paid for – for both an entertaining night and inexpensive one if you are on a winning streak.
If you have a few beers in the fridge, or perhaps a cocktail shaker, you can serve your friends and you a few beverages while you place your bets online – use the money you would spend going out on your wagers for a cheap and fun night.
Set limits before you start drinking
Bankrolls are a great idea, irrespective of whether you’re going to indulge in a few drinks or not.
If gambling at a land-based casino, get a set amount of cash out and then hide your card – perhaps give it to a friend. Even if you keep it in your wallet, Aussie brick and mortar casinos keep ATMs out of sight so if you’ve headed out and run out of cash, it’ll be somewhat difficult to cash out – if you can’t locate one at all you might be a little too intoxicated to play and a good sign to cut your losses and head home.
Online depositing can be quite easy if you’ve linked your card to your personal bank account. Whether you’re having a night in with a few drinks to wind down and plan on gaming at a secure online casino, such as one of the many we recommend, or you’re having some mates over for a night of interactive gaming and drinks we recommend linking a e-Wallet as your deposit method, and setting yourself a limit.
Neteller and Skrill are two widely accepted web wallets, which allow you to connect your personal account with the virtual wallet account via your card, bank transfer or prepaid method. You can then use this account to fund your online casino account.
You can start the evening off by putting the amount you wish to spend over the whole evening into the web wallet and making a small deposit at the web casino first. Therefore, when you make your next deposits after a few martinis or gin and tonics, you may not be thinking about it and you still won’t go over your limit. Then you run out you will have to not only top your casino account up, but your e-Wallet account too meaning you will have to make two deposits allowing you to step back and opt for a drink instead of continuing to play.
If you do happen to win, you can make the withdrawal back to your e-Wallet – with many online casinos offering fast processing times when opting for e-Wallets.
Only play low risk games
Intoxicated players are considered to make very risky moves when gambling, online or off, but if you play low risk games you’re less likely to take a hit when making bold moves.
If you are a seasoned real money 21 player and know basic strategy, you should stick to this table game since you can get the house edge quite low – under 1% depending on the casino and the game rules.
However, if you don’t know basic strategy or you’re new to the game, now isn’t the best time to start playing as you’ll end up increasing the house edge. If you do want to play it while drinking, play online as you can have the basic strategy chart open in a separate Web browser tab and play at your own pace. This means you can look up the dealer’s up card and your card value in your own time, with no pressure at all.
Avoid pokies at land-based casinos after a lot of beverages as even if you think these don’t require any concentration, they have a huge house edge (13-10%) attached and can completely ruin your night. Pokies online are much better when it comes to the house edge (2-7%) so if you want to play this style of casino game head to the web. Opt for NetEnt’s Blood Suckers for a 2% house edge online available at our recommended NetEnt online casinos.
For the best low risk game when drinking, play baccarat – you’ll notice many big winners have a drink next them as they rake in the chips. This is due to the house edge on the banker bet set at 1.06% and 1.24% on the player bet – just avoid the tie bet when you’ve had a few as it features a 14.36% house edge.
Have fun
A night out, or in, with a few wagers and drinks is meant to be a good time. If at any point it stops being enjoyable and you begin to feel irritated, it is best to remove yourself from the situation.
Get out of the land-based casino and head to a venue where there’s no temptation or go out (or to bed) if you are at home – because once you’ve ruined the experience you become part of the group who ruin it for everyone.