How to manage your online casino bankroll

What do you think it takes to be a successful online casino player? To know every casino game inside and out? To be able to apply winning strategies when you need them? To rake in the jackpots on every game you play?

Did you answer yes to any of these? Sorry to say, but you’re wrong. Sure, knowing how to play, how to strategise and how to win are all important elements in successful online casino play, and you should focus on all of these if you’re considering improving your gambling performance. But if you’re looking to be a successful player whether you win or lose, there’s one crucial factor you have to keep in mind every time you log on. Your bankroll.

That’s right, believe it or not, knowing how to manage your casino bankroll can make all the difference to your game, and to your long-term success. You want to win, obviously, but you also want to make sure you have enough in your bankroll to allow you to play another day, particularly if you find yourself on a losing streak. It’s this delicate balance – knowing how much to bet and how much to keep in reserve – that is the hallmark of a successful casino player, and it’s vital to your game if you want to enjoy sustainable online gambling.

So how do you make sure your bankroll lasts? Let’s take a look.

What is an online casino bankroll?

First let’s start with the basics. A bankroll is the amount of money you have set aside for your online casino play. This is the important part – it’s not every penny you have in your account, it’s only the money that you’ve earmarked for bets and wagers. The trick to bankroll management lies in identifying this amount, judging how much you can afford to spend in the casino, and when it’s best to walk away. If you can use your bankroll wisely, you’ll have mastered the most important element to online casino play – longevity.

Why do I need to manage my bankroll?

Let’s answer that question with another question. What’s the absolute number one rule in casino play, whether it’s online or land-based? Never bet with more than you can afford to lose. Right? Managing your bankroll will help you do exactly that – play within your means, budget effectively, and have enough left over for future gambling sessions.

So how do you go about deciding how much to invest in your bankroll in the first place? It all starts with your own personal budget, and how much you can afford to set aside for online gambling once all your monthly bills and responsibilities have been taken care of. If you’re struggling to decide on an amount, our advice is always to play it safe – you don’t want to deposit a huge amount into your casino account and then realise you’ve forgotten to pay your mortgage for the month. Make it an amount you can afford, after you’ve established you have enough to comfortably live on until your next pay cheque.

Better yet, if you’re able to open a separate bank account for your casino play, and separate your gambling money from your rent, food, and utilities money, you won’t ever run the risk of playing with more than you have, and you’re more likely to avoid going into any kind of debt as well. Always remember – if you’re playing with your savings, or with credit that you can’t afford to pay back the next month, you probably shouldn’t be playing at all.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that at some point, you will lose. It’s the law of averages – no one can win all the time; it’s impossible – particularly given the RNG that ensures completely random online gambling outcomes. So when you do inevitably find yourself on a losing streak, don’t react with emotion, and don’t try to chase your losses. Instead, protect your bankroll at all costs, and end your gambling session. It’s this type of informed, practical decision-making that’ll see you come out on top.

What’s the best way to play with my bankroll?

Once you’ve decided how much you can afford to invest in your bankroll every month, the next decision you’ll need to make is how to split that amount across your gambling sessions. Let’s say you’ve decided to put aside £200 a month for online casino play. In order to break this down, you’ll then need to decide on how many times you’ll visit your casino in a month, and divide your bankroll accordingly. So if you decide on four sessions a month, you’ll have £50 to bet with at every session. If you decide on 10 sessions a month, you’ll have £10 to bet with at every session, and so on.

What’s important here is to stick to your budget firmly, no matter which way the dice roll or the reels spin. Once you’re on a streak, it can be hard to step away, and you might be tempted just to bet ‘a little extra’ here or there. It’s this ‘extra’ that can lead to problems later down the line, eating into your bankroll, and causing you to make risky decisions in an attempt to chase your losses. What’s more, your entire bankroll could soon be gone in just one gaming session, which could then lead you to dip into other accounts in order to fund your gaming. In order to avoid this, you NEED to stick to your budget like glue, and keep your gambling fun and light at all times.

When do I cash out my winnings?

There’s no set rule to the when and why of withdrawal requests, as every player is different. What we do recommend though, is setting winnings aside, and not incorporating them into your actual bankroll. Instead, keep careful notes of how much you deposit, how much you wager (not more than your budget!) and how much you win – and once your winnings have reached what you consider to be a significant amount, then withdraw them. This way you’ll keep your bankroll intact, while still being able to enjoy your well-deserved winnings. Never withdraw everything in your online casino account (unless you’re actually closing your account) otherwise you won’t have a bankroll to come back to. Rather stick to withdrawing your winnings only, and keep your bankroll safe and sound where it belongs.

What if I think I can chase my losses?

We touched on this earlier but it’s worth saying again (and again, and again). NEVER chase your losses! If you’ve wagered and lost your set amount for a particular gambling session, don’t fall into the trap of trying to win it back. As soon as your start eating into money allocated for other sessions, or chipping away at the bankroll cushion you’ve built for yourself, you’re on shaky ground. The longer you keep overspending and overstaying your time at the tables, the more damage you could ultimately do to your casino finances – and ultimately your personal finances as well.

In order to avoid the very real temptation to chase your losses, apply these guidelines to your gaming:

As soon as you start losing, reduce the amount of money you place on each bet. This will allow your bankroll to last longer.
Walk away. Even if it’s just for 10 or 15 minutes, leaving your laptop or your mobile device will give you some much-needed distance, and help you to think more clearly when you return.
Leave your credit card alone. You might not see the harm in gambling on credit for a while, but a small amount of credit can soon turn into a big problem where debt is concerned. Play responsibly and leave your cards in your wallet where they belong.
Set limits. You’ve already set yourself a wagering limit (or at least, you should have) – now set yourself a time limit as well (such as two hours of gambling), and quit your session as soon as you reach one of them, whichever occurs first. Imposing limits on your game play is by far the most responsible way to approach your gambling, and can help you stay in the game far longer over time.

What’s the most successful bankroll management strategy?

There are a number of theories as to which is the best way to manage your bankroll in the long-term, such as:

Making small bets, raking in small wins, and accumulating a sizable bankroll over time.
Making bigger bets when on a winning streak, while still within your self-imposed limits.
Putting guidelines in place, such as weekly or monthly deposit limits, or even self-exclusion from your casino, either permanently or temporarily, should you feel your gambling needs to be controlled.
Researching slots and other games ahead of time in order to familiarise yourself with their betting limits, so you can budget accordingly.

Ultimately however, the best bankroll strategy is the one that works best for you, so try a few first and then go from there. Above all however, remember to STAY CALM! Emotion has no place in casino gambling, not when it can cause you to place risky bets and play beyond your means. So no matter how the cards are dealt, take it in your stride, breathe, and stay as objective as possible. The more you can protect your bankroll, the more fun you’ll have, and the more game play you’ll enjoy. Good luck!

Happy Spinning 🙂