Styles of Play
Sunday, July 19th, 2009Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines gambling as: To play games of chance for money or some other stake; to take a risk in order to gain some advantage. They also define risk as: The chance of loss.
I mention this because that is exactly what gambling is. Gambling is risk of your capital! But did you know there are different degrees of risk taking in casino gambling? And you might even ask, “so what?” Identifying the style of gambler you are will help you in applying proper money management as well as plan your playing strategy for whatever game(s) you might play. Proper money management and game strategy leads directly to being successful in the world of casino gambling.
There are basically three styles or degrees of risk takers (gamblers); conservative, moderate, and aggressive. Although a moderate can lean toward conservative (moderate-conservative) or toward aggressive (moderate-aggressive), for sake of this article we will focus on conservative, moderate, and aggressive.
The amount of money you gamble with has nothing to do with your style of play, a $5 bettor can be aggressive while a $100 player can be conservative, or vice versa, the amount has nothing to do with it. And of course either can be moderate as well.
The Conservative gambler is one who plays it close to the vest, usually willing to grind it out for small profits, seeking some kind of return on their bankroll or at least minimum losses. They progress their bet at a slower rate, but rake their winnings much quicker.
The Moderate gambler is where most of us fall, looking for a nice win, willing to risk a little more to get that win, but generally happy to break even for the weekend. The bet progression is at a slightly higher rate than the conservative player, and the table rake (keeping some of your winnings) is at a high dollar amount.
The Aggressive gambler is looking for the BIG win, willing to put more into action, progress their bet at a higher rate, kind of an all or nothing approach. When the aggressive gambler catches a winning streak, the return is usually significant, and with correct money management they can double or triple their bankroll, or even more. Now this doesn’t mean the aggressive gambler just puts it all out there; they must still employ a progression strategy with proper rake and take! But they are also willing to come home with zero at the chance of the big win.