Movies don’t always accurately portray real life. But most of them have some degree of truth, even if the premise is entirely fictional. When it comes to casino movies, there have been a lot.
They range from fictional to factual and from serious to tongue-in-cheek, and while even factual movies take advantage of artistic license to create more appealing viewing, they all have at least some grounding in truth. They can teach amateur gamblers one or two things about luck, strategy, risk, and gambling in general.
Casino Popularity
Casinos, in general, are popular entertainment venues. Physical casinos are found throughout the world, and there is a proliferation of instant casino games online and via iGaming apps. They’re easy to use and rely on the latest mobile and security technology – enough for most ordinary players to have some fun.
Casinos are popular in movies, as well. They tend to be opulent and lavish so their garish décor, bright lights, and loud noises are ideal for the big screen. They also appeal to players who want their own slice of the casino’s fortunes. In some cases, the movies can teach players a few important gambling tips.
Learn
The Card Counter is going to feature on this list several times because it can teach us a lot about different elements of casino gambling. The main character has learned every element of poker, including the odds of winning hands and more. He uses this to his advantage while playing in World Series of Poker games.
Whether you’re heading to a local casino for a Friday night flutter, or regularly play casino games online, you should learn as much as you can about the game you’re playing. Fortunately, numerous online and physical resources can help learn any type of casino game.
Practice
Once you’ve learned the basics, you need to put them into practice. Yet again, the Card Counter shows us that practice greatly improves your chances of winning because bets, calculations, and decisions become second nature. This can take the pressure off and help ensure that you make the right choice every time.
If you’re playing online, you can play free games, or at least stick to low-stakes games while you hone your skills. Similarly, at retail casinos, don’t bet the house while you’re still picking up the basics.
Manage Your Bankroll
Bankroll management should make up a critical part of your gambling or betting strategy, no matter the game you play. Effectively managing your bankroll means you can survive losses without being left on edge and without being tempted to increase your stakes. Players are encouraged to only ever bet money they can afford to lose and potentially stake just 1% of their betting bank on each bet.
Win It All is a Netflix movie that covers bankroll in depth after the main character of the movie, who is a gambler down on his luck, finds a bag of cash. He uses the money he finds to try and claw back his losses, and the movie does a good job of showing why the bet-it-all bankroll strategy is a very bad idea.
The Casino Always Wins
21 is a movie based on an MIT blackjack team from the 1980s. The team was headed by their Math professor, portrayed by Kevin Spacey in the movie. The group used a book of mathematical equations that could accurately predict the most likely outcome at the blackjack table. They used methods that are not considered illegal, although they are frowned upon by casinos because they are effective.
When the movie was released, publishers expected casinos to be unhelpful in its production. However, casinos viewed it as an appealing release because it would encourage people to head to casinos and try their luck. They also believed that amateur card counters underestimate the mistakes they make.
Don’t Bet On Emotions
Bettors are always told to bet with their heads, not their hearts. Betting with your heart can lead to losses and will almost certainly mean ignoring your betting strategy and even your bankroll management.
Betting on tilt is potentially even more damaging, and it effectively means chasing losses: placing increasingly larger bets to try and recoup money you’ve already lost. This is well covered in Win It All and features across a number of other movies.
Be Disciplined
Bankroll management and tight betting strategies can help you avoid betting on emotions because they closely determine what you should bet on and how big a bet you should place. However, one of the ways casinos make money is by encouraging players to bet more. They are highly skilled at doing exactly that. As such, it requires considerable discipline and restraint to be able to follow your own betting strategies.
Once again, we turn to The Card Counter where the main character displays some of the most impressive self-discipline ever shown in professional gambling.
There’s Always Risk
All casino movies show the inherent risk associated with gambling. The casino holds a house edge on all banker games, which means they know they will walk away in profit over time, even if individual players win on occasion and even when players rigorously stick to their bankroll and gambling strategies.
This house edge also means the longer a person plays, or the more often they play a particular game, the closer they will get to that house edge figure.
You Can’t Win All The Time
This house edge and the high levels of risk involved in casino gambling means that nobody can win all the time. That’s why bankroll management exists, and why experts recommend that players do not stake more than 1% or 2% of their entire bankroll on a single bet.
Doing so means that the player can survive even an extended run of losses that would otherwise leave them with no remaining bankroll.
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English (US) · 