Casino games are not all about entertainment – there’s a specific dose of risk involved as well. But for players, the most interesting part is not the risk but the chance to win big, in which case, the focus should be on high-variance games that can deliver massive wins.
For as long as we’ve been testing online casinos and preparing them to be reviewed by casinocrest.com, we’ve noticed that players are more inclined towards focusing on high-variance games because of the big payouts. However, if you want to be successful in your wagers, you need to develop a clear plan for how to manage your money and not burn through your bankroll faster than expected.
This is where bankroll management comes into the conversation. Even with the optimal strategies, you are not always guaranteed profit, but rather are allowed to control your bets and can survive the swings, extend playtime, and make the most out of the entertainment value these games provide. Today, we’ll tell you why variance matters for your betting strategy and how you can manage your bankroll wisely when dealing with high-volatility casino games.
Understanding Variance in Casino Games
Variance is an essential part of all casino games that tells you how often you can expect winning rounds and the approximate amount of winnings you can expect to get each time. There are low-variance and high-variance games in each category, including slots, table games, live casino games, instant win games, and others. You can find the variance in the game details or look into cashgame variance calculators to help you out.
In low-variance games, you can expect frequent but smaller wins. This means that you can make smaller bets on tables or low-volatility slots and still get a decent return over time. You might not hit a jackpot, but the consistent payouts will help you sustain your bankroll as much as possible.
In high-variance games, you can expect wins to come rarely, but they will be massive when they hit. Sometimes, these games help you land a big progressive jackpot, but you have to consider whether you’re willing to wait through a long dry spell before you get that one significant win.
For casual players, high variance means excitement and the chance to score big. For serious players, it’s both an opportunity and a challenge when it comes to bankroll management. So, it’s important that you don’t misinterpret short-term results and overestimate your skills if you get lucky on the first few spins or rounds on high-variance games.
The Importance of Bankroll Management
Bankroll is a term we use to refer to the amount of money the player has decided to use on casino games for that day or period. Having your bankroll determined before you start wagering can be very helpful, as it keeps you from overspending and using money that you would otherwise use on other expenses.
If you decide to focus on high-variance games but you don’t manage your bankroll wisely, you can quickly clear out the balance and have nothing left to wager. A player who wagers big portions of their bankroll on a single spin of a slot machine may experience a losing streak that drains their funds in minutes.
Beyond not draining your funds quickly, bankroll management can help you avoid emotional bets and stop chasing losses. Especially when playing online and using responsible gambling tools like deposit, wager, or loss limits, you can set boundaries for your gambling sessions, which will lead to reduced stress and generally a healthier relationship with gambling.
Key Bankroll Strategies for High-Variance Casino Games
Now that we have explained what high-variance casino games are and why it’s essential to manage your bankroll when focusing on such games, we also want to share a few strategies we deem essential for interested players. Here’s more:
1. Determine Your Bankroll Early
Before you ever start wagering on casino games, it’s essential to determine a comfortable budget for that betting session or the entire day. Depending on your preferred bet size, you should have around 100 betting units, even up to 300 units when focusing on high variance games. This amount of bets is enough for anyone who is looking to trigger a few wins and spend a decent amount of time at the casino lobby.
2. Size Your Bets
After deciding on your budget for the gambling session, consider the maximum bet size you are comfortable with. Around 1 to 2% of the bankroll per bet is the upper limit you should consider. This means that at $1,000 daily bankroll, you can make bets of around $10 per spin or round, which is comfortable enough to have you playing for a long time without running out of funds quickly.
3. Determine a Win Goal
An essential part of gambling online is knowing when you should stop, regardless of whether you are on a losing or a winning streak. Once you reach the amount of money you’ve determined you want to win for that gambling session, you should step aside and clear your head before continuing with betting. The same goes for losing streaks and reaching the maximum budget you’ve allowed for yourself. This is a safe strategy to keep you from that “just one more round” mindset that usually leads to too many losses.
4. Avoid Progressive Betting
Progressive betting systems are commonly advertised online as strategies that can help players bet comfortably and achieve significant wins easily. However, when it comes to high-variance games, these systems can be disastrous. This is because most of the systems ask you to double your bets after each loss or double the bets until you get a winning round. This can quickly burn through your bankroll and leave you without a win, so it’s best avoided, especially if you are a new player with a limited gambling budget.
How to Gamble Responsibly
We can go on and on about how you can set comfortable betting limits or determine a budget early on, but this is easier said than done for most players. Especially when gambling online, it’s so easy to simply use your card for another small deposit and lose track of time when trying to get that next win. But this is why online casinos offer responsible gambling tools that can keep your spending in check.
Using these tools, you can set financial limits on your account that block additional wagers once you reach your limit, but they also limit your ability to extend the limits at that time. You should look into deposit, loss, and wager limits for your account if you want to stay within the determined budget.
You can also limit the time spent at a casino with tools such as reality checks, time-offs, breaks, and self-exclusion. The last tool we mentioned is best for players looking to take longer breaks between six months and five years. However, you should know that registration in the self-exclusion database means limiting access to all online casinos available in that country for a predetermined time.
Why Bankroll Discipline Is Your Best Bet
High-variance games make you experience some thrilling highs while also making you go through nerve-racking lows. If you don’t manage your bankroll wisely, you can often get carried away and gamble more than you should, both in terms of your time and money.
Still, regardless of the type of game you choose to focus on, we also recommend that you size your bankroll appropriately and adopt careful bet sizing, set responsible gambling limits on your profile, and resist the urge to use risky betting systems that will run your budget low in record time. This is a sure bet if you want to extend your playtime and protect yourself from devastating losses.