You may have seen a few movies where a person who is gambling at a casino is making friends with everyone at their table. You may be thinking to yourself, I want to be like that! I want to make a lot of new friends when I gamble!
The truth is, while you can indeed try to be gregarious and fun while gambling, which can lead to you having lots of “friends” while you’re on the floor, this comes with a few drawbacks. Being a social butterfly when it comes to gambling may be a lot of fun to look at when you see it in the movies, but how will it affect your gaming?
Here are some of the reasons why being social when you’re gambling in a casino isn’t a good idea after all:
You can’t concentrate on winning – The question to ask yourself is this - are you in the casino to simply become popular for the moment and to make superficial friends or are you there to win? If the answer is the former, then by all means, go ahead and risk your bankroll by being everyone’s loud, funny, and lovable friend on the floor. If the answer to this question is the latter, then you should try to keep to yourself and concentrate on your game.
Being a social butterfly while gambling will make you lose your concentration and, essentially, increase your chances of losing when you play. This is because you will be opening yourself up to conversations with people you don’t really care about that much. They’ll try to talk to you about anything they can think of and in the process, open you up to mistakes since you won’t be focused on your game.
If you’re in a casino to try and win, being social is something you should avoid. Being friendly when you’re playing, particularly if it’s on tables where your attention needs to be on what you’re doing, will work against you. Afraid that people will hate you if you don’t respond to their conversations? So be it. You have to make the choice between winning and making friends in a casino, and winning is obviously the more attractive option here.
You can't get to play more games – When you choose to be aloof when you gamble, you get to play more since you won’t be tripped up by those around you. You don’t have to think about witty comebacks or to reply to an inquiry because you aren’t really paying attention to the people around you.
When you decide to become chummy with the people you’re playing with, there is a chance that you won’t be able to play as many games as you would want since you will be too polite to dismiss anything they say. Say, for example, you’re on a slot machine and you’re spinning away. Then someone talks to you, you might stop pressing spin or pulling the lever just to answer a query. That can mean a few pulls or spins for you.
If you appear aloof and ignore people around you, they will think twice before talking to you. This will be to your advantage since you will be able to focus on your gaming and not on answering questions or making small talk. You won’t miss making a bet on a round of blackjack or a single spin on your favorite slot machine.
You don't get to keep your poker face on – Yes, this is something that a lot of poker players do in order to keep from revealing anything of their personality to their opponents. When you decide to keep to yourself and not talk to anyone during your games, you get to hide what you’re thinking or feeling. If you don’t engage with anyone, they cannot read your body language, your facial expressions, and anything that can reveal what you’re experiencing.
This is useful when you’re playing against other people. This is because you get to disguise your emotions, giving you the upper hand. For instance, if you are playing poker and you have a great hand, you will be able to hide it effectively since you won’t be displaying any emotion or reaction that people can recognize. Being anti-social when you play such games can be advantageous to you.
You can't focus on counting cards if you’re playing blackjack – If your game of choice is blackjack and you’ve learned how to count cards, engaging in conversation with anyone at your table can trip you up. You may lose out on what should be a lucrative table if you decide to talk it up with other people around you. You need to concentrate when you do this so you don’t lose track of what you’re doing and end up losing instead of winning.
Of course, you can loosen up a bit every now and then to throw off those who might suspect you of card counting. Being too serious and not talking to anyone, not even your dealer, may make you seem suspicious to some people. You can say one liners or acknowledge greetings but don’t be too friendly that you end up losing count of the cards that you’ve carefully started counting the moment you sat down for your game.
These are the reasons why being gregarious and social in a real-life casino is discouraged, if you are in it to win it. If you’re there to simply have fun, then by all means, go ahead and chat it up with the person beside you. If you’re thinking of increasing the amount of money you have in your pocket, then try to limit your conversations as much as possible.
Of course, this problem seldom exists in online casinos. Since you’re usually just playing by yourself, there is no risk of you losing your focus or concentration when playing. If you are playing on a live dealer’s table however, try to avoid the chat boxes so as to avoid missing a turn or not being able to join a round. Being anti-social while casino gaming will benefit you monetarily. You may not make that many friends this way, but then again, you’re not playing to make friends, right?
