The Twelve Golden Rules of Casino Gambling

Be Realistic, the Casinos have the rules in their favour. Don't be surprised if you lose:

The Casino has an edge in every game that it operates. The House Edge varies from game to game and from bet to bet, but almost never favours the player.
In general the harder a game is to understand the smaller the House Edge is if you play it correctly:

Your best bets in the casino are the more complicated games of Blackjack, Baccarat, Craps and Video Poker. You must play them correctly though. The worst bets are the simple games like Roulette and Slot Machines.
Don't bet money that you can't afford to lose. Set a limit on the losses that you can afford:

This means that you must manage your money carefully. Don't go to the Casino with money that you can't afford to lose. Always be aware of how much you are up or down.
Don't rely on hunches; Always make the mathematically best decision:

If you are supernaturally gifted, don't waste your time at a casino. Since May 1, 1996 the James Randi Educational foundation has offered $1,000,000 to anyone who can demonstrate supernatural abilities.
Although you will lose in the long run, your money will go up and down like a roller coaster in the short run:

The rare exception to this rule is that very good Blackjack Card Counters and Video Poker players can gain a long term edge on the Casino.
Don't hedge your bets:

Avoid the urge to insure against events that will cause you to lose or push rather than win. The insurance bet in Blackjack is a classic example. Another example is the any craps bet in Craps that some players use to insure their Pass Line bets. Both Bets carry a heavy House Edge and exposing more of your money inevitably causes you to lose more quickly.
There is NO system that can beat a game of pure chance:

There are plenty charlatans that promise systems that can beat games of luck. The truth is that in most games it’s mathematically impossible to beat the Casino rules.
It often pays to shop around and look for the best possible playing conditions:

In many games, especially Blackjack and Video Poker, rules vary from table to table and from machine to machine. It pays to know which rules favour the player and to seek them out.
Avoid side bets and gimmicks:

Good examples of side bets are the Jackpot bet in Caribbean Stud Poker and the sevens bet in Blackjack. Inevitably the House Edge on these bets is huge. When Casinos offer a change in a rule that is to the player's advantage, you can be sure that they have changed another rule that is even more to their advantage.
The mathematical odds for an event happening remain the same, regardless of how often it has happened:

Many people falsely believe, for example, that if one colour has won several times in a row in Roulette then the other colour is overdue and will bet on it. While the ratio for Reds to Blacks approach 50/50 in the long term it cannot be concluded that this will happen in the short term. It does not matter what the history of past spins is, each spin is independent and even after 30 Reds the chances for Red and Black remain 50/50. The same applies for Player and Banker bets in Baccarat and pass line bets and Don't Pass Line bets in Craps.
Bad play by one player does not affect the rest of the table:

A common myth at the Blackjack table is that a bad player, especially one in the last seat, will disrupt the natural order of the cards and cause everyone to lose. It is true that such a player sometimes will make a play that will result in the dealer winning, but the reverse is also true. The cards are in random order and are not arranged to make the dealer bust assuming correct play.
Gambling is all about fun:

Don’t ever forget that Casino gambling is supposed to be a recreational activity. Like all things, what is enjoyable in moderation can be disastrous in excess. If you ever lose the ability to walk away from the table or machine at will then you shouldn't play at all