Elsewhere on this site you can read about whether social gambling is a good or a bad thing. The flip side of that conversation is whether gambling on your own is the right thing to do. As with most activities, there are countless different circumstances that will feed into whether it is the right thing do and the answer won’t be the same for everyone.
If you know that you have a problem with gambling, for example, then you will know that gambling on your own probably isn’t a sensible thing to do given that there won’t be anything to stop you from losing yourself.
Equally, what it is that you’re gambling on will often dictate whether you do it on your own or not. As an example, people who tend to play slots will often find that it is an isolated experience because of the very nature of what it is that they’re doing.
Those that enjoy betting on roulette in casino will find that it is naturally a more social experience because of the communal nature of the wheel and the table. Ultimately, personal preference will always be one of the deciding factors when you sit down to place bets and there is no right or wrong answer to what you prefer.
What We Mean By Gambling On Your Own
When it comes down to it, each decision that a person makes whilst they’re gambling is a personal one. That is to say, even if someone is stood next to you and tells you to stick or twist whilst you’re playing blackjack, you are the ultimate arbiter of what you decide to do.
In that sense, you are always gambling on your own. Yet there is obviously a difference between you being the decision-maker when it comes to the bets that you place but going to a casino with friends and gambling on your own. That means that you’re heading to the casino without anyone else.
With the invention and proliferation of online betting, you can now place bets and engage in numerous different types of gambling on your own whenever you fancy. You can do it on your computer in the office or on your phone on the bus. You can use your tablet whilst you’re lying in bed to logon to your betting account and place a wager on a horse race. The options are open to you to do what you want whenever you want to do it. Even in person, you can head to a casino or a card room on your own any time you feel like it, placing bets to you heart’s content.
The Positives Of Gambling On Your Own
There is no doubt that there are some positives to choosing to gamble on your own. You are able to keep your gambling information private, without the need to explain to friends or relatives how much your betting or how often you’re doing it. It will also ensure that you’re more likely to take things seriously.
The good thing about being with other people is that you can have fun and enjoy yourself, but this will often mean that you don’t focus on what you’re doing and how much you’re betting. It can also lead you to place bets that you wouldn’t otherwise place because of peer pressure.
Betting on your own removes such distractions and ensures that you won’t feel pressured into making a bet that you don’t want to make. On tip of that, you’ll also be able to bet on what you want, rather than feeling the need to move with the crowd and end up taking part in something that isn’t for you. If you’re a big roulette player or love your blackjack, for example, then being on your own means that there’s nothing to stop you for doing just that, rather than ending up playing baccarat because one of your mates thinks that they’re just like James Bond.
The Downsides Of Solo Gambling
Whilst there are obviously a number of positives that you can look towards when thinking about solo gambling, there are also some negatives that it is important to touch on. For all that friends might offer a distraction or result in you betting on something that you don’t really know much about, there is the fact that many will often work to keep you in check. If you’re getting a bit carried away with how much you’re betting or how often you’re doing it, there is nothing quite like a friend being able to talk to you about it and ask you if everything is all right or if you need help.
Though betting on your own means that you can gamble whenever you want, that isn’t always a good thing. It can result in you going to casinos or card rooms at unsociable hours, or heading there far more often than you would if you needed to organise a group a friends or family members to go with you. If you’re heading to a physical casino on your own, there is next to nothing stopping you from loading a casino up on an app any time of day or night and soon you will have lost all control over how much money you’re spending on gambling because of how frequently you do it.
There is also the fact that it is far less sociable. That goes without saying, of course, but it is also worth pointing out. Going to a casino, racecourse or dog track with some friends means that you’re getting out and about with other people. Spending time with people that you know is never a bad thing, whereas becoming more and more isolated definitely is. That isn’t to say that we should never spend time on our own, of course, but spending time with friends and family can ensure that we don’t get too lost down a path of solitude and loneliness, struggling with our mental health and feeling like we have no one to talk to.
It Is Ultimately Personal Choice
When everything is said and done, whether you should gamble on your own will always be about personal choice. It will also be about how much individual control you have over your gambling. Logging on to an app whilst you’re sat in front of a football match and spending one or two pounds on the outcome of the game is not going to be detrimental to too many people. Getting the app up in the middle of a working afternoon and betting £1,000s on Latvian rugby, on the other hand, might not be all that healthy. You know your own limits, but sticking to them isn’t easy.
Whether you’re betting in a social setting or on your own, there are certain rules that you need to stick to in order to be as sensible as you can. The first, and arguably the most important, is to set yourself a bankroll that you can afford to lose and never go over it; once it’s gone it’s gone and you shouldn’t be heading to the cash machine to get more money out. The second is to only spend your money on things that you know. Don’t be playing baccarat or standing at the craps table if you don’t know what those games are, just as you shouldn’t bet on Latvian rugby if you only know the Premier League.