The human brain is an immensely complex and powerful thing, and there are many aspects of ourselves, and the inner workings of the human mind, that are yet to be fully understood.
The contributing factors that make up the character and behaviour of every individual can furthermore be just as complex and unique as the individuals themselves.
What has become clear over time, however, is that there are generally certain “types” of people, or “stereotypes” if you will, who tend to fare better or worse, or are unaffected, by the gambling environment.
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Casual Gamblers
The most common type, casual gamblers can visit a casino on occasion, have a good time, win some or lose some, and then go home and continue their lives as if they had just dined at a restaurant or gone to watch a movie. They may be reckless at times, or perhaps overly careful, but generally, there is no greater allure to gambling and winning money at casinos than any other form of recreational fun.
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Serious Gamblers
For some, gambling is, in a way, symbolic of something they are trying to achieve or be noted for, be it “success” or “intelligence” or “fame”. This can cause them to become overtly serious and moody, and susceptible to being thrown off-kilter, or as poker players call it “tilted”, when things don’t go their way. Such gamblers general don’t enjoy much success and can easily fall onto a slippery slope leading towards compulsive gambling if they’re not careful.
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Compulsive Gamblers
Aka the gambling “addict”, compulsive gamblers, in the worst case, have little to no control over betting habits and/or their need to continue gambling, even in the face of utter catastrophe. They also have the unfortunate tendency to not realise their situation. Though there are always many factors involved, alcoholism, and other harmful lifestyle habits also very often further exacerbate the issue.
One might believe that only certain “addictive personality types” can fall down this route but the truth is that anyone who continuously repeats unhealthy gambling habits without checking themselves and attempting to rectify it, are very much in danger of also heading down this ill-fated route.
Fortunately there are a large number of resources, documentation, help-lines, support groups, and clinics that compulsive gamblers can use to seek help, no matter how far down the road they think they’ve gone.
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Professional Gamblers
Professional gamblers are a relative rarity at casinos, and highly successful professional gamblers even rarer still, which is perhaps a good thing for casinos’ coffers.
There are certain qualities that professional gamblers seem to have though, that sets them apart, and is, perhaps, the key to how they can, at the very least, make a sustainable living from gambling.
These qualities are patience, a high stress tolerance, awareness, acumen, and self-control.
Professional gambler are continuously weighing the odds presented to them, calmly and objectively, and have learned, above all, to control their impulses and emotions when making decisions.
Even they have to start somewhere, though, and generally that’s by establishing very simple and healthy gambling habits and strategies, such as creating strict loss limits and playing schedules, and generally just knowing oneself, and when to quit.