By now many viewers are familiar with my Betting a Million to Win a Million series, which recently began Season 3 (catch up if you haven’t been watching!). On occasion I get viewers asking me why the goal is simply to make what I’m betting, like this one:
Ideally you should be in profit while playing these games so why is it betting a million to win a million? It should be betting a million to win 2 million. I feel at least you should get double the amount of what you are putting in. I know it’s difficult and it’s just for fun but ideally 1 to 2 million should be the correct version correct me if I am wrong 😊
Head Gaming on YT
This is one of the common misconceptions about playing slots – that there’s a profitable journey to be had over the long term. Every spin on every slot is designed with the expectation the casino’s going to make money, so breaking even is like a win in that regard. When high limit slots are generally set up to pay you back 92-95%, making back 100% is a hard enough task, as opposed to doubling your money.
Part of my showing the reality of slots through authentic play, and my message of only playing with money you can afford to lose (that being your entertainment budget), is in part because while you can win in the short term, the long term will see the casino coming out ahead in pretty much every case. (I see you, million dollar jackpot winner when you were 21 and never gambled again, but you’re the exception to the rule!)
Setting a goal that is unrealistic also runs the risk of setting unrealistic expectations for my viewers – that betting big can lead to doubling up. In reality, breaking even would be a pretty awesome outcome on its own, and in both season 1 and 2 even that didn’t happen – I lost a small percentage of my overall investment over the course of each series, pretty much consistent with what you’d expect on that volume of high limit slot play.
So ultimately I don’t play to double my money because I’d often lose money when in some videos where I get a good bonus or jackpot, I could have instead stopped ahead. Knowing when to lock in a win is an important example of good casino bankroll management.
Playing until you double because that’s your goal, when you could have stopped ahead, is likely to create negative moments and some frustration when you realize as a player you could have stopped ahead if you didn’t set an unrealistic goal.
Gambling is for entertainment, not for making money, and so having the right goals in mind, and ensuring you’re playing with money you can afford to spend, is a critical part of it, and the series reflects those priorities for me as someone who plays on camera.
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