Starter Pack: How Much Money Do You Need to Gamble in Portugal?
Olá! Whether from Lisbon, Porto, Nova de Gaia, or Braga, Portuguese love gambling, no matter which city they are in. Along with their football passion, the Portuguese enjoy gambling and trying new casino games.
On the one hand, the coronavirus pandemic might affect the land-based casino business badly, but on the other hand, Portuguese gamblers have found the enjoyment they are looking for at various casino Portugal sites. The availability of a wide range of online casinos has provided an excellent alternative to the thrills and spills of traditional casino gaming.
The question that arises with all the casino online options that the Portuguese have is: how much money do you need to gamble in Portugal?
In this article, we will discuss the question and clarify some basic points related to gambling expenses and how large your casino bet budget should be.
Negative vs Positive Bet
To answer the above mentioned question, we should understand some basic concepts related to the gambling industry. One of the concepts that defines your expected amount of money for gambling is the negative expectation concept. It's a kind of mathematical concept that changes from game to game.
To make things easier, we will assume that you play an online game at a casino online Portugal. The probability of winning the game is 40%, which is considered a positive bet expectation, while the probability of losing is 60%, which is a negative bet expectation. The overall expectation for the game is negative, which means you might win, but in the long term you will lose.
Online game probabilities vary from one to another. Slot machines have higher negative bet expectations than blackjack, for example. The term that measures each game's betting expectations is called the house edge.
House Edge
House Edge, as our expert, Victoria Oliveira, explains it, refers to the casino's average advantage from each game that online gamblers play. She clarifies that a lower house edge means higher chances of winning.
Victoria highlights the method to calculate the house edge easily. For example, if the house edge is set at 7%, it indicates that online gamblers lose 7% on average for each bet they make in the long run. Simply, for a $100 bet on a particular game, the player loses $7 per bet.
Sometimes, such gambling terms might sound tricky and comprehensible. However, many reputable websites and gambling books discuss all these terms in detail.
Entertainment vs Expenses
Here is the key point that measures the amount of money you need at any casino. It establishes the goal of your gambling experience: is it to have fun and entertain yourself, or is it to win money?
We believe that finding the answer to this question is crucial to determining your overall expenses at any casino. We highly recommend treating gambling like any other entertaining activity, such as going to the cinema or watching a football game of your favorite team. In the end, if you win money, it will be an extra bonus for your entertaining experience. If not, then you have already had a fun time, especially if there are bonuses such as free spins in play.
Expenses Calculation
This section will be more practical. We will guide you through how to calculate your hourly expenses at any online casino Portugal by using some basic information. You only need to know the house edge rate, then multiply it by your average bet amount, multiply it by the number of bets for one hour.
Sounds complicated? No worries, it sounds like that at the beginning. Just follow the next example. Let’s assume that you want to play blackjack. Usually, blackjack's house edge is 0.5%. You decided to bet $5 per hand and expected to play around 100 hands per hour. Then the calculation becomes like this:
0.5% multiplied by $5 multiplied by 100 hands equals 2.5
This means it’s expected to cost $2.50 per hour to play blackjack; pretty affordable! Games like blackjack have a house edge that is pretty low, compared to games like slots, which have a much higher house edge than table games.
In the end, no one can be able to determine the exact amount of money you need. It depends on you and on your game preferences and strategies. However, considering the preceding points may provide some guidance on how to calculate your budget. We wish you an enjoyable gambling time. Have fun and gamble responsibly.
