Memory is a poor accountant. After a night of playing, most of us remember the one big hit and forget the dozen small losses around it. A simple journal fixes that without needing any special tools, and it takes under two minutes per session.
What to write down
Keep the entry short enough that you will not skip it. A workable list looks like this:
- Date, start time and finish time - Amount set aside before starting, and amount left at the end - Game or table type - Stake per spin or hand - One line on mood: calm, bored, annoyed, chasing
The mood line is the one people leave out, and it is often the most revealing. After a month you may notice that your worst sessions all began with "annoyed" or "late at night".
Where to keep it
A notes app on your phone works. So does a cheap paper notebook next to the laptop. A spreadsheet is handy if you like totals, with one row per session and a running column for net result in A$. Pick the method you will not find irritating, because consistency beats neatness.
Reading it back
Once a month, add up the net figure and compare it to the time you spent. If you put A$200 into the month and ended up A$140 down over ten hours, that is the price of the entertainment, A$14 an hour. Some people are comfortable with that number; others find it a surprise. Either way it is better to know.
Look also for patterns in your stakes. If your entries show the bet size creeping up late in a session, that is a signal to set a hard stop earlier. If long sessions always end badly, shorten them.
A note on honesty
The journal only works if you record losses at the same level of detail as wins. Do not round in your favour. Treat it as a record for yourself, not a scoreboard for anyone else.
I started mine while reading through the terms at Lucky Hills Casino, because I wanted to compare what I thought I was spending with what I actually spent. This is written for adults of legal gambling age, and if the numbers in your journal worry you, it is a good moment to look at deposit limits or take a break.