Why You Should or Shouldn’t Have Caffeine While Gambling
8 minutes
Last Updated: March 13, 2022
Why You Should or Shouldn’t Have Caffeine While Gambling
We often use caffeine to help us focus over several hours or want to have the edge over our opponents in many different competitive settings.
The gambling industry hasn’t been exempt from this trend. Caffeine can be a great tool to increase your alertness and concentration when gambling.
But, it also cuts both ways and can have significant adverse effects on your gambling sessions.
To help you know whether or not you should drink caffeine while gambling, we’ll discuss the biggest reasons why you should or should not have caffeinated drinks,
Reasons to Have Caffeine When Gambling
It’s no secret that caffeine can make you more productive and help you operate on a higher level of functionality.
There are several significant positives of having caffeine when gambling. Let’s take a close look at the three foremost ones:
Quick Decisions and Better Attention
If you’re playing a skill-based game like poker, baccarat, or blackjack, you need every edge you can get.
Without knowing the basic strategies and focusing on every aspect of the game, you can’t achieve consistent success.
A sharp mind powered by caffeine can significantly aid you in this. You’ll be more alert and will process decisions more quickly and efficiently.
Caffeine Gives You the Strength to Push Through Exhaustion
Every casino player, especially the grinders, has experienced this feeling at some point in their gambling experience.
Hours of playing the same type of game, even at the best Gammix casinos, can take a significant toll on you.
The last thing you want is to use your bankroll in a few bad rounds after you’ve been slowly building it up for hours.
It’s easy to lose focus during long sessions. That’s why you need something guaranteed to turn you around and keep you making optimal decisions.
With a tasty energy drink or a cup of hot coffee beside you, you can quickly turn exhaustion into another energy burst that will make the difference between losing and winning.
It’s a Great Way to Stay Sober While Playing
It’s never wise to drink when you’re trying to win money in a casino. But, if you primarily play for fun and like to drink a bit of alcohol when gambling, caffeine can help you stay sober during a night of moderate drinking.
Equally as important, it’s very convenient in mitigating the consequences of a hangover.
Having a pot or two of coffee in the early morning hours can help you avoid the nasty morning issues that come after a night of heavy drinking.
This can be extremely useful if you’re playing in a tournament setting and need to stay on top of your game for several days in a row.
Reasons Not to Have Caffeine When Gambling
Drinking caffeine while gambling undoubtedly comes with a set of some very convenient benefits. However, it also comes with a unique set of drawbacks that you should be aware of.
To make sure your gambling never suffers because of too much caffeine consumption, here are the most significant reasons why not to have caffeine when betting real money:
It Can Cause the “Jitters”
Students, workaholics, and gamblers alike know how scary “the jitters” can be. When you drink too much caffeine, you’re inevitably heading to a caffeine crash.
But, before it hits you, you’ll go through something most gamblers refer to as “the jitters”.
This is when you hit a point when your mind can’t stop racing, so much so that it impairs your ability to focus and make logical decisions.
One minute, you feel on top of the world and making smart strategic decisions for every bet you place. The next minute, everything turns around, and you can’t do anything right.
You’ll lose your ability to make reasonable risk vs. rewards decisions. You will quickly find yourself chasing losses, lining up bad decisions, and losing money left and right.
Caffeine Crashes Can Be Rough
Once the jitters pass, you might feel for a second that everything is getting back to normal again. But, this is only temporary, as a huge caffeine crash is imminent.
After pushing your physical and mental limits with caffeine, once it passes through your body, you need to catch up to reality.
A caffeine crash is an unmistakable feeling. Your eyelids will feel heavy, you’ll feel slower than ever, and will be incapable of making intelligent and tactical bets.
When a caffeine crash hits you, the only sensible thing is to walk away from slots or tables right away and go to sleep.
It Can Instill the Development of Poor Sleep Habits
Lastly, caffeine can derail your sleep cycle, as you’ll most likely stay up much later than you would otherwise.
This results in poor sleep and will affect your mood when you wake up the following day. Even worse, if you go through this process repeatedly, your body will start depending on it.
In other words, your body will just crave more caffeine the next day, and after you drink and feel good for a while, you’ll be repeating the cycle.
If you’re just drinking caffeine when gambling, all of this isn’t worth going through just because of the caffeine highs when playing your favorite gambling games.
Caffeine When Gambling – To Drink or Not to Drink?
With all of the pros and cons in mind, is drinking caffeine when gambling even worth it? The answer is – it depends.
If you play professionally or often compete in various tournaments, it can be helpful on occasions.
Still, even then, you should always be aware of how many drinks you’ve had to avoid intake of too much caffeine.
If you’re mostly gambling casually, there’s no need to take more than one or two cups of coffee during a multi-hour long session.
Far too many gamblers go overboard with caffeine intake, which can often even lead to tragic outcomes.
That said, taking caffeine in small amounts can be beneficial without negatively impacting your gambling success, bankroll, or health. The crucial thing is to find a sensible balance that personally suits you the best.