5 Ways Casinos Toy With The Player's Mind
They have a whole array of techniques at their disposal, some of which are as obvious as plain daylight, while others are very sneaky and subtle indeed, almost unnoticeable…almost being the keyword here. And no matter what they happen to be, they all have one thing in common: to toy with the player’s psyche.
How? Well, by making them feel relaxed, comfortable, respected, wanted, and, most importantly, optimistic. The fact remains that, most often than not, they succeed. Even though these maneuvers of theirs are many, we’d like to present 5 of the more common types of ways casinos play with and control your mind.
1. Where Are All the Windows?
There aren’t any! You would think that such a large building as a casino would have tons of windows, but, as you’ve surely already seen for yourself, you’d be wrong. Well, technically speaking, there are indeed windows at the entrance and exit of a casino, but once you go deeper inside, they disappear altogether. This infamous tactic goes well together and is complementary to the ‘no clocks’ tactic, but more on that one further below.
The whole point is for you to completely lose track of what is going on in the outside world. Even if you’re not looking at a clock, if you see it getting dark outside (or maybe the break of daylight?) you would rely that you’ve been in there for too long, and that it’s time to move on to something else, like getting some shut eye perhaps.
Which, of course, means you won’t gamble, and the casino won’t profit from you anymore! The ‘no window’ unwritten rule is also there to make sure you’re not distracted to something more interesting happening outside, making you want to join in on that fun, rather than keep on gambling.
2. And the Clocks?
Like we already mentioned, this is just another way of making sure you lose any and all contact with the outside world, up to the point where you would think it doesn’t even exist! Sounds kind of creepy when you put it like that, but like it or not, that’s the general idea behind this tactic.
Moreover, nowadays most people have gone off wearing wristwatches (much less pocket watches!), and if there isn’t any clock on the walls of the casino either, then there’s nothing easier than losing complete track of just how much time has passed, and whether or not the time has come to call it a day.
3. Quite the Ambience!
Remember that forced on feeling of comfort we mentioned? Well, this is largely, if not entirely due to the dimmed lighting in a casino, which has purposefully been made mellow in order to lull you into a friendly, homey sense of atmosphere, like when you’d sit back and unwind at home. Think about it – if you really were unwinding sitting on your comfy couch, would you be so willing to get off it in a rush? Of course not, and that’s exactly the kind of mood they want to get you in here as well.
But it’s not just the lights. There are also the tacky colors in carpeting and walls (usually red, which research has shown invokes a sense of security), which apparently have the same effect on individuals who step into the “lion’s den”, so to speak. It’s just one more mind-game, even if you don’t notice your surroundings that much. You can bet that your subconscious does.
Lastly, the music played in the background also entrances you and even the general cleanliness of the whole place, which makes the player feel even more like a pampered, welcome guest. Who would want to leave such surroundings?
Conclusion
Since there are many other tricks which casinos use to make you feel ‘important’ and ‘wanted’, we may just get back to this topic in the near future, with another 5! But until then, what more is there to say than ‘keep your eyes open’ and try not to fall into the ‘honeypot trap’ set up by those ‘wonderful and caring hosts’.
We’re not saying you should stop having fun at casinos, just make sure to know your own limit and not be swayed by cheap trickery. One way to do so is to simply stick to the online casinos and slots! Good luck out there!
