How Online Casino Games Can Sharpen Up Your Brain Power
The online casinos of today are a far cry from the sites that first started to appear in the 1990s. This has been thanks to a constant drive to develop the technology, provide an ever-increasing number of games and make them more player focused.
This is why they continue to be so popular in very many countries, played by millions every single day.
Different people have different motivations for going on these sites. Some do it to win money, others for the entertainment and diversion. But all could be benefitting in a way that they least expect.
That’s because the mental skills needed to play many of these games can act like a workout for the brain, helping to develop some specific skills. In some cases it, has even been postulated, that playing card games like poker can even help to ward off dementia.
Looking at the activity more broadly, it can even help in these areas.
Concentration and focus
There has been a great deal written and said about the shortening of attention spans in the modern age as well as the lack of focus. After all, how often do people do things like watch TV while also scrolling through their phone?
But playing casino games, all casino games, demands that the player has 100% focus on what’s happening on the screen in front of them. To turbo-charge this effect, some players of games like blackjack can even be playing multiple hands at the same time.
Gradually this allows them to put this kind of concentration to work in other areas of their life, to great effect.
Decision making
Most casino games include an element of decision-making. It may be whether to back the player or the dealer in a game of baccarat, or what number to bet on in roulette. It’s also something that has to be done under time pressure.
The faster and more decisively a player acts, the more successful they may be.
It’s also a skill that can come into play before they’ve even placed their first bet. There are many sites online that list the best online casinos operating, along with the welcome bonuses that they offer. Such as, Gambling.com who are showcasing the best casinos in New Zealand who are offering a $5 minimum deposit to new players. The fact that a player has to make a decision about which one to go with is a good introduction to making their mind up and sticking with it.
Memory
As people get older it’s often their powers of memory that begin to be affected – it’s the syndrome of going upstairs to do something, but not quite being able to remember what it was.
It’s also generally agreed that the more you can train the brain to remember, the better it will be at keeping memory working properly.
There is one casino game in particular that involves a fantastic memory workout and that’s blackjack. That’s because there is a system called “the basic strategy” that has been designed to dictate whether a player would be better to take another card or stick in any given situation.
It is expressed in a series of tables showing all the possible permutations and it’s necessary to memorise these tables if you want to become an effective player of the game. Once you’ve mastered these, remembering what you went to the shop to buy will be a breeze!
Logic
Not all people are logical thinkers, some prefer to act on hunches instead. But, in the long run, logic will always win out.
So the skills that can be picked up playing card games can help to hone this ability for logical thought. To take poker as an example, one has an awareness of the cards that are in your hand as well as the community cards laid out on the table.
While you can never know what the other players’ hole cards are you can use logic to work out what they might be and use this information to develop your strategy.
Proof that logic can help you win at poker came from the game in which a computer called Pluribus took on a group of professional players in a series of games and won.
Mental arithmetic
There’s no getting away from the fact that online casino games are all about numbers. It can range from calculating odds to working out how to divide your stake money to make the most of your betting session.
These all need a player to do a series of quick calculations in their head. Often these are also having to be done in high pressure situations, a notoriously difficult time to think clearly.
But, like everything, practice can improve these skills and mean that players can keep a cool and calculating head in other tense and stressful situations in their life.
Dopamine Release
We’ve all heard of dopamine, the chemical created in our brains when something pleasurable occurs, such as a win on the slots or in any other casino game. But it also has a far more key role to play than just helping us to feel good about life.
It’s also an important element in regulating many of our other brain functions including memory, concentration and even sleep – and winning in the casino is a perfect way to release it.
So next time you’re heading for an online casino don’t just look at it as some fun entertainment. It’s also like a workout in the mind gym!