Harrah’s Casino in Cherokee, NC
visitcherokeenc.com

I made the trek to the far west corner of the North Carolina mountains recently to visit the town of Cherokee. When people think of this town, named after the Cherokee tribe of Native Americans, they think of one thing: gambling. And this is the reason we decided to visit. I had never been before, but really enjoyed my visit. I’ll definitely be going back. And throughout my short time in the casino, I learned a few things that I will take back with me to my next visit. Here is my guide on how to gamble Cherokee, for beginners, from a beginner:

Get There Early

Now, I don’t mean eat breakfast at 9:00 a.m. and hit the casino right after. If you spend all day in there you’ll be drained and there’s a good chance your wallet will be too. I would recommend waiting until after lunch. Eat lunch at a normal time (12:00-1:30 p.m.) then casually make your way to the casino. By the time we arrived to Cherokee, it was probably around 4:00 p.m. and by the time we checked into the hotel at the casino, and stood in line for our free rewards money (more on that in a bit), it was probably 5:30-5:45 p.m. by the time we were gambling. And one of my main takeaways from the trip is just how fast time flies in the casino, especially when you start winning a little bit.

So, try to get to the casino after lunch time and spend the rest of your day/night there. There are several restaurants in the casino to eat dinner at. And if you spent the night in Cherokee, or nearby, then go on a morning hike before eating lunch and going to the casino. There are more trails around then you can count and the great contrast of being out in nature before hitting the casino for the rest of the day will be good for you.

Get Free Rewards Cash

This will only apply to first timers at the casino. But since this is a guide for Cherokee beginners, it’s a must-have point. And it’s not year-round they do this, but there are periods throughout the year where they do. You’ll get a free $50 credit on your member’s card if you stand in a 20 minute line before giving them your contact information. This was a sweet way to kick things off, especially for a beginner when you don’t know how much money you may lose and how quickly.

Don’t Forget to Place Sports Bets

This was something that I honestly didn’t even think about before going into the casino. But when we came to the huge section filled with comfortable chairs in front of an incredible amount of big-screen tv’s with all kinds of sports games on, I knew it would be a vital part of the trip. My big tip here is to place some sports bets as soon as you walk into the casino. That way, it doesn’t matter how you’re faring with the games and tables, you still have your sports bets to fall back on. If you’re losing some money out there, it feels good to say, “well at least I have the Pacers/Blackhawks/etc. to possibly get me some money back.”

Sports bets are fun to because there is some strategy involved. It’s not a total shot in the dark, especially if you know a little about sports. The feeling that you have some control on your bet is a good one, rather than just putting money on red or black and hoping for that 50/50 chance. And lastly when it comes to placing sports bets, it’s nice to take a break from the machines and tables, to relax in the comfortable chairs and watch your teams you bet on. It’s a very nice change of pace and a great way to get you away from the machines or tables for a bit. Not to mention, if you’re team is in a close game, it’s pretty thrilling, like when I had a hockey bet come down to a shootout.

Don’t Waste Too Much Time on the Slots

I realize this is one of the first things people think of when they think of casinos, and it certainly was for me too. And for this reason, you have to play them. But just don’t overdo it. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the slot machines are not what I thought they would be. For one, it’s just a total chance…and of course I knew that going into it, but having absolutely no control over it, verses having control over other games in the casino makes you want to go to those other games instead. The slots will lose your money so very quickly it can put you in a bad mood in no time. You sit down, pull the handle a few times, and before you know it, you’re already down $30. Not a great feeling. And I realize there’s the chance at hitting it big, but it just feels like they are automatic losers and you don’t stand a chance.

So, play the slots for the experience but don’t spend to much time or money there. In my opinion, your time and money will be much, much better spent and enjoyed at the other games throughout the casino where you don’t feel so much like a robot.

Play the Individual Machines for Roulette/Blackjack

Unless you know what you’re doing, or find an empty table with a dealer willing to guide you through it, play roulette and/or blackjack at the 25 or so individual machines that circle a dealer and an actual roulette table. On your individual screen you can place your bets any way you want, without having to interact with the dealer or anyone else, giving you a great way to learn and get a feel for the game without any pressures an actual table might provide. It’s also a cheaper way to play the game too, with a minimum $5 buy-in instead of $20 or $25. You still get to watch the dealer place the ball in an actual roulette table, but no one knows your bet or how much you won except you.

Pace Yourself

This one is fairly obvious, but if you do not pace yourself it could easily ruin your trip. And the thing is, you might plan to do this, but it’s easy to get carried away once your in the casino surrounded by all the lights, action, and energy. Unless you’re a gambling veteran, you need to start your day off slow by placing $5 and $10 bets. Try to win slowly because if you lose, you’ll lose slowly. Lose too fast and your day will be over that much faster. If you start to win a little bit, then you can go a little bigger. Just don’t get carried away and bet too much too early. Once the end of the night gets closer and you have some money to play with, then sure, go ahead and go bigger if you want, especially if you’re leaving town the next day. But that’s one of the biggest mistakes you can make. It still feels very good to increase your winnings, even if it’s just $20 or $30.

Play a Big Hand or Two

I realize this point may sound counter-active to what I just finished saying, but after all, you are there to gamble. The important thing, and the thing that still justifies my last point, is knowing when to go big. You can’t throw a big hand in there too early in the night, unless you’ve just had very good luck early on. You either have to wait sometime in the second half of the night, or after you have built up some solid winnings. If you’ve had some pretty good luck, then feel free to toss in a big hand earlier in the day…just don’t turn around and gamble everything you just won. Kick some to the side for later bets. If you’re somewhere around breaking even after the majority of the day, then as the night gets closer to a close, try going pretty big for a hand or two. It’s a rush, and who knows, you may walk out of there with your pockets a little bit heavier. Now, if you’re down quite a bit after gambling all day, disregard this point. You still have to be smart and not lose everything.

Set Limits

This is for everyone. Just by going to the casino this one time I already understand how difficult it can be to call it a night. You start to lose a little bit, then you tell yourself you just want to win enough to get back to a certain amount, before losing some more. And then it just spirals. The more you want to dig yourself out of the hole, the deeper that hole gets. Before you step foot in the casino, know exactly how much you are willing to lose and stick to it.

Watch Other People

This is my last point, but something that is crucial. If you are new to certain games, or just looking for other ideas on how to best play it, watch other people. Don’t stand right behind their shoulder watching them like a hawk…they won’t like that for sure…but glance over from time to time, especially if you are playing right beside them. For example at a certain “wheel game” they had in Cherokee, you’re playing on separate screens right beside each other while one big wheel spins in front of everyone. You can sort of glance over from time to time to see how a particular player is placing his bets, if they have a pattern, and notice the amount of success they are having. We ended up getting some good ideas from a guy next to us who cashed out a pretty good amount on the same game. Maybe next time that will be me.

Garett

A Guide on How To Gamble at Cherokee: From a Complete Rookie