The greatest casino player I have ever known is the Captain, an 87-year-old Atlantic City legend. The Captain is not a slot player but the consummate craps player who nevertheless taught me so much about casino gambling that it changed my whole philosophy about how to approach the games.

I have written several books and a DVD about the Captain’s methods of play and I firmly believe that all players, table game players and slot players can benefit by his insights and recommendations. It doesn’t matter what games you play. The Captain’s advice applies to all of them and to any trip you make to the casinos.

The Captain is a firm believer that casino players often get themselves into big economic trouble by disrupting their normal daily rhythms to imitate or duplicate the 24/7 rhythm of the casino. This is a dangerous thing, both physically and mentally, because it makes rational thinking quite hard, if not impossible.

Most of you have seen players staying up all odd hours, playing endlessly, half asleep or half awake, groggy, perhaps blitzed, sometimes incoherent; as if pushing the envelope of endurance is some badge of merit as opposed to an act of extreme silliness. Perhaps you have done this yourself.

I once remember a befuddled woman I met on April 2 at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. She had a drink in her hand and she asked me what time it was. I told her. "It’s April first right?" she asked. When I told her that it was April 2, she asked me where April 1^st went. She had played so long she had lost track of the days!

I am guessing she had no idea of how much money she played in all that time or how much she had lost or, a long shot, how much she might be ahead. The whole slot-playing experience to her was merely a dream. She probably said what many vacationers have said after particularly grueling vacations: "I need a vacation from my vacation!"

The Captain believes that you must impose your normal, daily rhythm when you go to the casinos for a stay of whatever length. You must not allow the 24/7 rhythm of the casino to dominate you.

Get up in the morning at the same time you normally do; have breakfast at the same time that you normally do, shower or bathe at the same time you normally do – then go to work, meaning play a session at the tables or machines. Break for lunch at the normal time. Then you can play another session, take a break or do something else such as go swimming or shopping; take a nap, and then go out to dinner. After dinner, play another session or go to a show and then go to sleep about the same time as you go to sleep every night when you are home.

The Captain believes that if you keep as close to a normal daily schedule as possible, your mind will stay clear and you have a much smaller chance of falling prey to poor judgments because you haven’t been thrown by being off your normal rhythm.

Most slot players have to ask themselves the question of whether playing for endless hours is really all that much fun or is it more like an induced state of mesmerism. Do you really have as much fun in the tenth straight hour of play as you have in the second hour of play? My guess, for most players anyway, is that the tenth hour passes by in a haze of spins.

In truth, what makes slot playing so much fun for most players is the anticipatory nature of the game. You tend to have losing streaks of various durations, all the while building your adrenaline for the big rush during a hoped-for big hit. This is the joy of slot playing, anticipation, but that joy is almost completely blunted when you are somewhat "out of it." That "out of it" can be caused by lack of sleep or too much to drink or a combination of both.

The Captain believes it is actually more fun to play when you are fully cognizant of what is happening. In short, your "now" of playing is more fun and your "past" play, once you return home, will be clearer. In short, you’ll remember your casino adventures better!

I am fully aware that some casino players think that a necessary ingredient of going to the casinos is for the player to lose control. They view their casino time as some kind of "letting it all hang out" experience. According to the Captain, not only is that dangerous to your health, it is also dangerous to your bankroll and your peace of mind.

The ploppy fools can "let it all hang out," but you be wise – follow the Captain’s advice. You’ll be glad you did.

Frank Scoblete, #1 best-selling gaming author, is director of Golden Touch advantage-play seminars in dice-control and blackjack. Websites: www.goldentouchcraps.com and www.scoblete.com. Recent books: The Virgin Kiss!, Golden Touch Dice Control Revolution! and Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution! Join Frank at The World Casino Championships in August of 2009 in fabulous Las Vegas. Go to: http://www.goldentouchcraps.com/wcc_2009.shtml for more information. To order Frank's products or free brochure, call 1-800-944-0406.