Atlassino Academy · First visit · Lesson 2
Decide the money before you go
Two numbers settled at the kitchen table — how much and how long — and the cash in your pocket that keeps them a ceiling.
Before we start: when do you decide how much to spend?
- At home, before I leave.
- At the table, once I see how the evening is going.
- No need to decide — I will only play the cheap games.
Nothing is scored here. Notice which of the three answers is yours today; the answer to the question comes at the end of the lesson, after the check.
The short answer
Settle two numbers at home: how much money is ready to be spent tonight, and what time you will leave. Take that money in cash, leave the bank card and the credit card at home, and write both numbers down before you go.
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
A plan for an evening is two numbers on one card: how much money, and until what time. I will fill in one card with you, for a friend called Santi, and then hand you the pen.
Maya fills in Santi’s card
Santi is an example, not one of the hosts. His amounts are in betting units, there to show the arithmetic; they are not a suggested amount for you.
Tonight’s plan
The limit is a ceiling, not a target.
The alarm on Santi’s phone is set for 23:00 before he leaves the house, and 21:30 is the halfway mark, the moment to look up and see where the evening is. The bet on his card is 10 units a spin on red or black, and 120 units covers 12 bets of that size.
Your turn
Santi keeps the 120 units and the 3 hours, but the table he sits down at will not take less than 25 units a spin. How many bets does the limit cover now, and what does that do to the plan?
Maya’s answer
4 bets instead of 12. The plan has two ways out, and both were decided at home: a table that takes a smaller bet, or an evening that may end sooner. Adding money at the door is not a way out: it is a second limit, decided by the table.
Two numbers, decided at home
Both numbers are easier to settle at your own kitchen table than at a table with a dealer waiting for your bet. The money comes first: set a limit before you start.
The money comes out of what you can spare — not money meant for everyday costs, and never borrowed money. The time goes on the card too: a time limit for playing, and leaving when it is reached.
The money and the hours together are the limit (the money and the time you decide on before you go: a ceiling, not a target).
How far the money goes
The size of each bet decides how many bets the limit covers. That is division, not a forecast:
How long those bets last in hours depends on how fast the table plays, and we hold no published figure for that in Argentina — so this page puts no price on an hour and no guess on how long the money lasts. The plan carries a clock instead, and the clock does not need one.
The limit is a ceiling, not a target
The limit is the most you are ready to spend, not an amount to get through before you leave. Leaving with money still in your pocket is an ordinary end to an evening, and so is leaving early because the money is gone. Losing is part of the game, and the advice we read asks you to accept it as such.
Being ahead does not make the next spin any different. Two provincial bodies give the same advice for that evening: set something aside from what you are ahead and bet only the rest, and stop while it is still going well.
Playing on to get a loss back adds to the cost instead of removing it, and that has a name: chasing losses (playing on to get back what the evening has cost, which raises the cost rather than returning it).
Take the limit in cash and leave both cards at home — the bank card as well as the credit card. One law writes the same idea into the building: it prohibits cash machines inside the gaming rooms it covers and within two hundred metres of them.
Write both numbers down — on paper, or in a phone note — and set the alarm for the leaving time before you leave the house.
Plan the evening
Two levels. Level 1 walks the lines of Santi’s card in the order they go onto it, one line at a time; nothing in level 1 is scored, and level 2 begins once you have read it. Level 2 is the hour before you leave home: ten moments, three answers each. Answers come back inside the plan or outside the plan rather than right or wrong — a decision about your own money either agrees with the plan you made or it does not.
Lesson done
Review my mistakes (0)
Progress stays in this browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
The practice table needs JavaScript. Here is one moment from it, with the answer.
Tonight’s plan
The limit is a ceiling, not a target.
Fill in the card on paper. The ten moments of the practice table follow, each with its answer.
The limit is 120 units. What goes in the pocket?
- Cash for the limit only The ceiling then holds by itself: what is in the pocket is the whole of what can go.
- Cash plus the bank card, just in case The ceiling becomes 120 units plus whatever the card allows, and that second number was never decided at home.
- A card only, so the statement shows it A credit card is borrowed money before it is a record.
Leave the debit and credit cards at home, and do not use one to take out more than you meant to play.
Dejar la tarjeta de débito y/o crédito en casa para respetar el límite establecido.Free translation: Leave your debit and/or credit card at home so as to respect the limit you have set.
IJAN Neuquén · Juego Responsable · readNO USAR TARJETA DE DÉBITO Y/O CRÉDITO PARA EXTRAER MAS DINERO DE LO QUE SE PENSABA INVERTIR EN EL JUEGO.Free translation: DO NOT USE A DEBIT AND/OR CREDIT CARD TO WITHDRAW MORE MONEY THAN YOU HAD PLANNED TO SPEND ON GAMBLING.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · readThe car park takes cards only. The bank card has to come. What now?
- Take it, and leave it in the car with the parking slip The card does the one job it is needed for and never reaches the floor.
- Take it in the wallet — it is only for parking A card within reach is the usual way a limit gets rewritten.
- Skip the plan tonight: with a card there is no point The plan is what makes the cash a ceiling. A card nearby is a reason to be careful with it, not a reason to drop the number.
The rule is not “own no cards”, it is “no card within reach of the table”. Where a card is genuinely needed, it does its job somewhere else.
Which money goes into tonight’s limit?
The month
- The going-out money that is left Its job was already an evening out. Nothing else in the month moves.
- Rent money — payday lands before the rent is due Money meant for everyday costs is what the advice tells you to keep out.
- Money borrowed until payday Do not borrow money to gamble: the advice we read says it in as many words.
Only money you can spare, and never money meant for everyday costs or borrowed.
Utilizar solo el dinero sobrante; no el destinado a gastos cotidianos.Free translation: Use only spare money; not money meant for everyday expenses.
No pedir dinero prestado para jugar.Free translation: Do not borrow money to gamble.
ENREJA Salta · Juego Responsable · readJugá solo el dinero asignado a la diversión.Free translation: Play only with the money set aside for fun.
No comprometas dinero destinado a otros objetivosFree translation: Do not commit money meant for other goals
Casinos del Río · Juego Responsable · readNo pidas dinero prestado para jugar.Free translation: Do not borrow money to gamble.
IJAN Neuquén · Juego Responsable · readThe going-out money is gone this month. A friend offers to lend the limit until payday. What is tonight’s limit?
At the door
- Nothing: go another month The limit is money you have. When there is none, the honest number is zero.
- 120 units, borrowed from the friend The evening can end and the debt not. The advice we read is plain: do not borrow to gamble.
- Half of it, borrowed — that is more careful A smaller loan is still a loan.
Only gamble with money you have: borrowing to gamble is named outright, and on the provincial lists of warning signs as well.
Utilizar solo el dinero sobrante; no el destinado a gastos cotidianos.Free translation: Use only spare money; not money meant for everyday expenses.
No pedir dinero prestado para jugar.Free translation: Do not borrow money to gamble.
ENREJA Salta · Juego Responsable · readJugá solo el dinero asignado a la diversión.Free translation: Play only with the money set aside for fun.
No comprometas dinero destinado a otros objetivosFree translation: Do not commit money meant for other goals
Casinos del Río · Juego Responsable · readNo pidas dinero prestado para jugar.Free translation: Do not borrow money to gamble.
IJAN Neuquén · Juego Responsable · read¿Pediste un préstamo de dinero de alguien y luego no pudiste devolverlo a causa del juego?Free translation: Have you borrowed money from someone and then been unable to pay it back because of gambling?
IPLyC Buenos Aires · Juego Compulsivo: Programa de Prevención y Asistencia · readTe endeudas constantemente por el juego o solicitas préstamos para continuar jugando.Free translation: You constantly go into debt because of gambling or ask for loans to keep playing.
Programa de Juego Responsable del IPLyC S.E. (Misiones) · Síntomas de la ludopatía · readPedir dinero prestado para jugar.Free translation: Borrowing money to gamble.
Casino Club S.A. · Juego Responsable · readThe plan says three hours. What makes that a real limit?
Before you leave
The alarm is not set yet.
- An alarm set for 23:00, now, before leaving Of the three ways to end an evening offered here, the alarm is the only one decided by you rather than by the evening.
- Leaving when the money is gone That rule leaves the length of the evening to the spins.
- Leaving as soon as I am ahead Waiting to be ahead makes the evening as long as it takes, and it may never come.
Set a time limit and leave when it is reached. Set it on the phone, not in a browser tab: a background tab may not fire on time.
Asegurarse de establecer un período de tiempo limitado.Free translation: Make sure to set a limited period of time.
IJAN Neuquén · Juego Responsable · readEstablecer un tiempo límite para jugar y retirarse cuando se cumplió.Free translation: Set a time limit for playing and leave when it has been reached.
ENREJA Salta · Juego Responsable · readPONERSE UN TIEMPO LIMITE PARA JUGAR Y RESPETARLO.Free translation: SET A TIME LIMIT FOR PLAYING AND RESPECT IT.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · readTwo hours tonight, and the alarm is set. Halfway through, the evening is going well. What does the plan say?
Before you leave
A two-hour evening this time.
- Nothing changes: the alarm still ends it The leaving time was set for the evening as a whole, and “going well” is exactly the state in which people move it.
- Add an hour — it is going well The reason to add it came from the last few spins rather than from anything decided at home.
- Stay until it stops going well That rule has no end in it at all. The advice we read says the opposite: stop while it is still going well.
A limit that moves when the evening is good is not a limit; it is a decision made by the last few rounds.
Tras varias oportunidades de perder, retírese.Free translation: After several chances of losing, leave.
Páselo bien y deje de jugar mientras aun le vaya bien.Free translation: Have a good time and stop playing while you are still doing well.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · readDeje de jugar mientras aún le vaya bien.Free translation: Stop playing while you are still doing well.
Instituto de Asistencia Social de Formosa · IAS Formosa — Juego Responsable · readThe table you wanted takes at least 15 units a spin. Your plan was built on a smaller bet. What do you change?
The table you wanted
- Keep the limit: fewer bets, or a cheaper table At 15 units a spin, 120 units covers 8 bets instead of 12. Either accept the shorter evening or find a table that takes your bet.
- Add more money at the door so it lasts That raises the ceiling, which is the one number that was decided at home.
- Bet the smaller amount anyway A table’s smallest bet is a rule of the table, posted for you to read, not a choice. Reading what is posted is lesson 6 of this track.
Of the two numbers on the card, the evening’s length is the one you can move at the door. The limit is not.
The only empty table takes at least 20 units a spin. The plan is unchanged. What now?
The only empty table
- Wait, walk on, or accept a shorter evening At 20 units a spin, 120 units covers 6 bets. A shorter evening keeps both numbers honest.
- Raise the limit to match the table Then the table set the limit, not you.
- Sit anyway and make it back on a good run Trying to get a loss back is the trap the provincial advice we read warns about by name.
A table that asks more than the plan allows for is a reason to change the table or the length of the evening, not the limit.
No caer en la trampa de intentar recuperar las pérdidas.Free translation: Do not fall into the trap of trying to recover your losses.
IJAN Neuquén · Juego Responsable · readNo intentar recuperar lo perdido; aceptarlo como el costo del entretenimiento.Free translation: Do not try to recover what you have lost; accept it as the cost of entertainment.
ENREJA Salta · Juego Responsable · readNo intentar recuperar pérdidas con más apuestas.Free translation: Do not try to recover losses with more bets.
Casino Club S.A. · Juego Responsable · readA plan can carry a line the card did not have: money an hour, 40 units. What is that line?
Tonight’s plan
The limit is a ceiling, not a target.
- The most that can go in an hour It is the limit divided by the hours: a ceiling for each hour, in the same sense as the limit is a ceiling for the evening.
- What I should spend each hour Read that way it becomes a target, and an evening that is under it starts to look unfinished.
- What the game costs each hour That is a different number, and it comes from the game, not from you — from how fast the table plays, for which we hold no published figure here.
40 units is your ceiling for the hour, a decision about your own money. It is not a price, and it is not a target.
The same 120 units over two hours makes the line 60 units. Did each hour get more expensive?
The same limit, fewer hours
The limit is a ceiling, not a target.
- No: the same money over fewer hours What changed is how much of your ceiling each hour is allowed to use. Nothing about the game moved.
- Yes: each hour now costs more The game does not know how long you planned to stay. Only your ceiling for the hour changed.
- Yes: I now have to spend more each hour Only if the line is read as a target. It is a ceiling: nothing on the card says the money has to be used.
Money an hour is a decision about your own money. Shortening the evening moves it, and moves nothing about the game.
How the practice table works
One strip, no rounds. Every square on the strip is one moment of level 2, and all the squares are there from the start. The square shows your first answer on that moment: inside the plan, or outside the plan.
The amounts are examples in betting units. A unit can stand for any amount, and the arithmetic is the same at any scale. Progress stays in this browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
Check yourself
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Five quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.
And the question at the start of this lesson, when to decide how much to spend: the answer is “at home, before I leave”. “At the table, once I see how the evening is going” lets the last few rounds decide. “I will only play the cheap games” forgets that a smaller bet still adds up over an evening.
Where this leads
Further reading
- Herramientas de Juego Responsable · IJAN (Neuquén)La lista corta de consejos en la que se apoya esta lección: un límite de dinero, un tiempo limitado, descansos, la tarjeta en casa y no perseguir las pérdidas.
- Programa de Prevención y Asistencia al Juego Compulsivo · IPLyC (provincia de Buenos Aires)Las preguntas con las que la provincia te invita a revisar cómo jugás, y los centros de atención gratuita.
- Las 10 reglas de oro del juego responsable · IPRA (Tierra del Fuego)Las reglas de un organismo oficial: planificar el presupuesto, guardarse algo de lo que se lleva y retirarse a tiempo.
- Ley 6330 de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires · Legislatura de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos AiresUna ley que obliga a las salas de la Ciudad a tener relojes a la vista y prohíbe los cajeros automáticos dentro de la sala y a 200 metros.
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Decide it before you sit down: the money, the hours, and that the cards stay at home. Write the two numbers somewhere you will see them — a phone note does it — and set the alarm before you leave, not after you arrive.
If the money on the table starts to feel like money you need, or if an evening has already gone further than the plan, the helplines below are for exactly that.
If it stops being fun
If gambling stops being entertainment, help is available. Minimum entry age: each province sets its own. Where we found the rule or regulator that sets it, we cite it on the page; those we found set it at 18. More on responsible gaming.
Show all provinces
If you are thinking about suicide, call 135 or 0800 345 1435 from anywhere in the country
How it’s worked out
Numbers, sources and hosts
Before any game. You do not need to know a single game to use this page: everything on it is decided at your own kitchen table, before you leave.
Numbers. The amounts are one worked example — 120 units, 3 hours and 10 units a spin — in betting units rather than pesos. The only arithmetic on the page is division: how many whole bets a limit covers, and the money an hour as a ceiling. What an hour of a game costs, and how often a limit lasts the hours, are worked out from how fast the table plays, and we hold no published source for that for Argentina: so those figures are not here.
Sources. The money advice comes from the responsible-gambling pages of provincial lotteries and regulators and of casino operators, each sentence quoted in Spanish, as its publisher wrote it, with the page and the day we read it; the buttons in the text open them. We found no debt-counselling service in the open sources, so this page names none.
Hosts. Maya is an illustrated character. Her backstory, a former floor supervisor, is written for the course: she is not a real person and does not speak for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from her experience.
No promise. A plan does not make an evening cheaper. What it changes is how much of your money was in the room, and for how long.
A money limit before you start
Antes de empezar, siempre establecer un límite de dinero.Free translation: Before starting, always set a limit on money.
Decida de antemano lo que desea gastar durante su sesión de juego.Free translation: Decide in advance what you wish to spend during your gaming session.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · read
Establecer un presupuesto antes de jugar y respetarlo.Free translation: Set a budget before playing and respect it.
Recomendamos establecer un presupuesto máximo antes de ingresar al casino y respetar ese límite independientemente del resultado.Free translation: We recommend setting a maximum budget before entering the casino and respecting that limit regardless of the result.
Whose money
Utilizar solo el dinero sobrante; no el destinado a gastos cotidianos.Free translation: Use only spare money; not money meant for everyday expenses.
No pedir dinero prestado para jugar.Free translation: Do not borrow money to gamble.
Jugá solo el dinero asignado a la diversión.Free translation: Play only with the money set aside for fun.
No comprometas dinero destinado a otros objetivosFree translation: Do not commit money meant for other goals
No pidas dinero prestado para jugar.Free translation: Do not borrow money to gamble.
Do not try to get a loss back
No caer en la trampa de intentar recuperar las pérdidas.Free translation: Do not fall into the trap of trying to recover your losses.
No intentar recuperar lo perdido; aceptarlo como el costo del entretenimiento.Free translation: Do not try to recover what you have lost; accept it as the cost of entertainment.
No intentar recuperar pérdidas con más apuestas.Free translation: Do not try to recover losses with more bets.
Two pockets
Fije un objetivo predeterminado para sus ganancias, guárdese algo, y apueste solo la cantidad restante.Free translation: Set a predetermined target for your winnings, keep something aside, and bet only the remaining amount.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · read
Fije un objetivo de ganancias y apueste solo el resto.Free translation: Set a winnings target and bet only the rest.
Instituto de Asistencia Social de Formosa · IAS Formosa — Juego Responsable · read
Stop while it is going well
Tras varias oportunidades de perder, retírese.Free translation: After several chances of losing, leave.
Páselo bien y deje de jugar mientras aun le vaya bien.Free translation: Have a good time and stop playing while you are still doing well.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · read
Deje de jugar mientras aún le vaya bien.Free translation: Stop playing while you are still doing well.
Instituto de Asistencia Social de Formosa · IAS Formosa — Juego Responsable · read
Leave the cards at home
Dejar la tarjeta de débito y/o crédito en casa para respetar el límite establecido.Free translation: Leave your debit and/or credit card at home so as to respect the limit you have set.
NO USAR TARJETA DE DÉBITO Y/O CRÉDITO PARA EXTRAER MAS DINERO DE LO QUE SE PENSABA INVERTIR EN EL JUEGO.Free translation: DO NOT USE A DEBIT AND/OR CREDIT CARD TO WITHDRAW MORE MONEY THAN YOU HAD PLANNED TO SPEND ON GAMBLING.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · read
A money limit before you start
Antes de empezar, siempre establecer un límite de dinero.Free translation: Before starting, always set a limit on money.
Decida de antemano lo que desea gastar durante su sesión de juego.Free translation: Decide in advance what you wish to spend during your gaming session.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · read
Establecer un presupuesto antes de jugar y respetarlo.Free translation: Set a budget before playing and respect it.
Recomendamos establecer un presupuesto máximo antes de ingresar al casino y respetar ese límite independientemente del resultado.Free translation: We recommend setting a maximum budget before entering the casino and respecting that limit regardless of the result.
Whose money
Utilizar solo el dinero sobrante; no el destinado a gastos cotidianos.Free translation: Use only spare money; not money meant for everyday expenses.
No pedir dinero prestado para jugar.Free translation: Do not borrow money to gamble.
Jugá solo el dinero asignado a la diversión.Free translation: Play only with the money set aside for fun.
No comprometas dinero destinado a otros objetivosFree translation: Do not commit money meant for other goals
No pidas dinero prestado para jugar.Free translation: Do not borrow money to gamble.
A time limit
Asegurarse de establecer un período de tiempo limitado.Free translation: Make sure to set a limited period of time.
Establecer un tiempo límite para jugar y retirarse cuando se cumplió.Free translation: Set a time limit for playing and leave when it has been reached.
PONERSE UN TIEMPO LIMITE PARA JUGAR Y RESPETARLO.Free translation: SET A TIME LIMIT FOR PLAYING AND RESPECT IT.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · read
Losses are part of the game
ACEPTAR LAS PERDIDAS ECONÓMICAS COMO PARTE DEL JUEGO.Free translation: ACCEPT FINANCIAL LOSSES AS PART OF THE GAME.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · read
Jugá para divertirte, disfrutar, pero considerá que también podés perder.Free translation: Play to have fun and enjoy yourself, but keep in mind that you can also lose.
No intentar recuperar lo perdido; aceptarlo como el costo del entretenimiento.Free translation: Do not try to recover what you have lost; accept it as the cost of entertainment.
Two pockets
Fije un objetivo predeterminado para sus ganancias, guárdese algo, y apueste solo la cantidad restante.Free translation: Set a predetermined target for your winnings, keep something aside, and bet only the remaining amount.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · read
Fije un objetivo de ganancias y apueste solo el resto.Free translation: Set a winnings target and bet only the rest.
Instituto de Asistencia Social de Formosa · IAS Formosa — Juego Responsable · read
Stop while it is going well
Tras varias oportunidades de perder, retírese.Free translation: After several chances of losing, leave.
Páselo bien y deje de jugar mientras aun le vaya bien.Free translation: Have a good time and stop playing while you are still doing well.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · read
Deje de jugar mientras aún le vaya bien.Free translation: Stop playing while you are still doing well.
Instituto de Asistencia Social de Formosa · IAS Formosa — Juego Responsable · read
Do not try to get a loss back
No caer en la trampa de intentar recuperar las pérdidas.Free translation: Do not fall into the trap of trying to recover your losses.
No intentar recuperar lo perdido; aceptarlo como el costo del entretenimiento.Free translation: Do not try to recover what you have lost; accept it as the cost of entertainment.
No intentar recuperar pérdidas con más apuestas.Free translation: Do not try to recover losses with more bets.
Leave the cards at home
Dejar la tarjeta de débito y/o crédito en casa para respetar el límite establecido.Free translation: Leave your debit and/or credit card at home so as to respect the limit you have set.
NO USAR TARJETA DE DÉBITO Y/O CRÉDITO PARA EXTRAER MAS DINERO DE LO QUE SE PENSABA INVERTIR EN EL JUEGO.Free translation: DO NOT USE A DEBIT AND/OR CREDIT CARD TO WITHDRAW MORE MONEY THAN YOU HAD PLANNED TO SPEND ON GAMBLING.
Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) · IPRA — Programa Juego Responsable · read
No cash machines near the room
Art. 9.- Prohibición de cajeros automáticos y casas de empeño. Se prohíbe el funcionamiento de cajeros automáticos y/o máquinas expendedoras de dinero como asimismo la implementación de espacios donde se realicen empréstitos o transacciones de idéntica naturaleza mediante entrega de bienes, cheques, documentos u otros valores, o que actúen como casas de empeño en el interior y dentro de un radio de doscientos (200) metros de las Salas de Juego definidas en el artículo 3°, inciso f) de la Ley 538 (texto consolidado por Ley 6017).Free translation: Art. 9.- Prohibition of automated teller machines and pawnshops. The operation of automated teller machines and/or cash-dispensing machines is prohibited, as is the setting up of spaces where loans or transactions of the same nature are carried out through the handing over of goods, cheques, documents or other valuables, or that act as pawnshops, inside and within a radius of two hundred (200) metres of the Gaming Halls defined in article 3°, subsection f) of Law 538 (consolidated text by Law 6017).