Play with a clear head

Over time, every player pays the house edge. On DOTAGRADE it is built into the chance openly (see RTP and the house edge), but it is there. Upgrades are not a way to earn money or to grow an inventory reliably: some sessions end up, many end down, and on average they cost a little.

Think of what you stake as the price of an evening’s entertainment. If you would not be comfortable spending that amount on a game, a concert or a night out, do not stake it here.

• Decide how much you are ready to spend this week or this month — before you top up, not in the middle of a session.
• Only use money you can afford to lose. Never play with money meant for rent, food, bills or studies, and never borrow to play.
• When the budget is gone, stop until the next period. Topping up “just once more” is how a budget stops meaning anything.
• Decide in advance what you will do with a good win — withdraw it to Steam, keep it or sell it back — rather than staking it all again on autopilot.

After a loss it is tempting to stake more to “win it back”. That is the most expensive habit in any game of chance. A bigger stake does not improve the odds; it only makes the next loss bigger. A loss is money already spent on the game — let it go.

Every upgrade is rolled independently. The wheel has no memory: five losses in a row do not make the sixth roll more likely to win, and a win does not make the next one less likely. A 40% chance is 40% every single time.

This follows from how results are made: each roll comes from your seeds and a new game number and is fixed before you play (see How provably fair works). Nothing about your previous games enters the calculation.

• Set a time limit as well as a money limit. Long sessions blur judgement.
• Do not play when you are upset, tired or have been drinking — that is when decisions get worse.
• If you catch yourself thinking about upgrades when you are not playing, take a longer break.

It may be time to stop and talk to someone if you:

• spend more than you planned, or hide how much you spend;
• play to escape problems or to win back losses;
• feel restless or irritable when you try to cut down;
• borrow, sell things you need or skip obligations to keep playing.

Asking for help is a sensible step, not a failure. Talk to someone you trust. Many countries have free and confidential support services for people affected by gambling; searching for “gambling help” with the name of your country will find the official ones, and a doctor or counsellor can point you in the right direction too.

If you want a break from DOTAGRADE, write to support at [email protected] and we will block your account for the period you choose.

DOTAGRADE is for adults only: you must be at least 18, or older if the age of majority in your country is higher. If you know that someone under 18 is playing here, please let us know.