How To Stop Chasing Losses
Segregate Your Bankroll. My favorite tactic for chasing losses without destroying my bankroll is. “You never know what you have until it’s gone,” that’s scientifically proven.
- As your stop loss is a buy order, then the number of the pips of the spread (spread pipage) has to be added to the market price. If the result equals your stop loss value which is 1.3280, the stop loss will be triggered. It means if the market price plus the spread equals your stop loss level, then the.
- My mp3 audio hypnosis download can help you to stop your compulsion to gamble and stop chasing your losses. Using an indirect approach along with a very subtle metaphor, this mp3 download can help you develop new patterns of behaviour that don’t involve risk or loss of money.
- Focus on what is essential and concentrate on your goal. If your goal is to stop gambling for good, COMMIT!! Remember commitment is CHOICE that we have to keep doing again and again and again. Make that choice to stop. Hope lies eternal. As long as we hope to move forward and mend our ways, we will never get lost.
It's the same old story.
It's a Sunday afternoon, and you decide to throw $200 into your casino account for a few casual spins on the roulette wheel.
You can't really afford to lose this (your first bad decision of the day), but its a nice round number and you tell yourself that you're not going to play with more than $100 of it anyway.
So you make your deposit and load up a roulette table, preferably European roulette because you know it gives sweeter odds.
Things start out pretty well. You're up $100 within 20 minutes after a few well-placed even-money wagers, and you're thinking you might actually leave the game with more money than you started with today. You want to ride lady luck for a little longer, so you throw in some random $5 straight bets along with some $10 outside bets to see if you can hit a bigger payout.
The wheel spins, and you lose $50.
Another spin of the wheel?
It's a little disappointing, but not too bad because you're still up overall. However, the fact that you did have $300 and are now down to $250 is starting to bug you a little. Without too much thought, you click on rebet and hope for the best, looking to recoup the unfortunate loss of the last spin.
But you get unlucky once again, and you're back to where you started. Back down to $200.
Now you mean business.
This time you're genuinely frustrated with having lost all your winnings over the last two spins. You're now at a crossroads where you can choose to follow your head and leave the game with your original $200, or abandon control and raise the stakes in an attempt and come out on the other side with a profit.
But just like you've done times before, you don't follow your head, and you decide to go for glory.
What's your next move?
You lay $100 on red, click spin, and close your eyes, waiting and hoping that the next time you open them you'll see $300 in the corner of the screen. Everything will be fine if I can just get back up to where I was.
I know, I've been there too.
However, your heart sinks when you open your eyes and see your balance is at $100. It's really all or nothing now, so you throw everything you've got left on the table. Surely it must come up red this time.
But it doesn't. And you've lost everything.
All you're left with is the sickening feeling of having lost more than you can afford, when only 2 minutes ago you were sitting at the table with $100 more than you started with. It feels like so long ago now.
Why do I do this?
Chasing losses on roulette
That was a quite a long story for something that is only supposed to set the scene, but I think it was deservedly so. I'm hoping that reading that story recreated an uncomfortable feeling inside you, so that you can fully appreciate how chasing losses can land you in a very sticky spot when reading this article.
Because the thing is, you're not alone.
Almost everyone has chased a loss from time to time. Even Dostoevsky did it. But at the end of the day, chasing losses (whatever the amount) is an unhelpful trait that you need to grow out of.
Stop being a loss-chaser
To avoid being a loss-chaser, you have to change your overall outlook on the game, and keep focused on the bigger picture at all times. Your next spin is not important. It's exactly the same as the next 10,000 spins, and the roulette wheel doesn't care about how badly you want to win on this one.
As soon as you start getting caught up in the heat of the moment, you can expect to wave goodbye to whatever money you have in front of you. Even if you don't lose the money straight away, you've already lost because you've lost control of your decisions.
Here are a few things to remember when you're playing roulette (or any casino game for that matter):
- Expect to win and lose. If you expect to lose at some point, you won't be shocked when you do.
- Every bet you make is a risk.
- Don't play with money that you can't afford to lose. You know this, so just don't do it.
- Gambling is entertainment, not a way to make money.
- You are in control of your actions. You can decide to leave as well as decide to play on.
They are all pretty cliché things to remember, but it's all too easy to set them aside when you hit a big loss and decide that your anger and frustration knows best.
You're emotions can easily override you, so be prepared for it. You need to be stronger than them and think with your head even when it feels like everything is crashing down around you. Money not lost is as good as money won.
Conclusion
It's funny how the feel-good emotion of a big win is never quite on the same level as the stomach-sinking feeling of a big loss.
Keep everything in focus, and make having a good time your highest goal. There's no point in having read this article if you're just going to blame you're next loss on 'getting caught up in the moment'.
You control the moment, not the other way around.
Chasing your losses is a fools errand in any casino game, but it’s often a hard idea to shake when you find yourself at the bottom of the barrel and at the mercy of some devious croupier that seems hell-bent on sending you home bankrupt – which can happen on a night out more than we like to admit.
So what is chasing your losses and why is it so bad? It can be a number of things really. It could be increasing your regular bet in the hope of winning back money you have already lost, or it could be spending more money to gamble for longer in the hope of gaining back losses. Putting it simply, chasing your losses is a turn of phrase for spending more money gambling than you initially intended or can afford.
In reality, though, chasing your losses is often times the end result of a list of calamitous behaviours. So how can you avoid this entire downward spiral to begin with?
Manage Your Bank Roll Wisely
The professionals go into a gambling bout with an allotted amount of money that they are able or willing to lose and once they have lost that amount they will not spend a cent more. This is referred to as a bankroll.
Even if you just gamble every once in a blue moon it is smart to incorporate this practice of the pros into your own playing style. Managing and sticking to a personal limit puts you in the right frame of mind. If you start gambling with the assumption you will win, then you have already lost.
It’s the people who understand that winning is a bonus – and the professionals – that wind up making money and not walking away wondering where it all went. Going in with a set amount in mind reduces the likelihood of you shuffling back and forth from the ATM all night and eventually chasing your losses.
Don’t Gamble While Emotional
Gambling should be an avenue of fun and entertainment – not an instrument of escape. It’s when we abuse vices to escape our everyday troubles that they can become a real problem.
Making bets and wagers while depressed, coping with the end of a relationship or the loss of someone or while angry or stressed is not a great idea.
Not having that clarity of thought and general coolness that you are usually renowned for could cause you to make silly bets and eventually chase your losses, sending you spiralling down the proverbial rabbit’s hole.
Leave Your Bank Cards at Home
How To Avoid Chasing Losses
This should be a no-brainer. By leaving your bank and credit cards at home, you completely remove the temptation of chasing your losses with a quick but unwise withdrawal, and possibly finding yourself in debt.
Before leaving for a night out on the punt, whether it be out to the city casino or the local pub for a roll on the pokies, leave your bank and credit cards at home and just take the cash that you need for the night or how much you are prepared to lose gambling.
Removing temptation is the simplest way to stop yourself from chasing your losses. It may seem like over-stated, basic advice, but you’ll be surprised how often people underestimate this precaution and end up falling prey to the need to win back losses with more money they can’t afford to lose.
Play Real Money Blackjack Online
Note: The information below is intended for our international readers only. Online casinos were banned from accepting Australian players in September 2017 following the introduction of the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016, so for Aussies the content on this page is informational in nature only.
This might sound like odd advice, but betting real money online can be a pretty safe way to ensure you don’t get carried away while in the grip of a powerful gambling fever. There are no dealers to tempt you to keep playing, no brights lights to dazzle you and no beautiful women to turn your mind to putty. With online betting or casino accounts, whatever you have deposited is your limit and can not be overdrawn.
How To Stop Chasing Losses In The Winter
Having that set amount in your account automatically reduces the risk of chasing your losses because it takes a little time, thought and effort to top-up most online accounts with popular deposit methods. Bank transfers, for instance, can often take 1-3 working days to deposit.
Most other methods are instant, but the majority of bookies and casinos have deposit caps which means you can’t exceed each deposit option’s maximum. Whether your poison of choice is sports betting, table games or slots you are well catered for with online bookies or online casinos.
What Is Chasing Losses
So whether you decide to play online or at a bricks and mortar casino or the local pub’s pokie repertoire, go in with a plan of attack and a budget. Stick to that budget. Leave your bank and credit cards at home to remove temptation and don’t gamble to escape the problems in your life: gamble for fun.