Like anything in life, gambling has ups and downs. With gambling it can be a little overwhelming as to how often and quickly these fluctuations can occur – you can be up $1000 with a few lucky wins and down just as fast again. I have never experienced anything quite as erratic as my mood swings when I first started gambling – when I would come out ahead (and was able to walk away with it) I would be on a high; when I lost I would be pissed off that things didn’t go my way. When I lost after being ahead I wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around, admittedly. Over time I’ve learned that losing streaks are part of the game and every gambler needs to learn how to deal with them.
Realizing that losing streaks will occur
Even playing with an optimal strategy you are bound to lose sometimes. Optimal strategies are designed to reduce the house edge, but at the end of the day the house always wins. There will be times when you will enter a long-drawn-out losing streak and irrationality can take over.
Switching your playing strategy, increasing bet amounts to make up for your losses, and becoming agitated are common pitfalls that ultimately accelerate the rate at which your bankroll dwindles. There are a few important steps you can take to be able to better deal with losing streaks.
Take a chill pill
No, we are not recommending that you take any sort of narcotics, but taking a break for a few minutes can do a lot to calm your nerves after a losing streak. After losing repeatedly you may have a tendency to act irrationally and let your emotions trump your logic – this is also known as being on a tilt. If you reach this point and are aware of it, go grab a drink or a smoke to cool your nerves. Come back to the tables when you are more collected.
Reducing your bet amount
It is always a good idea to play with a bankroll management system. When you find yourself on a losing streak you bankroll will be diminishing at more rapid pace than usual. In these situations it would be better to reduce your bet prematurely until things start picking up again. It might take you longer to recoup your losses, but if the losing streak continues it will also keep your bankroll safer.
Don’t alter you strategy
If you are playing with the optimal strategy and still dealing with a losing streak, then you are facing a run of bad luck that every gambler deals with at one time or another. You need to be confident in yourself that you are playing to the best of your ability, and to continue using the same strategy. If you decide to change things up to a high risk-high gain strategy, you may recoup your losses but chances are that you only expedite handing your money over to the casino.
Although a losing streak can be due to run of bad luck with the house edge, many times it can be because of a poor understanding of the nuances of the game and/or bad strategy. Taking the time to learn rules and strategies is imperative – a person who understands the rules and plays with an optimal strategy is guaranteed to have less losing streaks then a person who does not invest the time to educate themselves on the basics. The bottom line is that losing is a part of gambling and something you will encounter time and again – learning how to deal with losing streaks is something every gambler needs to learn at some point, and the sooner the better.
