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Misc How do you deal with a bad losing streaks in gambling

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous Gambling Forum' started by Baccarat man, Jun 18, 2017.

  1. Baccarat man

    Baccarat man Member

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    I thought I would bring up this topic as everyone who gambles on a regular basis will come across these BAD RUNS from time to time.Everyone has a different way of dealing with them though???as confidence does get a kick.How do you guys deal with them??
     
  2. gizmotron

    gizmotron Well-Known Member Founding Member

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    Don't have them.
     
    Bombus likes this.
  3. KewlJ

    KewlJ Well-Known Member

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    For recreational type players, and AP's that don't play for a living, just take a break and regroup. Take as much time as you need, a few day, a week, a month. For professional players, especially 'grinder' type players, it isn't quite so easy. We can't afford to take too much time off "to regroup", as time is money. If I take a month off, my yearly EV is going to be lower and that directly translates to my income will be lower. :( That said, occasionally I do take a few extra days here or there, during extended bad runs. I find something else to do, just to clear my mind. :cool:

    One thing that I do, that does help, is I really don't focus on the daily wins and losses. I focus on EV (expended value) that I am accumulating, because over the long run, my EV and actual earnings will come together. This helps.....somewhat. o_O Really extended losing period of 4, 5, 6 months, and it still wears on me. That is part of my occupation. I am getting better with dealing with extended losing periods as time goes on, but still haven't completely mastered it. o_O
     
  4. Bombus

    Bombus Well-Known Member

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    To be honest, rather than explaining how I manage, I'd be more interested in hearing how you deal with long losing streaks, Baccarat man.
     
  5. gizmotron

    gizmotron Well-Known Member Founding Member

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    To start with, what works for me, is to have a game that balances out like EC bets. Everyone here knows I play 24 numbers so balance occurs at two wins to every loss. So this allows me to see playing as little battles instead of big wars. If you can win all the little battles then you will eventually win the war. Here is a typical streak of difficulty explained as a win/loss list for 2 to 1 bets: ( wwLwwLwwLLwwwLLLwLwLwLww ) Here is a typical list of a winning streak for the same: ( wwwLwwwwwLwwwwwLLLwwwwwwLwwwLwwwwLwwwwwww)

    If you avoid repeated losses like two, three, and four in a row losses then all that will be left to play are the single losses. You must take out the losing streaks. So like I said, "don't have them." There will come a time when you are tempted to play during a perfect bad guess streak. You might lay low after each loss for instance. But your come-back-bet loses every time you play after a loss. You are attempting to avoid the losses but they just keep coming as a pattern of perfect timing. This is common with EC bets. You just fall into the wrong sequence for a time.

    You just need to know that it will not last forever. You get out of it. Stop feeding the bad streak. Take a break. Go do something else. When you come back, if your game is Roulette, look before you dive back in. You can do this in roulette. Look to see if the perfect sequence of laying off bets after a first loss is still connected to every come back bet. You can tell how a session is going by your bankroll and your session total. Nobody makes you place the bets. Having to pay your way through a losing streak is what makes the House Edge mathematically work. You don't have to take it. If you know how to see balance then you have a better chance of being aware of the conditions that currently exist.

    Your mind should be constantly aware of the currently occurring win / loss conditions. Otherwise you should not gamble.

    Or, ignore this advice and play for fun and the betterment of your favorite casino.
     
  6. Baccarat man

    Baccarat man Member

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    Well bombus!!after a bad spell of gambling I lower my stake significantly first and then if that fails I take a break for maybe 2-3 weeks clear my head and start again with a small stake gradually increases depending on my luck.it seems to work OK for me but sometimes dosent either!!everyone has different ways of dealing with it I'm just interested to learn new ways or techniques ideas etc.Also every gambler will have them!!you can't avoid them.anyone who says they never had them either dosent gamble or is talking BS!!
     
  7. gizmotron

    gizmotron Well-Known Member Founding Member

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    I'm actually glad that you don't see good advice. You still need to pay the price for learning it. I'm not talking BS. You just can't see the advice. BTW. Most gamblers make this same mistake.

    You don't have to wait weeks. That's just your inexperience dealing with the chemical changes in your mind that naturally occur. You need to adjust to changes as they occur, not two weeks later when you would like them to change. You can clear your head by not letting it get faked out in the first place. Don't let yourself leave the logical center of your mind.

    If you doubt this then look up all the research done about chemical changes in problem gamblers. People that can't stay in the logic center move into the pleasure center where losing becomes acceptable.
     

  8. Baccarat man

    Baccarat man Member

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    Your obviously not a gambler gizmotro??and im not a probem gambler!!I'm a pro.There is a big difference!!!look it up properly !!what the hell are you on this forum for??you dont like RISK!!that's why you will never make a good gambler!!!pure BS 'chemical charges and research ' as I explained I do adjust as any professional gamblers would and im shrewd but sometimes fate plays its part , sometimes you won't win all the time,every gambler knows this FACT!!!If anyone intends to win big you have to take risks to seek big return!!it's unpredictable!!!we know, as gamblers we have to find our best way out of it when it dosent go our way.It will happen!!!even the best casino gamblers in the world will tell you that!!!how you deal with it is personal!!that's what I'm asking.That's the Question??A wealthy business investor once told me 4 years ago ' when i was on holiday and i quote 'A life without risk is a life without reward and it go's for everything in life marriage, money etc' .It was very good advice.
     
  9. Baccarat man

    Baccarat man Member

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    Yes it's the losing streaks and how a person deals with it that sets apart the pro gamblers from the amateurs.I agree.
     
  10. gizmotron

    gizmotron Well-Known Member Founding Member

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    That's great. I don't know anything about risk.
     
  11. Neal Pace

    Neal Pace Member

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    Play through those bad streaks!! Good times will come again!!
     
  12. gizmotron

    gizmotron Well-Known Member Founding Member

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    Now we come to the crux of the great outdoor wilderness experience.
    It's fishy for a self proclaimed "professional gambler" to come here asking for advice on the very basics. Anyone that needs two weeks for their head to clear out is not a professional gambler. A Pro would never get so rattled by a losing streak that they needed to clear out their head. This is the real issue here. You want to avoid having your head jumbled up by a natural result of playing. You hope to get a method so that you won't get taken out by feeding a losing streak. I don't give a rat's ass if you think I'm not pro enough for your grandeur. I'm not the beggar here. I think you are funny, needing two weeks to clear your head. This can be assumed also. You actually expect the casino to be in a favorable state just because you walk into the door two weeks later.

    For some reason you know what a losing streak is. So it could be deduced that you actually play, have no clue about the effect of chemical changes that happen to all gamblers when they play, and have zero plans to bother looking at it. Now for the best part. I hope you do forget about it. Somebody has to keep the lights on. So far, all I see is a person making a profession out of losing. Now get mad and call me names you putz.
     
  13. KewlJ

    KewlJ Well-Known Member

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    This is just not true based on both my own experiences as well as networking with few different players. I can only speak to blackjack, but emotions and controlling, or probably better described not completely losing control of those emotions are probably the single biggest key to successful professional blackjack play. It is probably the area that people who embark on professional or serious play are least prepared for (see Zenking thread at WoV for a perfect example). This is an area that books and simulations really can't prepare you for.

    And this is an area that everyone is different and handles differently. Of the players that I know and network with, everyone has admitted to taking a break to regroup, at various times and it usually involves a significant losing period. This is not weakness in my opinion. Plowing through when not in control of emotions and the natural human response of "chasing losses" is the weakness. Losing control of emotions can turn a moderate negative run, which is a common part of the game, into a disaster. Recognizing the need to check emotions going in the wrong direction and regroup is a strength. It is actually a skill learned by experience and that experience is ongoing.
     
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2017
  14. Pia Toomingas

    Pia Toomingas New Member

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    Play through it and move on.
    Don't get to attach and dwelling, that where everything go south and dicey.
     

  15. gizmotron

    gizmotron Well-Known Member Founding Member

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    KewlJ, the point is to lose and have a small swarm of losses without letting your emotions get out of control. I know what it is like to lose it. I also know what it is like to stay in the logic center of my mind while my body chemistry is trying to push my mind over to the pleasure and rewards center of my mind. It's a chemical transition where in the pleasure center the mind does not care if losing occurs. But in the logic center the mind does care if losses occur.

    There is also another thing to consider here. A very long session where you are being whittled down slowly you get fatigued, especially if you don't maintain your logical focus.

    You guys would be doing yourself a big favor for yourselves in confirming what I have just suggested. You don't have to be a problem gambler or an addicted gambler to have chemical transference issues.

    So if you don't have self control issues you don't need two weeks to recover. That is what I'm defending.
     
  16. Baccarat man

    Baccarat man Member

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    Oh so you think to keep gambling day in day out while your in a bad losing streak and hope for the best and you will eventually win ? ?what kind of a person would say that??it's not very logical and stupid.Anyone who does that will get in a very bad situation! !and we are not looking for a sociology lesson BTW.
     
  17. Baccarat man

    Baccarat man Member

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    Thank you!! I completely agree.
     
  18. gizmotron

    gizmotron Well-Known Member Founding Member

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    It's not sociology. It's biological and neurological. If you had a clue how randomness works then you would not stand on your soap box as an ignoramus. Because of the way that I play, there is never a bad losing streak that lasts more than 20 spins. That's about 40 minutes. I don't need two weeks off to figure out why I lost.

    I'm cutting into you because you are clearly a neophyte gambler.
     
  19. BUZZARD

    BUZZARD Active Member Lineage to Founders

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    The late Henry Gordon used to say " I want nothing to do with an even bet ". And he was the smartest gambler and bookie I ever knew. Henry had a mandatory appearance before The Kefauver committee in the 1950's. Yet never spent so much as a day in jail.
     
  20. Bombus

    Bombus Well-Known Member

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    I try to make long losing runs as inexpensive as possible. That means breaking them up into smaller runs and putting aside the smaller drawdowns in separated totals. When the good times roll I reduce the smaller separate drawdowns one by one.

    This definitely results in less big wins and probably reduces overall profit for the good runs, but when the long losing runs come along, my game is somewhat buffered. Very rarely do they kill a bankroll.
     
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