The most fatal of all gambling mistakes I've found out in my research is when a gambler increases his bets the moment he starts to lose. This kind of gambler who commits this mistake is what I call the "chaser". At the start, a chaser usually bets small. If he comes into winning hands, or just about even, he continues betting small, never changing the amount of his bet. But be aware, because late in his playing, when he starts to lose, he suddenly becomes a big bettor. The more he loses, the bigger his bets become. A chaser is a stubborn gambler.
In my casino experiences, I have encountered plenty of chasers and I'll share to you one of these experiences. It was early evening and I was playing Blackjack when a tough-looking man arrived. He had bodyguards in tow as he was a big businessman in town. His presence was imposing. He sat at a small Baccarat table and started playing. He smoked big cigar, and he had a very loud voice. Not any sooner the other players with him drifted away. You would know he was winning by just listening to his laughter - loud as a thunder. As he continued to win, the louder his holler became. A crowd stood behind snooping on his every win. When the shoe was over, he stood up and roared, "Is this all you've got? Ha, ha, ha. Give me your biggest table, I am hot tonight." He seemed to shout on purpose so others would envy his winnings.
He was escorted to a big Baccarat table, one with a high limit, just as he wanted. The snoopers followed. As there was no other player so he had the table all to himself. However within the first hour the holler receded. All that you would hear from him was his sweat hitting the floor. He stumbled upon a losing streak and his winnings vanished immediately. His face changed, from a jester to a monster. He was desperate to win, and in desperation, he was increasing his bets.
But the losing pit seemed bottomless. He would lose 8 times in a row and win once, lose 9 times and win once, lose 7 times and win once, repeatedly. He even lost twelve times in a row twice. As he kept on losing, he kept on increasing his bet. Then he went really deep. Someone called his wife, and when his wife arrived, she sat beside him. But his wife could not do anything as her husband was very stubborn. The wife just watched as her husband poured in millions to the casino.
Then he requested the pit boss to change the dealer. (Remember that this casino disallowed players to deal.) Every time he would lose, a new dealer would turn up. Dealer in and dealer out, until there was no available dealer anymore. At times after the man peeked on his cards and knew he would lose again, he would tear the cards apart. The casino just tolerated him. Eventually he stopped. He realized there was nothing that he could do anymore to win back his losses. He had played for about 10 hours and lost 2 million pesos. As he walked to the door, he looked very meek and tired. He was humbled by his losses.
This kind of gambler I call the chaser because he chases his losses with the hope of getting even. In my opinion, this is the gambler that losses too much. Why chasers continue betting this way when it only gave them misery is beyond me. Chasers are generally successful in their fields. They are good in business, in their professions, or in figures, but when it comes to gambling they are toddlers.
I wonder why they do not take time to review their gambling style. They do not seem to know it is their "chasing" that made them sink. Whoever told them to bet this way must be a big loser him self. It is not difficult to analyze why "chasing" is a mistake. This kind of betting is exactly the opposite of what I advocated. I would rather that gamblers chase their winnings and not their losses. In chasing the losses, the gambler risked losing a big amount just to win a few. I have tried it at home and it is the fastest way to lose. What is saddening is that casinos are full of chasers.
In my casino experiences, I have encountered plenty of chasers and I'll share to you one of these experiences. It was early evening and I was playing Blackjack when a tough-looking man arrived. He had bodyguards in tow as he was a big businessman in town. His presence was imposing. He sat at a small Baccarat table and started playing. He smoked big cigar, and he had a very loud voice. Not any sooner the other players with him drifted away. You would know he was winning by just listening to his laughter - loud as a thunder. As he continued to win, the louder his holler became. A crowd stood behind snooping on his every win. When the shoe was over, he stood up and roared, "Is this all you've got? Ha, ha, ha. Give me your biggest table, I am hot tonight." He seemed to shout on purpose so others would envy his winnings.
He was escorted to a big Baccarat table, one with a high limit, just as he wanted. The snoopers followed. As there was no other player so he had the table all to himself. However within the first hour the holler receded. All that you would hear from him was his sweat hitting the floor. He stumbled upon a losing streak and his winnings vanished immediately. His face changed, from a jester to a monster. He was desperate to win, and in desperation, he was increasing his bets.
But the losing pit seemed bottomless. He would lose 8 times in a row and win once, lose 9 times and win once, lose 7 times and win once, repeatedly. He even lost twelve times in a row twice. As he kept on losing, he kept on increasing his bet. Then he went really deep. Someone called his wife, and when his wife arrived, she sat beside him. But his wife could not do anything as her husband was very stubborn. The wife just watched as her husband poured in millions to the casino.
Then he requested the pit boss to change the dealer. (Remember that this casino disallowed players to deal.) Every time he would lose, a new dealer would turn up. Dealer in and dealer out, until there was no available dealer anymore. At times after the man peeked on his cards and knew he would lose again, he would tear the cards apart. The casino just tolerated him. Eventually he stopped. He realized there was nothing that he could do anymore to win back his losses. He had played for about 10 hours and lost 2 million pesos. As he walked to the door, he looked very meek and tired. He was humbled by his losses.
This kind of gambler I call the chaser because he chases his losses with the hope of getting even. In my opinion, this is the gambler that losses too much. Why chasers continue betting this way when it only gave them misery is beyond me. Chasers are generally successful in their fields. They are good in business, in their professions, or in figures, but when it comes to gambling they are toddlers.
I wonder why they do not take time to review their gambling style. They do not seem to know it is their "chasing" that made them sink. Whoever told them to bet this way must be a big loser him self. It is not difficult to analyze why "chasing" is a mistake. This kind of betting is exactly the opposite of what I advocated. I would rather that gamblers chase their winnings and not their losses. In chasing the losses, the gambler risked losing a big amount just to win a few. I have tried it at home and it is the fastest way to lose. What is saddening is that casinos are full of chasers.
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