It happens to every gambler. Things just don’t go right for a few games and suddenly you are caught in a bad streak. The good news is that there are some good, simple, ways to avoid that. With the growth of safe online casinos that allow you to set limits and take breaks, it is easier than ever before to mitigate against a run of bad luck, but that isn’t to say that bad luck streaks are a thing of the past. So, here, today, we are going to talk about how to stay cool, be smart, and know how to deal with a bad streak at the casino. We’ll talk about limits, probability, when and how to take a break, and why you should never chase your losses. 

Know your limits

If you are going to be playing at a casino, you need to know what your limits are. The main limits that you should remember are money, time, and wins and losses.

Bankroll limit

Setting out how much money you are prepared to lose can help you stop getting mired in a bad streak in the first place. If you have, for instance, $20 you want to play with, stick to that. Make sure you don’t get tempted to add another $5 or $10 once your money has run out. Stick to that bankroll and it’ll help you avoid getting stuck in a bad streak and limit your losses to amounts that you can afford. In turn, this will keep playing at the casino fun. 

Time limit

If you are going to be gambling at a casino, it makes sense to work out how long you are going to be doing it for. It’s pretty easy to get caught up in the games, such as roulette, blackjack, or poker, and before you know it you could have hit a bad streak. Instead, check your clock (you could even set an alarm on your phone if you’re gambling online) and when your time is up, then you can walk away from the tables. This will stop you from getting stuck if things start to go downhill for you. 

Win/loss limit

Something else you can do if you want to avoid a bad streak is set win/loss limits. If, for instance, you’re happy if you can win $50 while you’re gambling at a casino, it can be a good idea to have that as your win limit. That way, if you’re lucky enough to win $50, you can make a profit, walk away, and not have to worry about a bad streak. Likewise, if you decide that you can handle a $50 loss, you can take it on the chin, quit, and not get too bogged down in a bad streak. Setting win/loss limits can also help you keep a hold of any profits you might make, too. 

Know what gambling is about

If you understand gambling, you can understand why streaks happen, and what to do if you’re in a bad one. This will help you. 

Bad streaks are normal

If someone tells you they’ve never had a bad streak gambling, they’ve either never gambled or, frankly, they are a liar. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “the house always wins”, then you’ll know it’s true. Casinos will always have an edge. If they didn’t, then they wouldn’t be able to make any money. Keep in mind that bad streaks are going to be part of gambling because they are, pretty much, designed to be. Stay cool and things will work out, so long as you accept that bad times are part of gambling and they happen to every single player. 

Avoid the gambler’s fallacy

The gambler’s fallacy is the idea that, because something that is, in and of itself, independent hasn’t happened recently, it should happen soon and vice versa. Truth is, if you know probability, you’ll know that if you flip a coin nine times and it comes up heads each time, the next flip is still 50/50. It’s the same thing with casino games. Just because you’ve been losing, that doesn’t mean the next game will see you win. And the reverse is also true, so don’t think that a series of wins mean a win the next time is inevitable. Make sure to remember that every single game is an individual thing in and of itself. 

Luck and skill are different things

Most of the time, casino games are a matter of chance. For a lot of people, that’s why they are so exciting and fun. However, that does mean that, once you’ve placed your bets, there’s nothing more you can do except to wait for things to play out. If you acknowledge that you aren’t a bad gambler when you lose, it can help you avoid getting caught in a bad streak.  

Take a break from gambling

We’ve already spoken about how a casino will always have some advantage when it comes to the results of games. Nevertheless, there is one advantage that a gambler has over the casino and that is that you don’t have to play every single game that’s out there. Instead, you can choose to walk away and take a break if things aren’t going so well for you. That will give you a chance to clear your head, get some perspective and avoid getting trapped in a losing streak. Instead, do some other things you enjoy doing and focus on them for a little bit.  Once you’ve done that, you can go back to the casino only if and when you want to. Hopefully, you’ll have given yourself the time and space that you need to avoid being caught in a bad streak. 

Understand where your head’s at

Gambling is supposed to be entertaining. After all, that is why we talk about playing games at the casino. It can be really useful if you’re in a losing streak to check with yourself why you’re playing. If it is because you enjoy playing, that is one thing. If, however, you are doing it purely to make money, that is a completely different thing altogether. As always, the casino is there to make a profit, so acknowledge that and you can avoid getting involved in the worst parts of a bad gambling streak. You should also make absolutely sure to never get involved in gambling if you are upset and angry. Being in a bad mood can mean that you make decisions based on your emotions rather than logic and facts and that is bad news if you are gambling. Simply put, you need to keep a cool head so you can identify if things are going badly and then stop gambling for the time being. Similarly, you can change the way you think about things. Having a few losses isn’t really a judgement of you as a person, and you might even learn something about yourself from playing. For instance, if you set limits, like we suggested above, it shows that you can be disciplined and think things through. These are useful things to know about yourself. 

Don’t chase losses

Like we’ve said, losses are a big part of the gambling experience. Everyone has them. It is normal. What you need to remember, though, is that if you’re stuck in a losing streak, hanging around to try to win back the money you lost is a bad idea. What will usually happen is that, ultimately, you’ll just end up losing money. Remember when we talked about how you shouldn’t gamble if you are in a bad mood? Well, when you’re chasing losses, you’re likely to be in a bad mood, which means that you’re less likely to think rationally. So, instead of chasing your losses, acknowledge that they happen to everyone. In fact, if you go back right to the start of this article, then you can see that we suggested you could set bankroll and win/loss limits. If you’ve done that and stuck with it, then the idea of chasing losses will, hopefully, not apply to you. Instead, you can avoid getting trapped in the worst bit of a bad betting streak. 

So there you have it. While bad streaks are part of gambling, you don’t have to stay stuck in them. We have listed a whole range of ways to get out of a bad streak and, indeed, to avoid getting trapped in one altogether. Gambling is supposed to be fun, so remember to bet responsibly.