While casinos are fun places to place wagers and try your luck, they also have tactics in place to encourage bettors to keep playing. As a rightful disclaimer, it’s best to not let losses drive emotional betting that could dig you deeper into a financial rut. One of the best practices for handling losses at the casino is to learn what went wrong and to stay strictly aligned with your budget.
You can try one of many online casinos to engage in new variations of your favorite games like Blackjack, slots, roulette, craps, and more. Go into every gaming experience with a well-rounded understanding of how casinos exercise the psychology of losing to their advantage to keep bettors playing.
The “Near Miss” Effect
Casino games, such as slot machines, induce a “near miss” effect on many players. It could mean being one symbol off on a slot machine’s reels from winning big or going over by 1 and busting at a hand total of 22 in Blackjack.
Some research has shown that players’ interpretation of near wins in the same part of the brain that rewards it for true wins happening. Even if the player isn’t awarded for a near miss, he or she could still interpret it as a “true win” in their mind. It creates the illusion of being “almost there” with some players believing that it is a sign that a true win is right around the corner. However, with many casino games based on chance, this could be a false illusion that causes more financial loss if you are not careful.
Loss Aversion: Why We Keep Playing
Losing anything in life is like a huge blow to the gut and someone’s pride. Some players prefer to keep going on a casino game with the hopes of making up for the loss that happened. For many players, a loss aversion means that losing a round of a casino game is more painful and significant than the pleasure of scoring a win. Hence, this can cause players to fall into the bad habit of chasing losses.
Casinos, whether land-based or online, have a knack for creating an environment that continues to encourage gambling. They know it’s natural that most players on a losing streak would want to attempt to recoup their losses by engaging in continued gameplay.
The Illusion of Control
Players want to feel like they are in control. This is why when losses happen, they continue playing because of the false belief that they have control over a possible future win. Certain players believe that their actions will cause a win to happen no matter how far in the future it actually could be. These false superstitions such as spinning the reel at a specific time or administering specific strategies in skill-based games like Blackjack create a false illusion of control.
Variable Reinforcement: The Power of Unpredictability
Casinos institute variable reinforcement in their games by distributing wins at unpredictable times to keep players on their toes in anticipation of when they may happen. As a player experiences more unpredictable and irregular wins, it conditions his or her brain to keep chasing the next win. This random phenomenon mirrors the unpredictability of wins that happen at casinos, encouraging players to keep betting and not knowing when the next win could come. The next win may not come at all, depending on how their chosen game goes.
The Sunk Cost Fallacy: The Difficulty of Stopping Gameplay
The sunk cost fallacy is another explanation behind why players chase their losses at casinos. Some players feel that they have already invested enough time and money into playing a specific game and that they should keep going until they hit a win, even if it means risking more money than they were originally willing to dish out. This fallacy makes it difficult for players to cut their losses and move on, which is why it’s important to know when to stop a game.
