There is definitely a sense of community in the gambling world. One could almost say it’s become a mantra. There are groups of people who take bus rides into a nearby casino. They spend all day long playing the slots, some even go all night. But does it become a problem at some point?
There are many who place bets for Monday night football. But what happens when Monday night spills over to Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night? What happens when you play for so long, you fall asleep in front of the craps table?
There are many who don’t shower or clean themselves for days, just so they can get that “win”. There has become a mantra within the community, many seem to abide by. It goes something like this, “Gamblers will eventually become as broke as the rest of us, so what is the harm?” So what is the “harm” actually?
A college in London recently conducted some research on this. The study showed that the dangerous theory of the “hot hand” is actually alive and well. It’s not a myth, as some people have thought.
For those that who don’t know what a “hot hand”, I will explain it to you. A “hot hand” or “hot hand fallacy” is when the person who is betting is riding high off a few wins. It’s the idea that winning turns into more winning.
Let’s suppose you are playing a game like blackjack. You hit a sixteen, against the dealer’s ten. At this point you pull a five. You double down until you win. With all of this luck, you figure you will keep on going. You won the first two hand, so you figure, why not. In your mind, you assume you can’t lose on the third go-around.
But shock of all shocks, you make a wrong move. You end up losing the hand. This is what is known as “a hot hand.”
Those who are in the situation, tend to keep playing. They figure they can get back their “win.” The irony of it all, those who begin to lose these hands, will keep on losing. Once you get off your streak, it’s hard to get it back. The reason being, you become so “hot” that the rush overrides any good decision making.
What many people don’t realize is, those who don’t expect to win, will win. Those who expect to win, will lose. This has always been a terrible misconception. You can’t go in expecting to win all of the time. This is what creates the “fever.” This is also what creates the danger. This danger causes gamblers to do many things.
Too many get the “hot hand” and don’t know when to quit. This is what this one particular study found out. The gambling fever does strike many. But how many of those people just consider it a “hobby”, and how many consider it an “obsession?”