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Psychology Of Gambling


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Hi guys most info you read on gambling will break it down into 3 areas:

Bet Selection - How to determine what to bet on and when

Money Management - How to determine how much to bet on and when

Psychology Of Gambling - How to control the human emotions that will prevent one winning at gambling

 

There has bee much talk about bet selection on this forum and there are many approaches different people use to gain a better than 50% edge in bet selection

There has been not enough talk on money management in the past and as Keith says we have been too focused on Up As You Lose Negative Progressions as opposed to Up As You Win or Flat bet Approaches. Keith has addressed this with 221 approach. I have added the thread of money management with flat bet approach I recommend and a level up to increase unit size

the last part of the puzzle is psychology of gambling and in the past I have ready that this is the most important aspect. I did not believe that as I thought that it was just use common sense and be focused etc and there was a magic system of MM and Bet Selection that would always pull you through.

I now would say that this is the most important and difficult part of gambling and I would like to start this thread to discuss this.

The first thing I would like to discuss is the 'constant mental training and conditioning' that is required to keep human emotions under control.

We are all human and we all have certain tendencies and weaknesses. This is what the casino relies on. the fact that they have no emotion in what they do because it is a business that they have set up so that emotion doesn't come into it.

You can pretty much learn a bet selection and MM approach in an hour or less and practise it and refine it and never really forget it

Human emotion is not the same - you need constant training and mental conditioning to keep your emotions under control or they will slip back to where 99.9% of gamblers emotions are - vulnerable to lose.

I would like to promote some discussion on the types of weaknesses and mindsets we want to avoid, the ones we need to develop, and ways to keep emotions under control.

 

 

 

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I believe in and practice......a calm mind has a greater ability think clearly.  Stress, uncertainty, fear, anxiety, apprehension, frustration, doubt, all are negative emotions that will defeat even the most seasoned players.  I talked with a friend the other day that has played baccarat for 25 years, and he described a couple bets he made in a being "scary bets".  It happens to everyone.....and like everything else in life, it isn't terrible when you it happens to you, it is how you learn to deal with it, and do so in a positive and creative manner.  I just have to add, personally, my greatest weakness and negative is not getting enough rest at night.  I try to do too much all the time, and I have to deal with that each day, and I am slowly cutting out extra work and jobs that I do, just to help others out.  

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So practice gives a person confidence. When you practice the way you play then you have the confidence to know you are prepared.

You are confident in yourself and the way you play.

When you play there will be nothing that you have not encountered during practise so you will know how to deal with it.

You will stick to your method of play and you will understand that losing is part of winning and you will have faith that you will be able to win overall more than you lose

If you do not practise how you play then as soon as things get tough you will look to change your method of play and you will panic.

You will change the way you bet and your betting progression

You will try to win back your losses

you have lost control

So the point is practise the way you play and play the way you practise

Practise until it is second nature.

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I want to discuss a weakness I had which has cause me over the years to lose.

I feel I have overcome it now but I need to constantly train my mind to stay discliplined

The thing is win goals and targets and a need to reach them before I stop betting

Many times I have been within 1 unit of my win goal and I will lose 1 unit

That puts me 2 units away form my win goal and the point I was so close.

I cannot accept the grind I must endure again to reach my goal and as I was so close I have doubled up with a 2 bet

I lose that 2 and all of a sudden I am 4 units from my win goal.

Double up again and that puts me a big 8 units form my win goal.

I just don't want to let it go as I was so close and I have lost control.

So the mentality is be prepared for the fact that you may not be able to reach your win goal and you may have to employ your stop loss or accept a lower win goal and to avoid the desperation to reach it at all costs. 

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  • Baccarat Hall of Fame Member

the mental side of a player is very important. I divided the must for a professional into 3 main courses:

knowledge, you must know mostly everything about your game

bankrolo, with poor or scared money you ll. never win long run

mindset, that allows you to overcome difficulties.

I wrote an article on this matter of about 9 pages; in this article there are some statements I took somewhere from other authors, so I can t. post it here but if someone is interested, post here his eml address and I ll sent it to him.

A

bacclover

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thanks for the discussion

I want to discuss all possible psychological and mental aspects of the game so we can all read to refresh our minds and keep up the mental training we need to be able to win.

Also to focus on positive things we need to achieve as well as negative things we need to avoid.

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You have to believe you can win.

I hear this from some members who have not had success - they sound as though they have already beat themselves

it is as though even if they were shown a winning strategy they would not believe it

Good to focus on the players who have been successful here so we can remind ourselves its possible

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One of the lesson I have truly  learn is accept lost and losing season. do not chase lost with progression, and once lost to our  lost limit stop and go take rest come back other day.. Never play too long hours example 5 hours 10 hours or whole day no rest. 

Edited by William Looi
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2 hours ago, wolfat said:

the mental side of a player is very important. I divided the must for a professional into 3 main courses:

knowledge, you must know mostly everything about your game

bankrolo, with poor or scared money you ll. never win long run

mindset, that allows you to overcome difficulties.

I wrote an article on this matter of about 9 pages; in this article there are some statements I took somewhere from other authors, so I can t. post it here but if someone is interested, post here his eml address and I ll sent it to him.

A

malayanlooi@yahoo.com

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Just as a win goal is necessary, a loss limit is equally important, and sometimes even more important.  Example, you have a loss limit of 5 units, and you continue to play thinking you can get your 5 units back, and then you find you are now down -10 units.  Lesson 101......don't chase your losses !

If I find I have made 5 losing decisions in flat betting......I know I am not seeing the shoe clearly.  Time to STOP....and not make it WORSE.  This is where DISCIPLINE will benefit you greatly.  No excuses, and not blaming the shoe, not blaming the dealer, the responsibility is squarely upon the choices we make, and no one else.  Each person is an "island unto themselves"......so make it a beautiful island, with worthwhile qualities.  

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I was explaining to a friend the other day about playing baccarat.

He doesn't even know what the game is so I explained its as close to 50/50 as you can get minus 0.5% banker commission

He looked at me blankly as though like what the hell? The casino is going to let you play a game so even to 50/50

I said don't worry the casino doesn't need to make any more than that - you think they make their money off of that?

They make their money when people throw good money after bad chasing their losses.

He just smiled and said oh ok I get it!

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Here is how I look at the game now... You might think I am mad but I look at it with a surfers mind set,I try and catch the waves (bias/shoes) as they come if I hit a little wave I try and get off it as quickly as possible with as little damage as possible before I fall off! But if I catch a good/great wave I ride the sh*t out of its for what it worth! 

That way I am out of a hard shoe quickly and on a good shoe until it runs dry.

The rest is just DISCIPLINE all the time,I remind myself  before and after every game...Stay disciplined what ever I do.

Edited by LOU30
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What about this.

Your friend heard about you doing ok playing bacc and you agree to meet them at the casino so they can watch you play.

When you get there they say 'show me how you make all that money' You feel pressure to win big in front of them. You don't play your best.

They say come on I heard you were a great player. I can win that on a lucky day.

Right there you are under pressure to perform and play out of your comfort zone

Play for yourself and no one else. Don't try to impress others.

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5 minutes ago, LOU30 said:

Ha, that reminds me of a card game I was in while I was away on holiday with my brothers in laws.One of them kept saying to me" while I was weak "come on you I heard your suppose to be this big card shark,Ha you don't look much to me" . Anyway I clung on in there BUT all night he kept at it for hours! Then he put his money were is BIG mouth was and financed who he thought was the winner for 50% of the winnings and then went to bed,at this time I still only had a chip & chair so he took his last smug dig and laughed himself off to bed.When he woke in the morning I heard him clap his hands and ask were his half of the money was only to be told Lou has it "What all of it!" YEP.

Ha he who laughs last...

 

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I learning to focus on discipline and not too focus on how much profit or losses , if lost to our set limit ,take rest come back other time or day. do not worry about loses , when the good time come our win will be more than loses, casino never worry how much we win , they know that they will win back because gambler lack of discipline , chase after loses, impulsive gambler, casino like impulsive gambler.

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Yes good psychology to worry about mindset and not about $$

Think in terms of unit size not $$ so think of small units as not a waste of time but imagine they are $10k units and think of big unit sizes as smaller to take to pressure off.

Just plastic chips you put on the table 

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I'm wondering how much advantage one could gain from exercise, good sleep, and good diet.

All of these things affect mental sharpness and that needs to be at its best for this game.

If you wanted to gain the maximum advantage then I would say all of the above is a must.

Do not play if any of the above are lacking.

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hi Pando yes I have heard that. Had a friend who was natural therapist / accupunturist / now is chiropractor. He swears by this

I heard beetroot juice is very good in terms of heath wise as well.

Anything to gain an edge

As for sleep its pretty simple - not too much thought required there.

Fitness well I believe that is important - stronger the body stronger the mind they say.

Anything to gain an edge

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Sure all the above will help but I think more " The peace of mind". If we play with something other than baccarat on our mind we will not play at are best! If are thoughts are else where or upset we are not in our BAC  zone  and this will effect our play.

Speaking from experience when I have had interruptions or upsets before or during play and my mind has been broken, I have had immediate loss of form and lost games I would normally had won.

So just like golf or any other game we need to just concentrate on the game and nothing else and get in to our zone with NO outside influences. 

 

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Yes I agree. Do not play when emotional.

A paper bet or virtual bet test however is a failsafe even if you do play when not focused

Never place a real bet until you have won a paper bet

If you lose a few real bets go to paper until you win a few.

If you are constantly not in tune don't play.

 

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