chasing losses.......its what keeps the vast majority of gamblers from winning anything.....
imo....i dont think its "greed" that makes people chase losses
when a gambler is up, they may get visions of a big score, and bet in a reckless way....that would be "greed"
losing affects the mind differently than winning, when you win you feel good, losing gives the opposite affect....
people dont like to lose......at anything, why?? because winning is ingrained in your psyche from the time you could walk and talk....you play to win not to lose...
apply that attitude to gambling and you can find yourself in a deep hole....
i have always said that a good way to tell if a gambler is "sharp" or just on a winning streak, is wait until he loses....how dows he react??
i had a guy once that couldve passed as Billy Walters himself..he didnt lose nothing, winner every week during football....always bet straight action, a few games a week never laid bad numbers ect...
basketball season rolls around, and i tell my clerk to start giving me his calls......
all of a sudden, the ball isnt bouncing his way, he gets stuck early....at first he doesnt change his pattern...
a couple of weeks later....he is not only chasing losses, he is betting 20 games a night, taking bad numbers, betting parlays, totals everything.....
the "sharp" wasnt a sharp afterall he was just lucky.....when he was winning he played "sharp" when he started losing...the square in him came out strong..
when you lose, the urge to "get it back" is very strong....cutting your loses takes a huge amount of discipline....better said than done..