The “Walk Away While Ahead” Illusion

[goldkingcoiner]

People say “once you hit profit, just walk away.” But isn’t that just us trying to fool ourselves a bit?

Sure, there are times we hit profit and stop for that day. But are we really not coming back anymore? Of course we come back. And once we come back, there’s no guarantee we win again. That’s where the whole idea starts to fall apart. If in the long run the house edge or reality catches up, then this “walk away when ahead” strategy doesn’t really make us profitable overall. It only works if we win, take the profit, and quit gambling for good.

So maybe the real question is not “can I walk away today?” but “can I walk away forever after I win?”

Because if not, then maybe we’re just delaying the loss, not avoiding it.

If you get a nice big win, then why not take it? Why keep gambling?

Say you take 10 dollars and you win 1000 dollars. Why not walk away? Why keep gambling? At some point it is better to consider the reward as enough (at least for a certain time period) and just walk away.

So that advice is actually quite useful.

Although having said that, there is no such thing as a steady income or "profits" from gambling. That is just an illusion. That is why it is better to bet tiny amounts and walk away if you win a large amount.

[Marvelockg]

So maybe the real question is not “can I walk away today?” but “can I walk away forever after I win?”

Because if not, then maybe we’re just delaying the loss, not avoiding it.

The narrative is not just that you should walk away but rather, when should you walk away? If you don't have a proper plan as to when to call it a stop then you're going to win and and then it becomes even more deficult to walk away.

After every win, the mentality is always that the next bet will bring about further win and that's a very serious trick that can make a gambler loose all that he has managed to win. Walking away after you've lost or won isn't easy at all but you've got to decide when is the most convenient time to do so because if You don't, your loosing probability is going to increase greatly.

[Agbe]

People say “once you hit profit, just walk away.” But isn’t that just us trying to fool ourselves a bit?

Sure, there are times we hit profit and stop for that day. But are we really not coming back anymore? Of course we come back. And once we come back, there’s no guarantee we win again. That’s where the whole idea starts to fall apart. If in the long run the house edge or reality catches up, then this “walk away when ahead” strategy doesn’t really make us profitable overall. It only works if we win, take the profit, and quit gambling for good.

So maybe the real question is not “can I walk away today?” but “can I walk away forever after I win?”

Because if not, then maybe we’re just delaying the loss, not avoiding it.

The idea of leaving the casino at the moment is good because at least you have gotten something home to buy or pay bills and it is better than nothing. When I come back again I will not deposit the amount I won but it would be lesser or the same amount I deposited to win the first time and if I loss too, it will not be painful because I have won and used the funds. And it would be painful more if I won and still stay put to empty winning. That is not a wise gambler.

[Peanutswar]

Basically, people say this

“once you hit profit, just walk away.” But isn’t that just us trying to fool ourselves a bit?

It's based on their experience and what they have seen in different games related to gambling, because the casino or the game actually does not give double wins, so basically if you manage to win already it does not give another set of wins consecutively, it's like it takes a lot of time, money, and energy before you make another set of wins in the particular game.

Actually, I do believe this phrase at the same time because its already gives you the win in the game in my perspective here it won't give you another luck to win, it's again just like you've already drained the wins. _{Well, just my thoughts.}

So maybe the real question is not “can I walk away today?” but “can I walk away forever after I win?”

Its not a forever walk away with the game its like you hit already the chance lets say in the particular day, weeks or months so for sure you will play another set of games that you think you can enjoy and bring money to you. Its just stepping back to avoid losing those wins again.

[MArsland]

People say “once you hit profit, just walk away.” But isn’t that just us trying to fool ourselves a bit?

Sure, there are times we hit profit and stop for that day. But are we really not coming back anymore? Of course we come back. And once we come back, there’s no guarantee we win again. That’s where the whole idea starts to fall apart. If in the long run the house edge or reality catches up, then this “walk away when ahead” strategy doesn’t really make us profitable overall. It only works if we win, take the profit, and quit gambling for good.

So maybe the real question is not “can I walk away today?” but “can I walk away forever after I win?”

Because if not, then maybe we’re just delaying the loss, not avoiding it.

So you want someone who has already won to continue playing instead of taking a break to enjoy their winnings?
Did you know that stopping after winning means stopping the losses that would have occurred if the game had continued? Also, the profit ratio for each gambler when winning varies and is not always great.
Gamblers will always return to the casino even if they have won, no matter if they hit the jackpot. The ideal might be to retire but the way every gambler views winning is not always the same.

[SatoPrincess]

The idea of leaving the casino at the moment is good because at least you have gotten something home to buy or pay bills and it is better than nothing. When I come back again I will not deposit the amount I won but it would be lesser or the same amount I deposited to win the first time and if I loss too, it will not be painful because I have won and used the funds. And it would be painful more if I won and still stay put to empty winning. That is not a wise gambler.

Yeah, the strategy basically helps gamblers to know when to end a gambling session, but it does not mean that one should quit gambling, if that makes sense. I get the point you are trying to make about leaving the casino with a happy feeling and spending your winnings on something else other than gambling because that feeling of gratification makes all of it worthwhile.

[Frankolala]

It's better to delay the loss than having it instantly, because that can affect you emotionally. Imagine that you use $10 to win $150 instead, of walking away and go enjoy your win, you became greedy and continue gambling to win more and along the line, you lost it all. You will be angry for your actions but if you walk away and come back to lose more than this is two days time. You will still have that hope that you will win again because you will console yourself with your previous win.

[Livingleged]

On the contrary to other people opinion I feel it’s a big mistake to walk away if you’re a serious gambler, when you win huge money it gives you more confidence and more stake power to try several times again. It’s fine to make withdrawal and take care of your need and continue grinding… I’m speaking from a gamblers perspective walking away is just denying you’re self your self another chance of another bid win.
And most people just lie about walking away, let me say they pretend like they actually did walk away but on the contrary dey just take a break for a little time and refit when their balance is low again, at that time they don’t have much to stake and if dey do not get a win they might even go into debt it trying to bounce back which always end in the bad way.

[coin-investor]

So maybe the real question is not “can I walk away today?” but “can I walk away forever after I win?”

Because if not, then maybe we’re just delaying the loss, not avoiding it.

No gambler walks away after a win; the win just motivates or fires them more to play and try to win more. It's already good that we know when to walk away after a win because it's always a big temptation to always strike when the iron is hot.
The only way we can walk away forever from gambling is when you realize that you are losing a lot, and your life is in chaos
Big wins will never make a gambler quit; quitting starts when you realize you have lost a lot.

[Su-asa]

it takes a lot of self control to walk away after making profit from gambling, the next thing that comes to people's mind first is to keep on gambling to make more profits, this is greed and this is how almost every gambler would react to their wins. Walking away is actually possible but a lot of people make it seem like it's not. From my experience the only you can win from gambling is to walk away after winning a huge amount because if you are a constant gambler there is no way you would be in profit in the long run, gambling consistently increases rhe chances of losing more.

[Bright0515]

People say “once you hit profit, just walk away.” But isn’t that just us trying to fool ourselves a bit?

Sure, there are times we hit profit and stop for that day. But are we really not coming back anymore? Of course we come back. And once we come back, there’s no guarantee we win again. That’s where the whole idea starts to fall apart. If in the long run the house edge or reality catches up, then this “walk away when ahead” strategy doesn’t really make us profitable overall. It only works if we win, take the profit, and quit gambling for good.

So maybe the real question is not “can I walk away today?” but “can I walk away forever after I win?”

Because if not, then maybe we’re just delaying the loss, not avoiding it.

We say we are not addicted to gamble but funny enough it's a bit difficult to walk away for good even when there's a win. The truth is that we can't just walk away, but the truth is that walking away after a major win is really helpful because it will make you as a gambler to not gamble with the money ever again, but just like I have said earlier, it's not as easy as ABC to walk away. For the fact that the gambler has gambled for a very long period of time, it will not be easy to walk away from gamble after a big win or a huge loss.

[Chinesebaby]

People say “once you hit profit, just walk away.” But isn’t that just us trying to fool ourselves a bit?

Sure, there are times we hit profit and stop for that day. But are we really not coming back anymore? Of course we come back. And once we come back, there’s no guarantee we win again.

When we say you should walk away after winning a huge profits while gambling, doesn't mean or stop the fact that you won't gamble again, or neither does it guarantee profit for your next bet. But at least by stopping to take a break after immediately winning a huge sum of money, it prevents you from losing the entire money you have just won back into the casino. So for me, I see absolutely nothing wrong with adopting that exact gambling principle, because even if you keep gambling after winning a jackpot, it doesn't mean you will win again.

[Cryptomultiplier]

it takes a lot of self control to walk away after making profit from gambling, the next thing that comes to people's mind first is to keep on gambling to make more profits, this is greed and this is how almost every gambler would react to their wins. Walking away is actually possible but a lot of people make it seem like it's not. From my experience the only you can win from gambling is to walk away after winning a huge amount because if you are a constant gambler there is no way you would be in profit in the long run, gambling consistently increases rhe chances of losing more.

To walk away from gambling after a major win, is just taking a break for the time being. It's not a walk to quit gambling after all.
Some gamblers like myself prefer to withdraw a major part of my win before making the decision to try some more or just take a break for that day.
Self control would help you learn financial management and that's what's important when after you win you begin to want to replicate the success until you are down to zero from accumulated losses.

Walking away doesn't work all the time mostly for those who not only indulge in sports betting, but also bet on casino games. The thought of switching between games to bet on, could bring luck after a win, instead of outrightly walking away.

[len01]

People say “once you hit profit, just walk away.” But isn’t that just us trying to fool ourselves a bit?

Sure, there are times we hit profit and stop for that day. But are we really not coming back anymore? Of course we come back. And once we come back, there’s no guarantee we win again. That’s where the whole idea starts to fall apart. If in the long run the house edge or reality catches up, then this “walk away when ahead” strategy doesn’t really make us profitable overall. It only works if we win, take the profit, and quit gambling for good.

So maybe the real question is not “can I walk away today?” but “can I walk away forever after I win?”

Because if not, then maybe we’re just delaying the loss, not avoiding it.

Isn't the phrase "once you're lucky, walk away" just a way to manage risk?

To me, a more accurate way to look at it is that it's simply a reminder to stop when you've won, cash out your winnings, and enjoy the result. Yes, I agree that in the long run there's no guarantee of staying profitable, and the total losses may eventually outweigh the wins you've had before. But at least when you do get a win, it feels like a bonus that you should actually enjoy. That makes sense to me.

However, if that phrase is being used to support the ambition of achieving consistent long term profits from gambling, then it's really just a form of self deception.

[aioc]

So maybe the real question is not “can I walk away today?” but “can I walk away forever after I win?”

This is very rare; it's every gambler's goal to win, and after they reach that goal, they double their effort to do it again, so it does not apply to gambling. Gamblers believe that quitters never win and winners never quit, so they are in a loop forever.  

Because if not, then maybe we’re just delaying the loss, not avoiding it.

Gamblers, after a win, never think of losing; what's running on their mind is to continue winning. It takes a long streak of losses before they take a break.

[Charcol]

Taking a profit is not a long-term solution. Because you may have won a big sum today and taken your profit and stopped playing. But even if it seems like a profit at first glance, due to your gambling habit, you cannot guarantee that you will keep the previous profit when you return tomorrow or next week. So in my opinion, it is wrong to stop playing with a profit and think that you are profitable. It only reduces one-day losses. But the casino or betting structure is usually not in the player's favor in the long run. So if you want to take a profit, you have to stop playing completely after winning. Which may not be easy for any gambler.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Indeed we are just delaying the lose but not completely avoiding it, that's why I asked a question a long time ago demanding to know if we can actually say we have won the house when we stop gambling immediately we win a huge amount? Because if one has won a huge amount but still continues to play at a later time, there is chance that they will gradually be losing the money until they have lost it all back to the house and then even lose more. The act of "walk away when you are ahead " Is just a temporary pause to avoid losing the money instantly to the house.

[fredericktaylor]

There is no confirm of winning through gambling because gambling results are unpredictable. We can research and use strategies but no more than that if we win the first time through gambling there is no confirm that we will win the second time. It is true that if we stop gambling forever after winning money through gambling it will be possible to maintain the profit but if we continue to gamble again it will never be possible to maintain the profit because there is no confirm of winning through gambling and the possibility of losing is greater than winning money.

[abaeze]

People say “once you hit profit, just walk away.” But isn’t that just us trying to fool ourselves a bit?

Sure, there are times we hit profit and stop for that day. But are we really not coming back anymore? Of course we come back. And once we come back, there’s no guarantee we win again. That’s where the whole idea starts to fall apart. If in the long run the house edge or reality catches up, then this “walk away when ahead” strategy doesn’t really make us profitable overall. It only works if we win, take the profit, and quit gambling for good.

So maybe the real question is not “can I walk away today?” but “can I walk away forever after I win?”

Because if not, then maybe we’re just delaying the loss, not avoiding it.

Quitting gambling after a temporary win will not be effective unless the money is used to buy something else. Because long-term gamblers lose more money. However, a temporary break is like not spending money temporarily. However, when you start betting or gambling again, you are guaranteed to lose, because the gambler will never win money every time. However, if someone stops gambling permanently after winning, that is a different matter.

[Slow death]

That's why I've constantly told people that before getting involved with gambling, they should first understand that they can only gamble for entertainment purposes, nothing more than that. They should also prioritize having fun in the real world, they should spend more time on real-world things with their family, and only have gambling as a secondary form of entertainment. Only in this way can a person say to themselves: "I'm going to take a 90-day vacation without gambling," and they will be able to do it without difficulty. But when a person sees gambling as a way to make a profit, they can't do that.