Do gamblers only learn discipline after losing badly?

[Kasabus]

Let’s be honest, most gamblers don’t really care about limits when they are still winning or when the losses are still small.

It’s always “I can stop anytime” or “I’ll just recover this one first.” But once the loss becomes heavy, that’s when all the lessons suddenly become clear. Bankroll management, self-control, knowing when to stop, all those things we ignored before.

Funny thing is, many of us already know the advice. We just don’t take it seriously until it hurts.

So maybe gambling discipline is not really learned from reading tips, but from getting burned once or twice.

Has that happened to you too, or were you able to control yourself before reaching that point?

[alani123]

I think many people just know to never gamble so there's that. It's a good for of discipline actually.
There's no entry barrier to gambling these days. Anyone can do it from anywhere.

Casinos are always happy to take your money in any way possible. So the hardest step for them is to get you started. Statistically speaking the way gambling works is that it you keep playing it becomes certain you'll lose. It's a statistical impossibility to always keep winning. So casinos remain profitable even while handing out huge bonuses to people who just sign up.

[rbynxx]

Pretty much for years there has been a lot of gamblers that tell themselves that stuff like "I will stop if I hit my limit" but that limit only ever existed in their heads I guess and not taking an actual action. Well, there has been a time or something eerily similar to myself that if I started losing I'd just keep chasing it thinking the next one would fix it, and when I'm up I wasn't thinking about stopping either, just figured why would I stop when it's working. Bad decisions after bad decisions coming next for that.

[Apes]

Pretty much for years there has been a lot of gamblers that tell themselves that stuff like "I will stop if I hit my limit" but that limit only ever existed in their heads I guess and not taking an actual action. Well, there has been a time or something eerily similar to myself that if I started losing I'd just keep chasing it thinking the next one would fix it, and when I'm up I wasn't thinking about stopping either, just figured why would I stop when it's working. Bad decisions after bad decisions coming next for that.

Yes, you're right. Those words will appear when we've reached our limits or experienced a lot of losses, but only for a moment. Because when we win, those words are ignored, and we'll keep playing to achieve another win, because the wins we achieve will be seen as opportunities or processes to keep playing in the hope of winning again and being able to recover our losses even if we lose more.
And I've been in that position, and it's very difficult to get out of that zone. And my way of dealing with it was to transfer all the money in my bank account to my wife's account because as long as there's a balance in my bank account, it will slowly erode. But it's all a process that must be taken seriously and firmly, at least so I can control myself and only gamble with money or capital that comes unexpectedly.

[qwertyup23]

<..snip..>

So maybe gambling discipline is not really learned from reading tips, but from getting burned once or twice.

Has that happened to you too, or were you able to control yourself before reaching that point?

Like what they say, experience is the best teacher that anyone could get. Our actual experiences are what define us- it lets us personally feel and know what we are doing while doing such act. Even if you read countless of guides or posts regarding gambling addiction and its prevention, experience would still be our primary drive in shaping our future.

In other words, our history defines our future. It is how we act based on our experience that will determine whether or not we would keep repeating history or learn from it.

Pretty much for years there has been a lot of gamblers that tell themselves that stuff like "I will stop if I hit my limit" but that limit only ever existed in their heads I guess and not taking an actual action. Well, there has been a time or something eerily similar to myself that if I started losing I'd just keep chasing it thinking the next one would fix it, and when I'm up I wasn't thinking about stopping either, just figured why would I stop when it's working. Bad decisions after bad decisions coming next for that.

More often than not, we tend to justify our actions because we always cling to that hope of achieving or hitting that huge jackpot. The reality is, however, we blindly gamble and put ourselves in a worse position because we are too focused on that "hope" or jackpot.

[Yablee0]

So maybe gambling discipline is not really learned from reading tips, but from getting burned once or twice.

It's becoming very obvious because people no longer take advise anymore before acting, people prefer learning from hard experience before they can seat up and start doing what is expected from them. Their is this brother of mine, this guy was more like a cousin brother to me. However, i notice his excessive gambling life style and I told him about it that if he's not careful the way he's going about his gambling dealings things can actually go wrong, that I will advise he slow down a little but all happened to fell on deaf ears. But, funny enough how this cousin of mine decided quiting gambling when he heard a rough experience and lost a roughly $700, that was what actually changed his mindset about gamble. And for pretty sometimes now I haven't seen him stake some bet but am not sure yet because am still observing him.

Has that happened to you too, or were you able to control yourself before reaching that point?

Normally, I don't like being an escape goat in what I do, I always learn fast from people's mistakes and this has being my strength for sometimes now. However, it will be a sad one waiting to lost everything before learning. That could be cowardice and I don't want to be seen as one.

[vs2014]

I think most of people don't really understand discipline when it comes to gambling. They only get it after they feel bad or lose money. . They don't think they need to set limits for themselves, rather try to win back the money they lost. The problem isn't that people do not know what to do, actually they can not control their emotions during gambling. However not everyone has to lose a lot of money to learn a lesson. Some people are smart, set rules from the start and they only gamble for fun. For people though they have to experience it for themselves to really learn. Once they lose all their money and they feel bad about it they remember the lesson. Gambling is a problem when people do not have discipline so discipline in gambling is very important. People need to remember that discipline in gambling is key, to not losing everything.

[Cointxz]

Most of the time yes since it’s hard to stop or evaluate yourself if you are winning due to the confidence it brings.

However, there’s some people that can manage to do self discipline even without losing big since they are doing this regularly before they enter gambling so it’s already part of their routine or habit.

I belong to the group that learned the hard way through experience. 

[Italian Panic]

Obviously, if someone wins and loses but remains only slightly in the red, they will carry on playing, but when you suffer a very significant loss that affects your life and financial situation, then you start to do the maths and take a hard look at yourself.
This is a crossroads: some people start borrowing money, ruining friendships and family ties, whilst others make amends and start to realise that perhaps they’ve done the wrong thing.

[TheUltraElite]

Getting burnt once or twice or even thrice, makes the gambler understand what a serious trouble they have go themselves into. They are already in the red zone and their next move is to attempt to make money back which is the fourth mistake. The correct thing to do is to accept that you have paid for your game and not try to make it back; move on.

This is the way they are going to learn the discipline but most people will continue to play and try to make the money back.

The limit to stop should be followed religiously, you cannot give in to your ego trying to fight the casino, because the casino will always win.

[cryptoaddictchie]

Let’s be honest, most gamblers don’t really care about limits when they are still winning or when the losses are still small.

It’s always “I can stop anytime” or “I’ll just recover this one first.” But once the loss becomes heavy, that’s when all the lessons suddenly become clear. Bankroll management, self-control, knowing when to stop, all those things we ignored before.

Funny thing is, many of us already know the advice. We just don’t take it seriously until it hurts.

So maybe gambling discipline is not really learned from reading tips, but from getting burned once or twice.

Has that happened to you too, or were you able to control yourself before reaching that point?

Usually the advises passes on the other side of the ears. Everyone knows that and it will keep doing whatever limits they got on their gambling activity. Your last statement could be true since it happened in real life. Anyone who complained about their losses actually learned it when they are done burning some money and even realized that reading a good advise wont help at all.

[Oasisman]

Do gamblers only learn discipline after losing badly?

I think no. When a gambler loses so badly, the first thing they get is a lesson. Some might learn from it, but that doesn't mean that it is self-discipline already.
Self-discipline is something you already have just before a disaster strikes you. That means you can already control yourself before a very bad loss can happen. So, if someone loses so badly and is already afraid of trying to make that same mistake again, that is called a lesson learned, not necessarily a discipline, because they always have the tendency to go back at it again.  Discipline is more about self-control rather than being deterred after a bad loss.

Has that happened to you too, or were you able to control yourself before reaching that point?

I guess it's safe to say, we all have a bad loss. Controlling yourself? Well, I can also say, we lost control at some point in our years of gambling experience, especially when emotions take over.
What's important is that you can overcome those bad gambling experiences.

[Yeesha]

Let’s be honest, most gamblers don’t really care about limits when they are still winning or when the losses are still small.

It’s always “I can stop anytime” or “I’ll just recover this one first.” But once the loss becomes heavy, that’s when all the lessons suddenly become clear. Bankroll management, self-control, knowing when to stop, all those things we ignored before.

Funny thing is, many of us already know the advice. We just don’t take it seriously until it hurts.

So maybe gambling discipline is not really learned from reading tips, but from getting burned once or twice.

Has that happened to you too, or were you able to control yourself before reaching that point?

That is why some people used to say that experience is the best teacher. Some gamblers will be gambling without limit despite knowing the effects of their behaviours. Reading tips and safety precautions for gambling seems like nothing to some gamblers until they experience big losses, that is when they will learn their lesson. But despite losing so badly some gamblers never set limits, because they still believe that will be able to retrieve their losses no matter what, this is exactly where the main problem lies, because they will be out of their minds and stake anything or any amount of money no matter how huge it is, just to ensure that were able to do want they want, not knowing that they are just been delusional.

[reagansimms]

Pretty much for years there has been a lot of gamblers that tell themselves that stuff like "I will stop if I hit my limit" but that limit only ever existed in their heads I guess and not taking an actual action. Well, there has been a time or something eerily similar to myself that if I started losing I'd just keep chasing it thinking the next one would fix it, and when I'm up I wasn't thinking about stopping either, just figured why would I stop when it's working. Bad decisions after bad decisions coming next for that.

Discipline limits are often violated after a major loss, the shift in mindset from "I will stop if I hit my limit" to continuing to bet even after experiencing a major loss is caused by a psychological illusion that encourages you to continue playing. Difficulty stopping playing due to the illusion of almost winning, this feeling can trigger a sensation in the brain because it feels like the next win is near.

The experience you are experiencing is a very common occurrence among gamblers, the desire to chase losses to the point of pushing to continue playing when winning is a trap of psychological illusion that makes logical decisions become gray. A common mistake is when gamblers feel they can predict or change the outcome of the next round based on what happened previously. Furthermore, the feeling of not being able to accept defeat often triggers dopamine to continue betting in the hope of getting back the capital they have lost. In fact, this feeling is the same as setting a trap for yourself.

[sotelorene]

Let’s be honest, most gamblers don’t really care about limits when they are still winning or when the losses are still small.

It’s always “I can stop anytime” or “I’ll just recover this one first.” But once the loss becomes heavy, that’s when all the lessons suddenly become clear. Bankroll management, self-control, knowing when to stop, all those things we ignored before.

Funny thing is, many of us already know the advice. We just don’t take it seriously until it hurts.

So maybe gambling discipline is not really learned from reading tips, but from getting burned once or twice.

Has that happened to you too, or were you able to control yourself before reaching that point?

Greed is something that is very common to every human being and it always starts when they have started winning because the moment they start winning this mindset of " I am too good or I am an expert" will come into their heads and they will be thinking they will continue to win as long as they continue gambling not till they lost everything in their account then, they will realized how foolish they were and what would have happened if they were careful.

[Charcol]

It is important to have control in gambling. But many people know this but cannot stop. And after losing, there may be lessons, but it is useful for few people. Because even if they get the lessons, they cannot control the loss. Because then they get greedy. Some people allocate some specific amount after winning, but when that allocated amount is over, they start playing again by depositing new money. Because even if they know about control or when to stop, they cannot use it. It happened to me that the day I was lucky, I was playing with a specific amount after a big win. But after losing that specific amount, I played again by depositing new money. Then I learned a lesson that I should have stopped playing after a big win.

[Rashlyowl]

Funny thing is, many of us already know the advice. We just don’t take it seriously until it hurts.

So maybe gambling discipline is not really learned from reading tips, but from getting burned once or twice.

Has that happened to you too, or were you able to control yourself before reaching that point?

That's what's unique, we already know all the advice, we just don't obey it.

(1) Winning condition.
(2) High confidence.
(3) Feeling lucky.

The three factors above usually make us forget the initial principles & to be honest, when my gambling session starts, I usually forget those principles too.
Simply put, self-control is not as easy as it is written or said, it is more complicated.

[OsaiEmma]

Let’s be honest, most gamblers don’t really care about limits when they are still winning or when the losses are still small.

It’s always “I can stop anytime” or “I’ll just recover this one first.” But once the loss becomes heavy, that’s when all the lessons suddenly become clear. Bankroll management, self-control, knowing when to stop, all those things we ignored before.

Funny thing is, many of us already know the advice. We just don’t take it seriously until it hurts.

So maybe gambling discipline is not really learned from reading tips, but from getting burned once or twice.

Has that happened to you too, or were you able to control yourself before reaching that point?

Lol, this is so true. One can easily be carried away once you start a gambling session. You often forget the standard principle making up a decent gambler. So it is no surprise that, until we hit a big loss, those lessons won't make sense.

I have experienced it one or 2 times. Although I'm a conservative gambler, so I don't always like to rake in too much losses, so I kick myself and stop to reflect before those losses become huge.

[ZeroVinsonN]

Experience is the best teacher after all and for some people until something actually happens to them they will never really understand what it truly means, they know to control their gambling, they know they shouldn't push beyond their limits but they somehow still choose to believe they are bigger than those factors, this is until reality hits them and they see their losses right in front of them, this is when some of them finally understand control.

[Ziskinberg]

When we regret something, that is where we are supposed to learn. But based on my personal experience, I have not totally learned yet, although I cannot deny that I have experienced some major losses in gambling.

Somehow, at least I learned a few things and I still keep trying until I become fully mature enough to not let my emotions drive my gambling.

They say some learn the hard way, and that really hurts. While some just learn from the experience of other people, which is supposed to be the better way so we do not have to lose big money first before we learn.