People continue to gamble even though they have lost a significant amount of money because they believe that their bad luck has to change. These same people never once considered the facts that the odds is already against them.

Gamblers believe at least one or more of the following as they continue to gamble:

Someone has to win and I have lost for so long that the odds of me eventually winning increase. A gambler will hear of someone who won a hundred thousand dollars last week. The gambler enters their imaginary dream world and believes that they are going to win a big jackpot too. Unfortunately the big win never comes.

The last five bets I placed at the roulette wheel I lost. Since all of the bets were on black to win, I know its going to come up black next. This behavior pattern is consistent among compulsive gamblers. They do not see themselves losing even though they have won very few times.

A compulsive gambler has a good day at work. They feel lucky now. After work they had down to the local casino to try and hit it big. They get there and are even fortunate enough to hit a small jackpot with in their first half hour. They feel really good inside and believe that todays the day they are going to win big. An hour latter they already lost the money they won and the money they brought. What do they do next? They go to the ATM machine and believe they are going to win their money back and more. Unfortunately they lost that money too. They head home depressed and upset not knowing what to do next.

A gambler is waiting to play their favorite slot machine. Someone else is sitting in their spot. They wait and watch for a short time. They see the other person putting more and more money into the machine. They wait patiently as the person leaves. They are sure this slot machine is going to pay off. They sit down and feed the machine twenty dollars at time. A short time later they realize they lost all the money in their wallet. AS they proceed to leave another gambler waits to have their chance at a machine that just doesnt seem to pay off. Unfortunately that gambler also lost their money too.

Every compulsive gambler believes they will win back the money they lost. I met a gambler who was lucky to win three thousand dollars on a Tuesday. The gambler went home feeling happy and satisfied. A feeling they hadnt had in a while. The next day and the day after that and the day after that the gambler wanted to win more money. In one short week the gambler gave back the money they had won plus another thousand dollars. Once again the gambler was depressed but was still willing to go back one more time even though the odds were against them.

Every compulsive gambler believes that their bad luck has to change when in reality the odds are against them. When gamblers realize that all the material things they wanted they could have had if they didnt gamble they are taking the first steps on their road to recovery.