Why chasing your losses costs you more

You went out with $50 to spend. Now you're $150 down.

A little voice pipes up. One more bet. A bit bigger this time. Win it back and you're square again.

That's chasing losses. It's one of the most common ways a bad night turns into a much worse one, and counsellors see it as one of the clearest signs that gambling is becoming a problem.

Why it feels like the right thing to do

Losing $100 hurts a lot more than winning $100 feels good. So getting back to even starts to feel urgent.

While you're still playing, the loss doesn't feel real yet. It feels temporary, like the machine or the bookie still owes you. Walking away is what makes it final.

Then there's "I'm due". After a long losing run, it feels like a win has to be close. It isn't. Every spin, draw and bet is independent. (More on that in is a number ever due?)

Why it hardly ever works

Every gambling product pays back less than it takes, on average. Chasing means betting more, and betting more means losing more.

To win a loss back in one go, you need a bigger bet or longer odds. Both make it more likely you'll lose that one too. The deeper the hole, the bigger the next bet has to be. Most people who chase finish the session further behind than when they started.

Chasing changes the way you bet, too. People tend to switch to faster games, longer odds and bigger stakes, and those are exactly the things that make losses grow fastest. See what regular play cost thousands of pretend players over the years.

Are you chasing?

Be honest with yourself here. Do you go back another day to win back what you lost? Do your bets get bigger after a loss?

Have you used money meant for bills, rent or food to try to make up a loss? Borrowed money, or put it on a credit card, to keep going? Do you feel like you can't stop until you're even?

If any of that sounds familiar, those are the signs.

How to stop

Once money's in, treat it as gone. What's lost is lost. Stop asking how to get it back, and ask what you'll do with what's left.

Set your limit before you start. When you hit it, leave, whatever's happened.

Leave the money at home. Bring only what you can afford to lose, in cash, and take your saved cards out of the betting apps.

Keep a record. Seeing what you've really spent over a month is often a shock. Our spending diary keeps it private, in your own browser.

And if you can't stop chasing, talk to someone. That's exactly what the free counselling services are there for.