Chasing losses: how to stop betting to win it back

You lost, and now one more bet feels like the only way to be even. That feeling is the chase. It is the most common way a bad night turns into a worse one.

Why the chase feels like a plan

After a loss the number in your head is the amount you need back. A bet is the only thing on offer that seems to reach it. But the next bet does not know what you lost. It is a new bet with the same odds, and a bigger stake only makes the loss bigger if it goes wrong.

Do these in order

1. Stop where you are. Close the app. Do not place the bet that is "just to get back to even."
2. Write the number. What you lost tonight, in dollars. Seeing it once is better than carrying it.
3. Do not move money in. No deposit, no transfer, no card. If you must, take the card out of the app.
4. Tell one person. "I lost tonight and I want to chase it. Can you stay on text for ten minutes?"
5. Wait thirty minutes. Set a timer. Drink water, wash your face, step outside. The certainty fades.

Tomorrow

Losses feel different in daylight. Block the sites so the next bad night starts behind a wall. If you bet again, here is the next hour.

Pause before the next bet

Hold The Bet is free with no account. It shows your own number and reason and holds a 30 second pause before you bet.