A series of studies from the U.S. and Europe have revealed that optimism can help people who have undergone surgery recover faster. Plus, chronic disease patients are also expected to experience positive results thanks to their optimism. If you have been an optimist your entire life, chances are your health is better than the health of your more pessimistic friends. You are also expected to live longer, according to study follow-ups. While all this sounds too good to be true, we are interested in the effects of optimism or pessimism on a casino gambler.
One particular question we are curious to know the answer to is whether an optimistic gambler is expected to be more successful at winning at the casino compared to their more pessimistic counterparts. Without further ado, let's dig deeper into this topic and see what we can discover.
Optimists Have Their Achilles' Heel
Just like with everything else in life, there seems to be a downside to being an optimist 24/7: it can make you extremely susceptible to less than healthy gambling habits. Since you are a positive, optimistic person with lots of good faith in good outcomes, excessive risk is also one of your best companions. Whether you are going to your favourite land casino or you are about to turn on your computer and log in to a real money casino, your desire to take a risk will always be there. Despite you losing wager after wager and game after game, your impulse will be to continue playing. This is rarely good for your budget and the way you manage your gambling in general.
The main thought going through your mind when you are on a losing streak is that you will be able to turn the tables and win. The question that arises here is whether these optimistic players actually have a decent chance of winning. According to studies in the fields, the reality is quite pessimistic.
An optimist will usually fall into his own trap and imagine the probability of winning a simple coin-flipping game is bigger than 50 per cent after the first few positive shots. In reality, the probability of the coin landing on tails or heads will continue to remain the same, with zero effects on the 101st throw. Optimistic gamblers experience their wishful thinking when sitting behind a poker table or slots machine. They keep hitting the spin button even though they never or rarely win. Nevertheless, gambling has no memory and simply because your first 10 spins were unlucky does not mean the 11th will be a winning one.
Pessimists May Be Better Gamblers
On the other hand, it would appear that a healthy dose of pessimism is welcome every now and then. Pessimism may prove to be more advantageous than the endless optimism that could lead to unfortunate outcomes in many real-life situations. Studies show that pessimists are better at wagering than optimists, and they are also better at cutting their losses and calling it a night. They know better than to place bet after bet in hopes of their luck changing, as it could leave them with an empty wallet or online casino bank account. If you have been a gambler for at least a couple of months, you might have noticed how relatively easy it is to get lost in a fascinating game of blackjack or slots for real money and end up with no money at the end of the session. One of the strongest traits a good gambler must have is to know when it is time to stop or to lower the size of the wagers. Pessimists seem to be better at it.
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According to a study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, gambling is largely influenced by a players' disposition.
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Winning does not seem to influence the betting habits of optimists or pessimists. However, they each perceive losing differently and tend to act differently about it. Pessimists will cut their bets or stop playing altogether after a loss, while optimists will continue to play undisturbed.
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This may not always be a bad thing. An optimist who is eager to play a progressive game of pokies time and time again, despite his continuous losses, could eventually hit the big jackpot, as his perseverance in the face of adversity will finally pay off.
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Sports betting tends to have similar effects on optimistic and pessimistic punters. A win will not influence the mood or degree of optimism or pessimism of the punter, while a loss will make pessimists more cautious with their next bets while encouraging optimists to keep betting on new games, races or events. In an attempt to get back the money they've lost on previous cricket and horse racing events, they will hunt down even more sports betting platforms and keep placing more bets.
What Motivates Optimists To Keep Gambling?
While we have already learned that optimist gamblers appear to be more prone to have positive expectations while gambling compared to pessimists, let's see what determined them to act that way. According to previously mentioned research, optimists seem to indicate that winning money is the main motivator for their desire to keep gambling, even when on a losing streak. Since their brain remembers more near wins compared to the brains of pessimist gamblers, they have no problem engaging in more gambling. Given the rewarding jackpots and bonuses most of today's online casinos are known to offer to players of all levels of expertise, it is not difficult to feel encouraged to keep wagering, whether you win or lose.
More On This Topic: The Psychology of Casino games
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