Does your mood affect your gambling results?

I had one of my biggest losses ever this past weekend and I was in a bad mood before I started to gamble. I was losing slowly the past week and felt like I could not win. Then on Friday I got carried away and kept losing until I tapped about my credit lines at two different casinos. I knew before I started gambling that I should not gamble in a bad mood but I did not listen to myself.

I think I lose more when I am in a bad mood but when I am in a good mood and I gamble I do better. I know the odds dont change so I dont know why that happens.

 

Gambling is supposed to be fun. I never play when I am in a bad mood, partly because I don't gamble very often, so I always look forward to it. If I am losing and feel a bad mood coming on, I quit playing and do something else. I learned this once when I lost a lot, went into a bad mood, pressed, and lost some more. Never again.

Maybe you press when you're in a bad mood. When you press, you can make more mistakes. Might be good not to gamble at all if you're not feeling good. If you do gamble, set a loss limit, stick with it, and have an alternate activity in mind if you hit the limit.

 

I'd love to be able say "I agree," but after over 29 years of this stuff, I can honestly say that my mood going in is totally irrelevant to the end results! Sometimes I've been in such a foul mood that I shouldn't have even gone into a casino. Other times, I KNEW I couldn't lose and was going to tear them a new one! It makes no difference. Sorry, I know you didn't want to hear that. (I just read this to Ms. Gecko, and she disagrees. Like what's new!)

 

The only thing i can think of is that if you're in a bad mood, you're likely to get upset and chase losses, which would make the bankroll shrink quicker. If you're in a good mood, you may gamble smarter. So the odds aren't changing, but how you utilize your bankroll does.

 

I think 'mood' can affect how you play/the decisions you make...especially in blackjack.
So, it is certainly possible that a "bad mood" could contribute to one losing more money than if one were in a "good mood".

It's little things, but they add up... stuff like:
"I bust everytime I hit 12 against a dealer 2, so I'm not doing that anymore!"
"I lose every time I double-down against a 7 or better...so, no more of that!"
"I'm never splitting aces again - I always get a 3 & 4 when I do!"
"I haven't won a hand in 6 straight hands - I'm due, so I'm tripling my bet!"

Always better to play when one is not tired, too drunk or in a foul mood. Not because it affects the cards - but because it can affect your play!

 

Ditto. I want to believe that there might be something to the idea that my mood could affect my results. But my results show otherwise.

To be honest, I’d wager a fair chunk of change that I’ve actually lost much more money while in a good mood than I have while in a bad mood. When I’m in a good mood, I take the losses in stride and continue to play, enjoying my free drinks and the conversation I’m having with the dealers or other players. If I’m already in a bad mood when I sit down, I’m much more apt to think that the gods (or even the casino, dealer, other players, etc.) are conspiring against me and I walk off in a huff after dropping three or four hands in a row.

 

I agree with Topcard. The people I have seen gambling in a bad mood only remember the losses. Even when they win some double-up bets the lost bets still stand out and the winning bets are thrown into the memory hole.

 

Some good responses here and I echo the thoughts of those who say the sour mood can affect and will affect the decision making while gambling.

I have gone into sessions pissed off for one reason or another and it actually helped me cheer up. Not all of these instances were the result of winning sessions but rather the table may have been fun, the dealer could have make a wisecrack that got me to laugh and then I loosened up despite not winning. Other times the wins wipe away the saltiness and I feel better.

However when nothing goes right with your bets and you press them or second guess your decisions or just full on tilt yourself it only worsens the mood. I have had times where I could not win shit and I doubled up or tripled up to try to win and I'd get that 15 to a dealer 10 or the shooter would seven out immediately and I just throw my hands up in the air and walk away simmering even more.

I was extremely frustrated for the second half of my SB weekend trip. From the Saturday evening prior to the game, to the game itself and to the gambling sessions post-SB I couldn't win shit. I was losing 100's at a record pace. I finally shut it down for my final night and morning before the flight.

Take a break and recharge your batteries....you'll shake it off and feel better, man.

 

If there is any bad mojo around, I won't play. I believe you have to believe your going to win and be in a positive mood. I cant even have someone around me that is negative or in a bad mood.

 

This describes me as well. And at the risk of stating the obvious, gambling is -EV so if being in a bad mood makes you chase by playing longer or betting bigger, the odds are your results are going to be worse than they would be if you played normally. So it becomes self-fulfilling.

I'm bad at avoiding tilt, the only real mechanism I can use to control it is limiting my bankroll in the first place. On my last trip I got to a point during a losing night where I just decided "fuck it, I will lose my entire credit line". It wasn't even "I will risk my line to try and win" but kind of like Nick Cage in Leaving Las Vegas where I kind of wanted to lose it and just be done in a reckless fashion.

I did the same with cash in my pocket while playing VP that night. After a little while I decided I would just lose the entire stack. It was late and I could barely stay awake. There was a 33k RF progressive I would have liked to win (and actually believed I would) but otherwise I was getting a little annoyed when I won small hands because I just wanted it to end so I could go to sleep.

I don't do things like that when I'm in a better mood.

 

I have nothing of value to add, but everyone so far has put me in a good mood by not using the word "loose" instead of "lose". Good job

BTW, I only play VP. I always lose, regardless of mood.

 

It definitely did when I mostly played poker.I remember one trip when it was hot as can be and I was not drinking enough water. I was in a bad mood. I went up to Mt. Charleston for the day, cooled down and came back with for an overall win. I have never been able to win at poker if I am in a bad mood or feel that it is unfair.

 

From my selective memory, I tend to do worse when I'm in a "bad mood". But it's probably a biased response..."Of course I did worse, why was I in the bad mood otherwise?"

Also lately I have noticed, I haven't done well lately when I was on the fence on gambling or playing a particular game and decide to play it in the end. This upcoming trip, I better not be wishy-washy on my gaming choices! :evillaugh

 

IMHO gambling should be fun. If my mental state is low on the fun-o-meter I'll just do something else that will raise my spirits. The tables will always be open. In my experience gambling when I've been in a crappy mood has led to bad decision making. There's plenty to do in Vegas that can cheer me up. Nothing worse than being in a pissy mood and gambling and losing. Hell, I'd even submit that even if I had a modest win it still really wouldn't drag me out of my funk. I liken it to the person who is mad about something and gets drunk to forget about life for a while. Once sober, the underlying problem is still there. When I visit Vegas I go for seven days, one of the reasons is so that I don't feel the need to gamble when I otherwise wouldn't.

 

I don't recall my mood ever really affecting results, but can say drinking affects my fun.
Drinking tends to counteract the mood associated with losses.
The more you lose the more you drink the better you feel....until the morning.

 

It's the opposite for me - I have to admit that my gambling results sometimes have an effect on my mood.....

 

For me I lose when I'm in a bad mood, but only because I'm in a bad mood because I'm losing... Winning always perks things up!

 

When I go on tilt I definitely play craps like a maniac.