How to Recover from a Big Gambling Loss – Expert Tips

1. Accept the Money Is Gone

After suffering a gambling loss, many people have a gut reaction to try and win it back right away. This is known as “chasing losses” and is one of the worst gambling mistakes you can make.

Accepting gambling losses can be tough. However, the better approach is to come to grips with the fact that the money is gone. Just like if you purchased a new shirt or went out to dinner, the money is no longer there.

Take a breath, and come back the next day (or week), with a fresh mind space instead of trying to instantly win back your losses.

2. Take Your Mind Off Gambling

It’s important to separate yourself from gambling as quickly as possible when trying to get over a big gambling loss. Do anything that isn’t gamblin- related to help with distracting your mind.

Do you like taking walks? This is a good one to get some fresh air and remove yourself from the online casino or sportsbook. The worst thing you could do is sit there looking at your computer or phone.

What you do is completely up to you, though. As long as it isn’t self-destructive behavior that could make things worse, go and do something that will take your mind off the gambling loss. Take a walk, meet people, exercise … you name it!

3. Delete Gambling Apps

This is an additional method for how to recover from a big gambling loss and to separate yourself from betting. A lot of us have gambling apps on our phones for convenient access.

Having a casino or a sportsbook in your pocket can be a blessing and a curse. Following a big gambling loss, it is a good time to ditch betting or casino apps for a while.

It’s too easy to fire up the gambling app and hit the deposit button. Many people are tempted to try and recoup their losses by chasing. There couldn’t be anything worse than going into chase mode.

A big loss could quickly turn into gambling losses that you can’t dig yourself out of, including your life bankroll for food, rent, and mortgage payments. It happens.

While your account will still be active, this puts up a barrier between you and being tempted to chase your losses. If deleting the app isn’t enough or you use your computer, follow our next tip for how to recover from a big betting loss.

4. Take a Break From Gambling

When we say take a break, this means taking an extended break and not just going for a walk. Recovering from a big gambling loss often requires taking a long break away from the game.

Is deleting gambling apps not enough? What if you don’t even use a smartphone for your gambling? Contacting customer support of your online casino can help.

The goal here is to not think about gambling, so you can go back with a fresh mind and approach in the future.

5. Consider Making Smaller Bets

When you are ready to gamble again, the intention isn’t to get yourself into trouble again. Your gambling bankroll is going to be smaller after a big loss, so you’ll have to adjust your bet size.

For instance, if your normal unit size for a bet is $100.00, then consider cutting it in half or more. TheSportsGeek advises betting a percentage of your bankroll (typically 1-3%).

In other words, your bet size is not going to be static. It will have to change and be fluid depending on how successful or poorly things are going.

If you want to play it smart, you’ll have to swallow your pride and drop your units down to smaller bets. Over time, you can recoup your losses and build a proper bankroll. Going all-in and continuing to make big bets isn’t what professional gamblers do.

6. Take Measures That Big Losses Don’t Happen Again

Okay, so, you learned your lesson and you don’t want to repeat your mistakes. What should you be doing to follow a responsible gambling strategy?

Whether you’re a big-time casino player or enjoy betting on your favorite teams, establishing a bankroll is an important first step. No matter if you have $100 or $100,000, losing is part of gambling and setting acceptable loss limits is crucial.

Betting 25% or even over 50% of your bankroll on one bet is foolish. It’s a quick way to ruin your bankroll. Bad runs are impossible to avoid, even for professional gamblers, so you can’t have success with this strategy.

Our definition of what your biggest bet should be is 3% of your bankroll. A normal unit should only be 1-2% of your gambling bankroll. This goes for any form of casino gambling and sports betting.