Chasing
By Kris Lazaro (2/22/2007)
This article is meant to dissuade sports gamblers from chasing. Chasing is defined as the eventual increasing size of bets following loosing ones. For example if one loses a $100 bet, one would simply risk more than $100 to win it back. Conventional chasers often double-up on their wagers. The author warns that whenever chasing is involved, conventional thinking is usually also out of the window—this usually results in loosing wagers.
There is a widely known system called the Martingale system. In this system (mostly used for craps), the bettor simply bets initially $1. If such a bet looses, he continues to double up until he wins. Once a bet is won, the bettor reverts back to betting $1. The problem with this bet is that after 7 or 8 losses, the bettor will have to wager big sums of money for merely a small amount of return. For example, after 8 losses, a better must wager $128 (or a total risk of $255) on the next spin to win the original dollar ($1, $2, $4, $8, $16, $32, $64, $128). As one can see, this can get pretty hairy pretty fast. On a personal note, the author wishes to express his own streak of bad luck. It is not too uncommon to get 7 or 8 losses in a row, in fact during a recent trip to Las Vegas, the author himself experienced a rare 9 in a row straight losses in blackjack! It can happen to anybody, anytime, and anywhere.
In terms of sports gambling, this chasing system cannot be used effectively. Unlike in roulette where bets are usually even money, in sports betting most bets are in the order of –110 vigorish (one must lay $110 to win $100). This forces the sports bettor to bet into the negative, and also forces one to win at an overall 55% or greater winning clip to show profit.
In closing, the author does not recommend chasing.
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