Chasing is the fastest way to go broke. You lose a bet, feel frustrated, and immediately bet bigger to get the money back. You lose again. Now you're down even more, so you bet even bigger. Before you know it, your entire bankroll is gone and you're wondering what happened.
Every professional bettor has felt the urge to chase. The difference is they don't act on it. They stick to their unit sizing regardless of whether they're up or down. That discipline is what separates long-term winners from everyone else.
Losing feels worse than winning feels good. This isn't opinion—it's proven psychology. When you lose $100, the pain is roughly twice as strong as the pleasure you'd feel from winning $100. So after a loss, your brain is screaming at you to fix it immediately.
The problem is betting isn't about fixing past losses. Each bet is independent. The game doesn't care that you lost the last three. Doubling your bet size doesn't change your edge. It just increases your risk.
The Martingale system is the classic chasing strategy: double your bet after every loss until you win. In theory, you'll eventually win and recover all your losses plus the original bet.
In practice, you hit a losing streak that requires a bet bigger than your bankroll. You lose five in a row. Now your next bet would need to be 32 times your original unit. If you started at $100, you need to bet $3,200 to continue the Martingale. Most bettors don't have that. And even if they do, they've now risked $6,300 to win back $100.
Martingale works until it doesn't. And when it doesn't, you lose everything. Professional bettors don't chase. They accept losses as part of variance and move on.
The only way to stop chasing is to have a system and stick to it no matter what. Decide your unit size before the day starts. Bet that amount on every play regardless of whether you're winning or losing.
If you lose three in a row, your next bet is still the same size. If you win five in a row, your next bet is still the same size (unless your bankroll has grown enough to justify a recalculation, which should happen weekly, not hourly).
Remove emotion from the process. Betting isn't about recovering losses. It's about finding value and betting a consistent amount when you have an edge.
Accept that losing streaks happen to everyone. A 55% winner will lose 5 in a row about once every 50 bet sequences. It's not bad luck. It's variance. The math says it will happen.
When it does, you don't panic. You don't chase. You trust your process and keep betting the same size because your edge doesn't change based on recent results.
Bettors who chase losses are reacting emotionally. Bettors who stick to their unit sizing are thinking long-term. Guess which group makes money?