In our dreams we all think about winning big when playing online bingo. That moment of glory when we daub off the final number to complete the full house—accompanied by an explosion of neon lights and glorious sounds—and take down the jackpot prize can be a real life-changing moment.
Okay, so the jackpots in online bingo aren’t always the grandest, but it could certainly pay for a relaxing holiday, a new car or a renovation on your home, and so in that sense it can be classed as life changing.
Unfortunately, the world of online bingo isn’t all rainbows and unicorns (and other such imagery). There will be times when you go empty-handed from your games, and you may—either from a single game or in an accumulative sense—suffer a big loss as a result.
This will test you. It will test your resolve, and it will test your ability to keep your cool and not go ‘full tilt’ to borrow a poker expression. This basically means playing while in an emotion-led state, which impairs decision-making and can lead to further losses down the line. It really is a vicious circle.
So if this article achieves anything it could be that you bookmark it, and next time you suffer a bad loss you can click on it, refresh yourself on the key points and hopefully that will enable you to ‘cool down’ and not get sucked into the fatal trap of chasing big losses.
Here’s some other ideas that may help with that:
1. Set a budget…and stick with it
Whether you like to play online bingo a couple of times a day or once a week, making a budget and sticking to it is an excellent way of avoiding the big loss blues.
Allow yourself to spend a certain amount on tickets in a given timeframe; if you lose each time, then at least you have made an ‘acceptable’ loss, rather than losing control of your purse strings. Any winnings can be withdrawn or left in your account to satisfy your budget next time you play.
By setting a budget and sticking with it, you can ensure your bingo play remains fun and with strict limits.
2. Have an end goal
A common cause of big losses is when players don’t know where to draw the line. Typically, they will enjoy a win of some size and then, rather than call time on a good day of bingo action, and keep playing…
…and then that wallet they had built up suddenly disappears after a few losing games. Frustrated, many will look to recoup their winnings by digging deeper into their bankroll – with almost inevitable results.
If they had just followed our second tip, which is to set your desired target amount every time you play and then call it quits when you reach it, they would have gone to bed feeling very pleased with themselves that night.
3. Never chase losses
This feeds into both tips 1 and 2, and is the one distinguishing factor that sets a good gambler apart from a bad one.
The good online bingo player will recognise a bad day at the office, appreciate that his or her luck will change soon, and write off their losses based upon the budget set out in tip 1.
The bad online poker player will think ‘drat, I’m £50 down’, and immediately set about winning back their losses. Will they do it? Maybe sometimes, but certainly not always. That means a greater loss will be experienced, and it really is a slippery slope from there.
4. Take a look in the mirror
The pain of your loss will be etched across your face. Never mind the psychological scars, have a look at your appearance and ask yourself whether you really want to go through this again.
Playing bingo is a scientific process, believe it or not. Adrenaline is released into the body as the caller reads out the numbers, and the thrill of winning is met with a tidal wave of endorphins. It truly is a remarkable feeling.
But the response to a big loss is emotional, chemical and physical. The stress of thinking about your mistakes – ‘why did I chase my losses?’, ‘why did I stake so much?’ – can have repercussions on your health.
Is this really how you want a harmless hobby to make you feel?
5. Let go and move on
This is perhaps the hardest part of suffering a big loss; just accepting your fate and moving on.
What has happened has happened. There is nothing to do to change it and the money isn’t coming back, so accept it and learn from your mistakes. Winning is fun, money is cool….but losing lots of it is arguably worse than the buzz of the win.
Wow, we got pretty deep there. But seriously, if you do lose at bingo – whether it’s a large amount of money or a matter of pence – remember why you play the game: because you enjoy it. When the fun stops that’s the time to take a break for a while.