You may think that winning is the most important thing when playing cards. However, a series of studies have shown that things are not so simple. Why do gamblers, even the unlucky ones who often lose, always get excited?
No one wants to lose, not even the craziest players. But why do they continue to gamble? Gamblers often say that even if they lose repeatedly, the excitement will lead them back again.
“I always wanted to play cards,” recalls one “former” addict. “I love that feeling of excitement.”
Just recently, a Wall Street financier admitted to defrauding friends, family and many others up to 0 million and putting it all into gambling.
“Actually, there are no investment opportunities at all. It’s just an excuse I made up to scam people’s money to satisfy my gambling addiction,” the man admitted in court.
The act of gambling itself can be just as exciting as winning. (photo: Getty Images).
But if a person is slowly losing money, maybe even his job and home, because of a gambling addiction, then why should excitement overwhelm those losses?
First of all, it is a fact that people gamble not because they expect to win. Mark Griffiths, a psychologist specializing in behavioral addiction at Nottingham Trent University, points out that gamblers can list a long list of motivations that drive them to gamble.
A survey of 5,500 gamblers found that “earning big money” was the strongest motivator. However, following closely behind are “because it’s quite fun” and “because it gives a sense of excitement”.
“Even when you’re losing, your body continues to produce adrenaline and endorphins ,” says Griffiths.
“Actually, people are spending money to buy a hobby.”
These statements are corroborated by a study conducted by researchers from Stanford University in 2009. 92% of players set themselves a “loss threshold” , and if they remain below that threshold they will still lose. continue play. However, losing money after visiting a casino doesn’t necessarily diminish the enjoyment of the experience.
The excitement of winning will be greater after a series of losing hands. (photo: Getty Images)
Sridhar Narayanan, one of the study’s authors, said : “It seems that people tend to be satisfied with even small wins. They are also aware that in the long run, they lose more. than win”.
Ultimately, losing streaks increase the positive feeling of winning, as the player’s desire to win has changed during the previous ‘losing streak’.
Robb Rutledge, a neuroscientist from University College London, and his colleagues performed an experiment on 26 subjects. The brains of these 26 people were imaged as they were presented with a series of choices, each with an outcome that was either certain or uncertain – a game of cards. Participants asked about happiness after the second or third hand. Along with that, a similar test – but without the brain imaging process – was conducted on 18,000 people through a mobile app called The Great Brain Expermient.
Finally, the researchers found that when the participants’ expectations of winning were lower, their response to winning the same reward was higher. This conclusion is verified by both the information provided by the subjects and the data from the scanners. Specifically, activity in the area of the brain associated with dopamine neurons increased. Dopamine is a complex neurotransmitter that can be responsible for mood swings.
” A person who keeps losing constantly lowers their expectations, which ultimately makes them happier when they win ,” says Rutledge.
It’s ironic indeed.
“If bad things keep happening, then your expectations drop – but when you get some positive results, you’ll be happier,” the scientist explains.
Some machines can be designed to entice players with their own colors. (photo: Getty Images).
“That’s also when you should get up and leave the casino.”
But will devices like slot machines entice you to stay? Griffiths once wrote about the signals sent by electronic slot machines to players. There are many theories surrounding whether the design of these machines has an impact on player behavior, but it is a fact that many machines and casinos use red and other colors. Analogous colors – colors that are considered highly stimulating. Next is the role of sound. Griffiths has always wondered how the mocking sound emitted by the machines would affect the player.
For example, when a player loses, the character Smithers from The Simpsons will declare “You’re fired!”
In a previous post, Griffiths once commented: “Like the failure and cognitive regret theories, this could make slot machines more attractive.”
The key factor that determines the level of addiction in players is probably how often they can bet . Because gambling opportunity is linked to gambling addiction, Griffiths argues that it is the potential rewards – not the actual rewards or even the way the bets are placed – that attract gamblers. gambling addict.
Slots and slot machines are often designed to entice players with compensatory rewards after each loss.
“If you’re willing to put in some small bonuses, not necessarily money, that helps entice people,” says Mark Griffiths.
Maybe it is the betting process itself that is the strongest gravitational force. (photo: Getty Images).
It is interesting that many times players will try to develop a “fake skill” in order to win the promised rewards. Griffiths gives the example of British machines. These machines are designed around logic: they will likely have to spend more than they get from the customer for a specific period of time, before switching to a less generous system. Because of this, some players will try to find the machines that are putting up big bonuses in the hope of playing at the time of the system change.
All of this proves the point that people play cards not only to win . Playing cards is also to experience the feeling of the betting process and also other interesting feelings. While severe gambling addiction cannot be explained so simply – there are often many reasons why a person becomes addicted – it is certainly interesting to learn how the feeling of excitement is related. let’s go to the games. The games are still a way to help players relax, even when they return home with no money in their pocket.