Emotions in the Betting Industry: How Can it Influence Your Results?

Betting is that kind of activity that is directly connected with money, and wins with losses happen almost with the same frequency. These two phenomena evoke completely different emotions that, in their turn, do imply the similar concept of being able to significantly influence gambling. Every professional punter knows perfectly that betting under control of emotions is a serious mistake because these emotions tend to result in making poor decisions and losing money. That is why the given article is going to describe how the emotions can influence betting and how it is possible to minimize consequences caused by them.

Proper Emotional Management

Every gambler who has even the slightest experience in the industry is well aware of various emotions that can accompany the whole betting process even from the very beginning. To explain, all the professional punters are familiar with the initial excitement caused as the value is identified. All the gamblers know perfectly those emotions that happen when a sports event goes on. Finally, it is impossible to confuse the triumph feelings with the bitterness of defeat. These are the emotions that are the same both for professional punters and for beginner gamblers.

Although all the gamblers are aware of these emotions, it is not always possible to control them rather than to be controlled by them. It is a very frequent case when gamblers are not able to recognize emotions and their impact properly in the heat of betting. This problem, however, is very serious because scientists have proved that the relevant emotional management is crucial for better decision-making that in its turn will correspondingly lead to more lucrative gambling results. This management is possible thanks to a part of our brain known as the amygdala that works as a memory chip. To explain, this organ remembers all the positive and negative emotions in the terms of situations they occur in. So, it is this comparison of past experience with the present state of affairs that determines our behavior at the current moment.

Danger of Getting Emotional

Human brains are developed in such a way that emotions always come before thoughts. The fact here is that any thought or intention is firstly scanned by the amygdala to identify alike situations in the past. Once analyzed, the brains are able to arrive at a conclusion. To summarize it, people feel before they think. That is why there is such a thing as intuition, and all the emotions are so important for people.

From the betting point of view, the opinion mentioned above means that it is different emotions that shape betting and make gamblers arrive at this or that decision under certain circumstances. Every bettor is perfectly familiar with emotions and feelings that occur after a loss. Increased blood pressure and heart rate, as well as heavier breathing, make us believe that we are in a serious danger but the real-life hazard is absent. That is why numerous gamblers feel bad following even the smallest loss of money.

Amygdala Hijack Explained

The phenomenon described above can be also described as an Amygdala Hijack. In simple words, this situation can be found when our brains are not able to process information, and any decision is made according to instincts. The case here is that the brains can usually process four streams of information at the same time, but when something dangerous or extraordinary happens, the brains fail to cope even with a single stream. Under such conditions, people are unable to think straight, which results in detrimental consequences.

Since all the gamblers are aware of such a dangerous phenomenon as Amygdala Hijack, there must be a way to either avoid it or minimize its impact. Fortunately for bettors, such a way exists and it is called as SOSS. Being quite familiar with the generally accepted sign asking for help, this acronym implies the following steps:

1. Stop;
2. Oxygenate;
3. Strengthen Appreciation; and
4. Seek Information.

Now, let us discuss each of the steps mentioned in details. The first step simply means that you have to stop and not react immediately. Numerous scientists have proved that making decisions under the control of bad emotions is performed on the basis of just 5% of the available information. Under such conditions, it is not a surprise that such decisions fail to lead to positive results very often. The best variant here is to wait until you calm down.

The second advice is to make yourself breathe deeply. This is a simple but extremely effective way to become free from the negative impact of emotions because deep breathing soothes the racing mind.

The next advice is to properly form your appreciations. It is proved that placing the potential loss in perspective significantly reduces negative consequences when the loss eventually happens. Here, it is necessary to realize that it is only money, and no one died or was rushed to hospital. This approach can be effective in many spheres. So, do not neglect it.

The final step is to look for the necessary information that will happen to be effective when you take your decisions following a money loss.

Summary

The given article has just described that emotions are an inevitable part of the betting industry. Although they do not seem to result in any serious problems, the emotions can be extremely dangerous in terms of gambling. That is why all the bettors should be able to control their emotions and minimize all the negative consequences that can be caused by them.