Why do Gamblers always end up losing?

Wikipedia defines gambling as "wagering money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods." From this definition, is there any difference between betting on a sports event or the stock market?

The fact is you can never be certain of the outcome. As an ordinary gambler, there is insufficient information of the game or the stock, and even so u might have any information available, the outcome will still be unpredictable as there might be changes within the game or the stock market.

Getting back to the main topic, why do gamblers always end up losing?

Like in a soccer game, when you gamble, u either win, lose or draw. The bookmaker is the home team and you, are the away team. There is only 1 difference, a soccer game is 90 minutes, but betting, it could be a life time. With such a long timeline, what is the chance of drawing the game?

Lets break down the scenario in the most simplistic way:

Scenario 1 : You begin Small and start Winning

There is a saying, no one stops at winning, when you win some, you want to win all. As you win, you start increasing the bets because you are convinced that either you got the skill to win or  luck is with you. As mentioned, like stock market, the outcome is unpredictable. The probability is simple, either you win, lose or draw on that particular match week. So, what happens when you start losing? The following, scenario 2, would be the situation you will be in.

Scenario 2: You Break-even at a Certain point of Time

Confidence comes from success. When you are not losing, you will convince yourself that you can win, luck will be on your side, because if you are convinced that you are unlucky, you wouldn't have started betting in the first place. Now, you start losing. (If your winning streak is back, refer to Scenario 1 again). When you lose, you get emotionally unstable, especially if it is a big amount. You may try to double your stake and might find yourself back in the formal state that you were in. Do not be too happy, because this is the time when your confidence is back and you think luck is on your side again. You continue to bet and probability of losing or winning is on you again. So, what will happen to you if you are in bad luck and never had a chance to recoup your loss?

Scenario 3: Your Losses might be too much for you to Handle

If you are a responsible person, you will stop. No one stops at winning, but will only stop once you lose everything. But some people might think that they can't be unlucky all the time and might resort to borrowing or other form of financing to attain the cash flow. All you need, is just one more string of bad luck, and you probably have no way back and be forced to stop. 

If you are lucky, you might be determined to quit betting. Or you could drown in your sorrows for all we care. But either way, that's not the ideal ending you want.

Any of the scenario sounds familiar to you in any way? I am not trying to be exaggerating or say that I am completely right, but more importantly, a gambler must be fully aware of the situation and take control of it before it controls him, and that would be the most important point to take note of when betting. At least, your chance of falling into this scenario would be minimized.

Final Words:  When you are winning, know when to stop. When you are losing, know when to stop pursuing and reduce your losses instead. 

Any comments?