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Discouraging problematic systems: Some of
the books have good sections warning gamblers
about the dangers of systems based on
incremental betting. Several books discuss the
dangers of the Martingale system in which the
players double their bets after a loss. The
problem with incremental betting is that it
skews the outcome of the play so that most
gambling sessions show a profit. This produces
an overconfidence in the system so that the
gambler quickly escalates the size of their
bets. Eventually the player experiences a long
losing streak and loses a great deal of money
(see Turner, 1998, for further comments on the
Martingale system).
Short term outcomes: Books on poker, especially,
warn gamblers not to take short-term trends too
seriously. This advice is given both for winning
("Don't get too confident when you win") and
losing sessions ("Don't get upset when you
lose").
Emotional control: Some of the books discuss the
need to maintain control over one’s emotions,
but few offer any real advice on how to achieve
this.
Misinformation errors (see Table 2)
Misrepresentation of the likely outcome of
winning: Many books are called a Winner's Guide
or say that the player can beat the odds. Even
relatively good materials sometimes claim that
they will help the reader beat the odds.
Frequent or infrequent numbers: Some books
encourage the reader to look for frequently or
infrequently occurring numbers. This advice is
the opposite of discouraging myths.
Prediction: These materials encourage the belief
in predicting the outcome of a game. In the case
of skill games, predictions might be accurate
information, but in the case of non-skilled
games, this is pure misinformation.
Winning strategies: Describes false winning
strategies, including the use of money
management as a means of winning in the long
term. Many books seem to imply that money
management techniques can help the player beat
the odds. This, of course, is nonsense, but the
authors are often careful not to make the claim
too explicit. Sometimes the description of the
system is so complex that it would be difficult
for the average person so see the flaw in the
logic.
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