The Psychology of Online Gaming

We hope that you are not so naïve as to believe that playing games of risk and chance is purely a matter for luck. We will concede that when it comes to winning large sums of money, luck is the determining factor. First class players, those of high intelligence, will always make sound judgments when gambling, but even they will continue to lose in the face of Lady Luck. But, luck is not the only factor that influences game-play. There is also a whole lot of psychology that is happening and influencing play. So what is the psychology of risk and online gambling? The psychology of risk and gambling can be divided into two categories: the science of psychology and the application of psychology i.e. theory and practice.

Science and Sociology: Dualities.
Regarding the significance of games of risk and gambling from a psychological standpoint, for humans there are generally two differing views. Firstly, risk taking and gambling are deviant behaviours, or secondly, risk taking and gambling is an extension of normal human behaviour. The majority of people lean towards the view that risk taking and gambling are negative pastimes. It can often be deemed unacceptable and following from this, illegal.

These types of people tend to hold a more conventional worldview, which do not incorporate elements of risk. These are the people who are more likely to put there money in the bank, rather than to tempt fate by gambling or taking risks, even though banks invest their money on the stock exchange- itself a kind of gambling. These people are not very intuitive and have a tendency to lean towards the belief that gambling is something pathological that cannot be controlled; they can even look upon gamblers with pity, as if gamblers have an illness.

Those people, who view gambling as a natural extension of human behaviour and way of life, have a tendency to view gambling as a rational and instinctive process, rather than an illness or as deviance. These are the people who view risk taking and gambling as a healthy part of leisure, a good method of escapism from everyday life and a method of relaxation. This does not mean that these types of people do not believe they can lose, or that they will not become addictive, just that gambling and risk taking are a part of a lifestyle choice.

There is no right or wrong answer, and neither point of view should be judged too harshly; the decision is always down to how an individual chooses to live their life. This is their choice and no one else's.

Application: control your emotions.
When you gamble there is no place for a loss of control of your emotions. Losing control of you emotions is equivalent to losing the correct spirit of gambling that is necessary for playing intellectually. A successful player should have a good sense of time and know when to play and when to leave the table. An intelligent player will never arrive at the point of losing everything.

Of course, it can be very difficult to control your emotions when you are on the roller coaster that is the ups and downs of gambling; there are too many peaks and troughs; too many close calls not to become emotional. Becoming emotional is natural, but do not hold on to negative emotions. Try not to bring your emotions from one round to the next, try and find a method that allows you to relinquish stress, anxiety, anger and hate (not by hitting the croupier!!). Get angry only in hindsight, not when you are at the table, or around other people. These tips, if everyone tried to adhere to them, would give gambling a better reputation, why, they could even use it in schools to teach people how to control their emotions.