Eli5: Why can’t you just double your losses every time you gamble on a thing with roughly 50% chance to make a profit

Question

This is probably really stupid but why cant I bet 100 on a close sports game game for example and if I lose bet 200 on the next one, it’s 50/50 so eventually I’ll win and make a profit

In: 4566

Answer 1

I tried this strategy at blackjack when I was younger. I was playing at a $3 table in Vegas. Started with $100 and got up to $300. And my strategy was that whenever I lost maybe 5 hands in a row, I’d start doubling my bets until I won. Thought I was a genius.

Until I hit a bad streak and blew through my $300 plus another $100 in about 5 hands lol