You've probably never heard of the gambler's fallacy. If not, read on because if you're not familiar with it, you've likely fallen into its trap and it's costing you money. The gambler's fallacy is a condition that besets nearly everyone at various times in their lives. However, as befits the name, it is famously frequent in gamblers and it is, of course, a fallacy.

You've probably never heard of the gambler's fallacy. If not, read on because if you're not familiar with it, you've likely fallen into its trap and it's costing you money. The gambler's fallacy is a condition that besets nearly everyone at various times in their lives. However, as befits the name, it is famously frequent in gamblers and it is, of course, a fallacy.

Gamblers are a superstitious lot - poker players less so than slot junkies, but we've got our nutty beliefs. One of them is that "we're due" to fill a flush, that it's "our turn" to suck out on the river or that it's "about time" for us to rack up a 200BB win.

I've raised this topic with lots of players, some quite skilled. Almost invariably they tell me that they are due, that they have to fill that flush - eventually. When I push them, they typically give me some justification, a rationale that looks, for all the world, like it makes sense.

-- What They Say About Online Poker Gambling

"Look," they say, "I'm not stupid. I know that the probability of hitting my flush hasn't really changed but I also know that things have to work out in the long run. It's getting to be a 'long run' because I haven't hit one in, like, forever.

Even the world's best poker player will never be good enough to overcome the "rake" which is the house cut from each pot. "It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master" is a phrase used by some gambling website promoters to describe the poker game of Texas Holdem.

Now knowing that money cannot be won playing online poker, here are three more nails in the online poker coffin so that this complete waste of your money, time and life can be buried: 1. How do you know the other online poker players are real? 2. How do you know the cards are a randomly dealt deck? 3. How do you know a gambling website can be trusted with your bank account and credit card information?

People were asked to guess which of two lights on a computer screen would come on. They were told that the sequence was random, that the light on the right was as likely to come on as the left. Virtually every person playing this "guessing" game showed the gambler's fallacy. The more often one light came on, the more likely they were to predict the other side.

Do not give them the pleasure no matter how nice their website appears to be. Do not give them the pleasure no matter how friendly their promoters seem to be. Do not give them the pleasure for any reason. These gambling houses along with their slick marketing campaigns are very clever at trying to influence you into gambling.

The gambler's fallacy is most seductive, but it is a fallacy. Don't get suckered into thinking that you're "due" for anything other than random outcomes. And don't throw money into a pot based on this belief. The probabilities have not changed and they don't give a fat flying fig how many times you missed your flush or how many times you've had to buy in already.

-- The Fallacy Of Online Poker Gambling From Top Players

Losing money is not only true for online poker, but for all other gambling games on the internet. There are not and never will be any exceptions. You are absolutely, positively, guaranteed to lose your money. Those are the facts.

Do not allow gambling promoters or anyone else to convince you otherwise. Please make the right choice, the smart choice and the necessary choice to never play the money losing game of online poker or any other online gambling game. Keep your money in your bank account where it belongs.

Any honest statistician or mathematician would tell you that the skill in playing poker is in knowing your odds, and playing them appropriately. With proper play you can overcome the rake, as it is usually capped at a certain amount, and the fact is, most players do not properly play the probabilities, therefore allowing a smart and patient player the opportunity to win consistently.

Even the world champions from the World Series of Poker tournaments can never be skilled enough or good enough to overcome the house cut or rake from every money pot.

-- Conclusion On The Fallacy Of Online Poker Gambling

And the long run is really, really long. Most people, poker players included, have trouble grasping this compelling mathematical truth. As a result, they are likely to increase bet size or make marginal calls because they are convinced they are due. The real problem, of course, isn't the belief; it's acting on it that puts dents in your bankroll.

There are also, obviously, situations in poker where events are dependent on each other. If you saw someone flash a heart when they mucked their hand and you're on a flush draw, you know there are only eight hearts left in the deck.

Players or gamblers will be easily deceived and be initially laid out in a trap wherein they will win in the short-run but eventually will lose all their money in the long-run.