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After a high hand in poker or winning big at the horses, you might think it is best to quit while you're ahead.

But new research suggests that winning streaks – or 'hot hands' - are real.

Once a person wins a bet, they are increasingly likely to win again because they seek out safer bets, claim scientists.

On a winning streak: Once someone wins a bet they are increasingly likely to win again because they seek out safer bets, according to a new study. The probability of a first bet winning was 48 per cent, but the final sixth bet was as high as 75 per cent, according to the research

However, the study also found that once you lose a bet, you become increasingly likely to carry on the losing streak, so there is truth in the advice 'cut your losses'.

Researchers from University College London (UCL) demonstrated that people who continue to bet after losing do not even manage to recoup their losses, while winners are more likely to keep winning.

The study also found that once you lose a bet, you become increasingly likely to carry on the losing streak (stock image)

Mathematicians Juemin Xu and Nigel Harvey examined 565,915 online bets made by 776 people on sports such as horse-racing and football, taking into account timing and winning and losing streaks up to six bets long, The Economist reported.

The probability of a first bet winning was 48 per cent and another win after that, 49 per cent, after which the odds improved and the 'winning streak' gathered pace.

The third bet won 57 per cent of the time, the fourth 67 per cent, the fifth 72 per cent and the sixth 75 per cent – if all the bets paid off and a streak was maintained.

However, the statistics showed that life for the losers got steadily worse. After losing a first bet there was a 47 per cent chance of reversing their fortunes, which decreased to 45 per cent for the remaining bets.

While some superstitious gamblers might put the phenomenon down to Lady Luck or various superstitions, the mathematicians found that gamblers' winning streaks increased in length as they began choosing increasingly safer odds to hang on to success. This led them to win more often, even if the financial rewards were not as great.

Losers kept on losing as they desperately tried to reverse their fortunes by taking riskier and riskier bets, which made it increasingly likely for their run of back luck to continue.

The research revealed that while winning streaks are real, they are as much influenced by a gambler's behaviour as a lucky throw of the dice or a fast horse.

SURVEY REVEALS LUCKIEST PLACE IN THE UK

People in Portsmouth are the luckiest in the UK, according to research carried out by Gala Casino.

The survey of 1,000 people, which looked at the perception of luck from across the UK, revealed that three quarters of people in Portsmouth consider themselves to be lucky - far higher national average of 47 per cent.

Cambridge is the second luckiest in the UK, which 60 per cent of people thinking they are charmed, with Belfast (59 per cent) Birmingham (55 per cent) and Coventry (53 per cent) completing the top five locations.

However, those living in Bristol are the least optimistic with 70 per cent of people believing they are unlucky.

The age at which most people feel least lucky is 45-54, while half of over 55s surveyed claim they are lucky.

Almost a third of Britons claim to be superstitious and a piece of jewellery is the most common charm. People in Newcastle are the keenest on lucky charms with three in 10 people admitting to owning one, while 97 per cent of people living in Sheffield, and 96 per cent in Norwich and Brighton do not own one.