when gambling as in investing it is possible to experience a winning streak driven by what seems to be momentum however the idea that favorable outcomes are a result of a hot hand is purely a psychological phenomenon in reality once an investor or a gambler begins to think they have a hot hand many proven biases can arise several common behavioral gaps which can be brought on by a hot hand include overconfidence confirmation bias the illusion of control recency bias and hindsight bias just to name a few from the growing list of the popular market psychology factors 
new research using modern statistical analysis supports the bit of evidence for the hot hand in certain sporting events 1 the supreme court s may 2018 decision to ease federal laws prohibiting commercial sports betting in most states opened the door to legalizing the estimated 150 billion in illegal wagers on professional and amateur sports in the u s every year 45 as sports betting becomes more mainstream it s not unthinkable that investment strategies explicitly following a hot hand will pop up 