Sounds like you hit a nasty dry streak. I have seen these too.
The thing is, the human mind is conditioned to look for reasons and patterns in everything. It is what makes us intelligent – the ability to discern patterns in things.
So we look for reasons or patterns in gambling – and there are none. There are some ways in most games to make the money go further, and you can play smart. But the house will always have the odds in it’s favor, and you will always lose in the end.
Thing is, in Vegas we know the machines are checked and regulated. But not so in American Indian casinos, riverboats or online.
In an unregulated environment the player will always wonder… because really there is no way to tell.