Only a few out of those who gain profits in sports betting could actually provide some good answers why several other gamblers are constantly losing their money.
Very often, sports bettors can be found in one or more of the following situations. If they do not realize they are making the same mistakes over and over again, responding properly, their capital could be reduced, converting online betting into a very expensive hobby. Dealing wisely with the following cause-and-effect cases can help you, eventually, to make some money betting online. Be before you make some, you need to stop losing money in sports betting!
1. Use money you do not need
Cash saved to pay the rent or daily basic needs to support our lives should not being put at risk in a hobby such as sports betting. Allocating upfront a certain amount of money for our entertainment, will spare us the psychological pressure of the possibility that we may risk resources belonging to the family budget.
2. Do not bet on impulse
How many times we begin looking at our betting choices in the afternoon, only to find out that there are just a few football games to bet on, about which we do not have the slightest idea?
Even if we are urged to bet, we must immediately turn off the computer. There will always be the next day coming with more opportunities.
3. Do not blindly follow the betting tips and predictions of others
Doing your homework online, getting information on forums and blogs and being updated with the latest predictions on future games is welcome up to a certain degree. Our judgment is there to decide whether a tipster’s review is based on reason, before we bet according to the suggested forecast, by someone we do not really know. Some tipsters do not even seem to follow their own suggestions, changing their minds very often.
4. Do not be influenced by previous results
After being proved successful in sports betting, we could think that we can tackle more risks. Conversely, a very poor performance will affect our betting attitude, gambling more precariously. A recent consecutive series of bad bets (a losing streak or run) will undoubtedly shake our confidence and force us to bet more cautiously.
5. Do not increase or decrease stakes without a staking system
Usually our stakes must be at a predefined amount of money till we manage to increase our capital or until we follow complex betting systems, such as the Kelly criterion. In some cases, as for example trying to win back our lost money, randomly increasing and decreasing bets could jeopardize our system.
6. Always record your system’s performance results
Monitoring our bets detailing how we score over a period of time helps us improve as bettors, beyond the obvious benefit in terms of measuring the effectiveness of a system. It is also an efficient method to truly understand how expensive hobby betting can be.
7. Do not play bad tempered
Either a personal quarrel between friends or a family incident could definitely irritate us. This is not the right time to be at the computer betting online. An outside walk alone could save you money and help you find peace of mind.
8. Do not bet on sports you do not understand
I personally remember when I was trying to exploit odds imbalances between bookmakers, a practice known as betting arbitrage. The bet which made me forget all about arbing was a game of golf, when in horror I realized that on the second online bookmaker I was offered the choice of a tie, while on the first there was no such an option!
Although the possibility of a tie was small, I preferred to conclude the arbitrage with a guaranteed loss, betting on the tie at that point. The result was painful, since on the bets are considerable in arbitrage.
9. Do not bet without paying attention
How many times have we been trading at Betfair betting exchange only to enter the stake on the field where we are supposed to enter the desired odds, while filling in the odds instead of the stake?
In the case of betting odds of 1.50 it might be a minor mistyping. What about if we are talking about a bet of €500? In that case that error may cost €500 at 10.0 odds, for example, instead of €10 at 500.0 odds. Similarly, if we mistakenly bet on half time instead for the result at full-time, this kind of mistakes could surely cost a lot of money.
10. Do not bet without doing some odds comparison
A bet at 2.00 odds may be an opportunity, though the same bet at 1.70 may be throwing money away. Betting using a single bookmaker just because it is our favorite one is no excuse. Bets are like farmers’ markets: go out and shop for the best price. Here’s how to select an online bookmaker.
[box type=”info”]Get more information on the importance of odds comparison in sports betting![/box]
By systematically avoiding these common mistakes, we can improve significantly our betting performance. In the worst case scenario, we will reduce our losing bets and minimize our losses. Eventually we will stop losing money in sports betting.
Consequently, our betting tactics will be improving, game after game, leaping a step forward to the right direction.
