The Biggest Mistakes Gamblers Make when Sportsbetting
Betting on sports or simply betting in general, is often deemed an unwise pastime. Many people frown upon the actions of a gambler. Why is this? There seems to be a stigma attached to betting, an overall disapproval which generally comes from the ignorance of people who fail to understand, that when carried out correctly, betting on sports can be both a highly enjoyable and potentially lucrative experience.
It is somewhat common knowledge, that the majority of sports bettors are unsuccessful with their punting efforts. This can often be accounted for, by simply saying that it is a series of fundamental errors, which ultimately leads to failure. This piece will outline the biggest mistakes people regularly make when betting on sports, whilst more importantly, looking at how they can be put right.
Chasing losses –
Chasing losses is a method that for years now, has been tried and failed by almost every gambler. More so, it is a method that will continue to be tried and failed for years to come. Speaking frankly, chasing losses is nothing but a shortcut to the poorhouse. Although chasing your losses may seem like the logical way to eventually arrive at a profit, it simply isn’t. Firstly, it is probably fair to say, that there aren’t any gamblers who can boast an unlimited betting bank, thus meaning, at some point they will go broke. Secondly, when punters chase losses, they are generally looking for a quick way to make something back. When in this state of mind, logical thought tends to go out the window and thus rash decisions are made. This leads punters into placing bets and stake amounts that wouldn’t normally be sanctioned.
It is of course easy to advise punters that they should simply avoid chasing their losses, because most gamblers have been in that position, where after losing a particular bet, the temptation to instantly go back for more can be a hard one to shake. It is the said shaking of such thoughts that can be one step towards long term success. The key thing to remember in these situations, is, there’s always tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day after that. The point is that the sensible thing to do, is to wait for the right opportunities as appose to mindlessly attempting to make losses back straight away on what are likely to be ill-advised bets.
Laziness –
The bottom line is, the majority of punters are lazy. There’s no two ways about it. Most punters either put no time and logical thought into a bet or their efforts to do so are slack. Either way, they arrive at the same conclusion, which is of course, negative results. Realistically, punters are living in a golden age, never before has there been so much information available, yet on the whole, it remains unexploited. For example, it’s not reasonable to simply look through the racing form for half an hour and expect this to yield results.
Nowadays, particularly on the web there is an infinite amount of resources that punters should be utilising. There are hundreds of formbooks, masses of statistical data which details everything imaginable, plus not to mention the key resource of video replay footage (particularly useful for horse racing punters). If serious about being successful in the hardest business of all, you need to invest. Not just money, but time. Punters simply must invest time if they are to achieve positive results in the long term.
Failing to use a specific betting bank –
A fundamental error made by the vast majority of gamblers, is the failure to set aside a sum of money from which bets are made. A specific betting bank. Regardless of the system used, something all gamblers need, is a betting bank which is separate from all other finances and is used only to fund betting activities. It is essential that a betting bank is separate from personal finances, this should to some degree, reduce the emotional attachment involved in the decision making process of a bet. The size of the betting bank depends entirely on the individual and will no doubt vary depending on how much you have/wish to set aside for betting purposes. Failing to use a betting bank, results in the punter betting randomly with whatever money they have available. This often leads to losing more than you can afford and keeping on top of your betting activity becomes a lot harder. The punters out there who have the right attitude and are serious about making their gambling work, will set aside a betting bank which consists of an amount they can afford to lose.
Failure to use a disciplined staking plan –
Just as many punters fail to set aside a betting bank, they just as carelessly, fail to appreciate the importance of a staking plan. Having a betting bank is one thing, but it becomes irrelevant if the punter proceeds to bet amounts at random without working out a logical stake. Depending on the amount available in ones betting bank, punters should align their stake accordingly, so that on any one bet they are only staking a small percentage, say 5%. Betting up to only 5% of the funds available means a bet can be placed without seriously affecting the bank roll. It is unwise to stake large percentages at any one time. For example if the betting bank stands at £500, staking larger percentage amounts such as £250 is an ill-disciplined action. If you were to continue staking high percentages, before long the pot would soon be empty.
Failing to appreciate the importance of value –
Being able to understand the value in a bet is probably the key component to long term punting success. An old saying amongst those successful at gambling is: “to profit long term, the punter needs to be betting at odds which are greater than the selections real chance of winning”, there is truth in every bit of this statement. Believe it or not, once you know where to start and are willing to put the effort in, there is plenty of value to be had; however, many punters miss out because they do not understand the meaning behind the word ‘value’.
A common misconception seems to be that value equates to big odds. This simply isn’t true. In short, there is no set rule which says certain prices represent value, each possible bet is different and should be appraised as a 100% unique case. In order to determine whether value exists or not. For instance, a 25/1 bet can be very poor value, whilst a 6/4 favourite can be extremely good value. It is important to avoid a method of thinking, where value equates to big prices. The essence of a value bet is finding a selection whose odds are higher than the actual chance of winning. In other words, let’s say for example, after conducting research on a horse race you decide that one particular runner has a really good chance and you believe it should be a 3/1 shot. However, the price available is 5/1. Theoretically this becomes a good value bet.
In addition, punters should always be looking to weed out that extra bit of value from their bets. If the horse is available at 5/1, before settling for this, check both with other bookmakers and on the exchange to ensure a greater price cannot be found. Even the slightest improvements of the odds on each of a punters bets can make a big difference to the profit and loss and the end of a given period. It is wise to use odds comparison services and to always shop around.
