Tips to Winning at Sports Betting: Learning From Losing
by Predictem.com Staff
This article may or may not pertain to you as everybody has their own rhyme or reason for participating in sports betting. With that being said, read on if you are serious about overcoming the odds of sports betting and becoming a winner at a very tricky, but beatable game.
Let me start by saying that I lost for YEARS before I even got a sniff of winning. Unfortunately this is the case for most of us and many will NEVER be a winner at this game or even come close to breaking even. We don’t have precise statistics, but it’s been said that 97% of all sports bettors lose in the long run. Let’s put this in perspective… How many “other” things in life do you participate in that offer you a meager 3% to succeed? So, let’s get something straight here. You are probably losing and are going to continue to lose unless you take some measures to gain some wisdom or change up your current style of wagering.
There’s a million and one things you can do to become better at sports betting. Let’s start with the basics…
Start tracking your wagers on paper. Keep track of your wins, losses and +/- units on the following:
sides
totals
favorites
underdogs
overs
unders
moneyline favorites
moneyline underdogs
runlines
parlays
teasers
pleasers
and any other type of bet you make!
Once some time passes and you’ve accrued a fairly hefty amount of tracking on your play, you may be surprised at what you find. Speaking from personal experience, I was surprised to see that I was getting my tail handed to me on 2 team 7 point football teasers where I was laying -130. To this day I STILL absolutely love this bet as it moves the line by a whopping 7 points and you only have to hit 2 games. Well, admittedly, to this day, the results are still sub par and it’s time to flush the idea of playing these tempting bets. While a fair percentage of my bets cashed, THE JUICE ate me alive as wins are only worth 1 unit and losses tallied up a negative 1.3 units. At -130, a guy has to go better than 4-3 just to break even! That’s over 57% which is hard enough to hit playing one game, much less two despite being handed the free touchdown.
In summary, track your bets and cut the fat out of your betting style.
Another common mistake made by sports bettors is lack of discipline. This is a very broad statement as lack of discipline pertains to money management, playing too many games, chasing losses, betting wildly (not handicapping/researching your selection and that’s just to name a few. Let’s start with money management.
All games should be bet the same amount regardless of how much you like one more than the other. How many times have you gone into a Sunday betting multiple games and throwing down 5 units on your best bet and only one on your others only to have your best bet lose? Very common occurrence in sports betting. It could be said that the easier a line looks, the less likely it is to cash. Bookies don’t drive Cadillacs by doling out soft lines. If one looks too easy, consider taking the other side, because there’s a reason the spread looks “too easy.” Keep all units the same on all games, you’ll be glad you adopted this policy!
Now lets talk about playing too many games. When I was a gambling greenhorn I didn’t see a line I didn’t want to get down on. Hell, betting the board was the best thing since sliced bread! What could be better than having action on every single game? The ten minute ticker would come on the screen and it’d literally bring me out of my chair anxious as hell to get the score on all the games. You know the feeling. ACTION! Hot damn I loved action. I still do and would if I didn’t mind losing! Yes, action will absolutely smash your bankroll and result in hitting up the ATM machine each week when it’s time to square up with the book.
Simply put, the juice stacks up against you and there is no way that even a seasoned pro can bet the board and not get in trouble. With that being said, there is no real limit to the amount of games one should play on an NFL Sunday however we’ve found that there’s rarely value in more than 2-4 games per week. Hint: If you only make a play based on you feeling like the value is on your side, your going to raise your winning percentage up substantially. The guy that bets the board, uninformed about all the potential info out there on each game, is going to get slammed over time. It takes discipline to only bet a few games on a Sunday jam-packed-filled with that dirty word action, but ya gotta do it if you wanna win over the long haul. If you absolutely HAVE to bet every game, may we suggest that you make a very small wager such as $5 or $10 to satisfy your need and get your fix? You will be glad you did. Betting the board is fun as hell but costly.
Moving along, let’s make a short note about chasing losses. This is a surefire way to lose your arse. Don’t even begin to consider 10 unit bailout games on Monday night football to fix a losing college football Saturday and NFL Sunday. This is the single most dangerous thing a guy can do with his bankroll and should be avoided at all costs. Stick to your guns and lay single units only. You’re going to run into highs and lows, don’t get too big headed and bold when your high and don’t get too desperate when your low. REMEMBER: THERE’S ALWAYS ANOTHER GAME! You don’t need to get it all back in one shot. Note: For those of you that absolutely insist on using the MNF game as a bailout game after a bad weekend, may we recommend our Free Monday Night Football Picks which have hit over 60% over the past 3 years? Check them out and make sure your not on the opposite side of our red hot in house handicapping staff.
Lastly, let’s end this article with a warning to not bet wildly. Betting wildly can mean a number of things but in this article it pertains to getting down on a game without handicapping your selection. Betting on a game because your favorite team is playing is a REAL bad idea. You are obviously biased in favor of your favorite team and this will do nothing but cloud your vision in making an objective play on the game.
You also want to make sure your handicapping the game that your betting. Make sure the starting lineups contain the key players, check out pitcher vs. hitter stats if your betting bases, rushing offense vs. rushing defense if your betting football, hot/cold teams etc. Each sport has it’s own set of parameters one should use to handicap a game. If your betting blindly, your betting wildly and your bankroll will be punished for doing so.
We hope you have enjoyed this article containing tips to winning at sports betting. If you have any questions, please feel free to email: predictem at hotmail.com and we’ll gladly return your email within a couple days time with an answer if we’re able to provide one for you.
Here’s another tip for you: Did you know that Bovada has the best underdog lines on the net?
Good luck in your action.
