The second chapter of our beginners guide to betting gives an overview on why so many punters fail to make money regularly when betting on sports. Aside from the occasional winning streak, the vast majority (95%) of football and horse racing punters simply throw their money away on weekly accumulators and mainstream sports.
While we do know that beating the bookies and winning at sports betting is very much possible, the reality is that the vast majority of people who bet sports end up losing over the course of their lives and even in much shorter time spans, with many being fairly consistent losers.
There is quite a good explanation for this too, as in order to become an actual long term winner at sports betting you have to really learn what you are doing and remain disciplined over a very long stretch of time, a thing not so many sports bettors are willing to do. So, let’s get straight into it and analyze a few of the main reasons so many people end up losing at sports betting.
Playing Without A Strategy
Most players who bet sports will simply log into their online betting account or walk into a betting shop and place a bet on a pick right out of their head. Whether it is Manchester United winning the next football match, or the USA winning a basketball championship, most people tend to just bet the winners and scoop the small winning once they get it right, completely neglecting the fact that the odds offered by the bookie are absolutely atrocious.
Without thinking much of the mathematical odds of an outcome happening or comparing the number of times they will win against those they will lose, players simply tend to place tons of money on picks that hold no true value for them and are designed to favor the bookies.
True winners do not look to pick favorites and winners, but rather find value in the picks that are not so likely. While this kind of an approach can add some variance to the game, a good sports bettor always has a bankroll to back up the winning streaks and is willing to take some losses while waiting for the wins.
Lack Of Patience
Even many players who are aware of betting strategy and know how to see value in a bet can fall prey to simply wanting to place a bet no matter what. When betting sports, there are days or at least hours when there is simply nothing good to bet on and a good bettor knows how to sit tight and wait.
The lack of discipline and patience to wait for good spots to bet is another very important part of why so many people lose at sports betting. In fact, even if you are not a huge fan of sports or the particulars of sports betting, if you are patient enough the chances are a bet will pop up every now and then where the value will be quite apparent. The trick with this is to sit and wait, constantly checking what’s on offer across various bookies, but for most players this is just not fast enough.
Playing For Thrills
A winner plays to win, not to have fun. This is quite a basic principle that every sports bettor should remember. While one does not necessarily exclude the other, making a profit must always come ahead of having fun and chasing the thrill.
This means sometimes you will have to place bets on games you don’t intend to watch or even jump into some sports that you don’t find especially entertaining because there is value to be had there. What it also means is that most times there won’t be a bet to be placed in a game your favorite club is playing and you should absolutely skip that game in that case. You can still watch the game without placing any bets.
Finally, another thing many people bet for is to impress others. Thousands of punters around UK and other countries gather in betting shops trying to outdo one another by placing ludicrous bets or betting tons of money on favorites with poor odds. If you want to win, bet the odds, know the probabilities and stick to playing for the money.
Lack Of Bankroll Management
Perhaps the most important part of any kind of gambling, wagering or betting is certainly the bankroll management. Sports betting, like other forms of betting comes with quite a bit of variance and not a single person in the world can win every bet. This is where bankroll management comes in as a crucial part of betting.
While it is absolutely possible to start with a small bankroll, bet it all a few times and build it up through just a few bets, the chances of this happening are mathematically very low and you will most likely end up busting your bankroll. Proper bankroll management means you are careful with your money and only bet small portions of your bankroll on every pick you make, thus significantly reducing the chance of going broke before you can realize your winnings.
Every successful sports bettor in the world has very strict bankroll management rules that he adheres to and will only deviate from them when the odds are so good that a larger bet needs to be placed at all costs. Even in such scenarios, there is only so much of your bankroll you can place on a single pick.
Conclusion : Learning To Bet
We have just gone through a large number of reasons why people lose at sports betting and they can all be summed up as simply not knowing how to bet sports. In order to win at any kind of a competition, one must first learn how and sports betting is no different.
There is a whole set of skills one must master before being able to successfully bet sports and win on a consistent basis, and it is our goal to teach you those skills so that the next time you make a bet, you do it with a proper mind frame and a better chance of winning.
