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If you want to
succeed at sports betting you’ll need to
follow some time-tested guidelines to make a
profit possible, so take these 5 key
principals to heart and you are on your way
to avoiding the rookie mistakes that have
plagued many a bankroll in the past.
1.
Know how much to bet
One of the biggest
errors that new sports bettors make is
betting over their heads while in search of
the quick payout and this is the easiest way
to lose a big chunk of change in a fast
amount of time. It’s
extremely easy to bet $100 of your $500
deposit in one fell swoop but it’s not a
realistic way to make any money in this
business and most will eventually go
bankrupt if strong money management skills
are not added to the equation.
Generally, a bettor
should bet in between 1-5% of their starting
bankroll with 2.5% being the most common
advice from professionals at the time of
this writing. If you only
have $100 in your bankroll, you’ll only
want to be betting $2.50 a bet. For
a $1000 starting bankroll, go to $25.
As you gain money you can increase
the bet sizes to match your new starting
bankroll and you’ll safely and
intelligently increase your money over time.
2.
Know when to bet
Right up there in
the “issues that spell doom for bettors”
category is trying to rebound from a losing
day with late bets that you would not
usually make, just for the sake of covering
the earlier losses. In
the sports betting industry this is commonly
referred to as “chasing” and is another
great way to separate yourself from your
hard earned money.
“Chasing” seems
like a great way to make back the money you
lost but there are a few things that should
make you think otherwise. First
of all, people who “chase” generally
increase the amount of their bets well
beyond the 1-5% total we mentioned earlier.
Second, the games that are bet
usually would not be plays in the first
place. Either a bet is a
good bet or it isn’t and putting a ton of
money on a bet just to try to make your
money back when the bet could go either way
is a fast path to losing your bankroll.
3.
Play more games
After just telling
you not to “chase”, you are probably
asking yourself, “why this is on the
list?” Maybe “Play
more good games” would be better ways to
phrase the category, as you should only play
games that you think have a good chance at
winning, but you don’t need to feel like
you only have to limit your plays to a
certain amount per week. For
someone who bets $100 a game, going 6-4 has
a nicer winning percentage than 21-17 (60%
to 55.2%) but the bettor who bet more games
actually won $230 while the one with the
higher winning percentage only has $160 of
profit to show. You need
to limit yourself, but don’t go to the
extreme with being selective.
4.
Know what to bet
As fun as it is to
bet on things like props, teasers, pleasers,
and parlays at your favorite online
sportsbooks, you
also need to consider that these
“special” bets are only there because
the sportsbook wants them to be.
If your sportsbook didn’t have an
edge on you with these bets they wouldn’t
be offered so try to avoid them at all
costs. Like eating sugar,
sometimes the things that seem greatest in
life can also be bad for you so try and
stick mainly to point spreads and totals
when deciding on your plays and you’ll be
much happier (and wealthier).
5.
Treat this like it’s your
business
Pretty simple,
right? You should treat
sports betting like a business because it is
like a business if you do it right.
There is money to be made in this
industry and whether or not you follow these
5 important steps will go a long way toward
whether you are the one making it or the one
who gives your money to the sportsbook to
pay the winners. You need
to manage your money wisely and be smart
with it or it’s going to not be yours
anymore. Sound money
management and smart bets are the recipe for
success in this field and success can be
achieved if you remain strict.
You now have all the
tools you need to succeed at sports betting
and best of luck to anyone fortunate enough
to read this article so they know the rookie
mistakes to avoid. |
