Sports betting can certainly be an emotional thing. Whether you’re a recreational bettor or someone who is serious about turning a long-term profit, sports betting can definitely test the emotional stability of even the calmest of people. As far as sports betting lessons go, the following is probably some of the best sports betting advice I can provide.
I went 0-3 in MLB last night. Was I happy about it? 100% NO. Does it still cross my mind almost 24 hours later? Absolutely. But, as a serious sports bettor focused solely on long-term profit, I cannot let last night’s results affect my decisions today.
Some Hard Sports Betting Lessons to Learn
Not letting emotions control you, along with money management, are probably the hardest sports betting lessons to learn. My client base consists of some very smart guys. I did not receive one single angry email, tweet, Facebook comment, etc. I’m guessing it’s because they all, like me, take the long-term approach. We don’t let one lousy night, week, or even month take our focus off of our goal of long-term profit.
People who bet looking to “get rich quick” will always go broke eventually. So will people who are betting money that is not set aside for betting, but should be used to pay bills, buy items of need, etc. They’ll bet too much per game. They’ll bet too many games. They’ll chase when on a losing streak. They’ll up their bet amounts to a level at which they should not be betting.
Emotions can also get the best of you when you’re on a winning streak. You’ll hear bettors say, “The winners are just jumping off the page when I look at the games.” A “can’t lose attitude” can also lead to poor decision making. Just like when on losing streaks, bettors start betting more games, more money per game, etc. That’s a sure-fire way to pick more winners than losers and still not show a profit.
Mental Toughness Is Key
I personally lost 10.8% of my bankroll last night in that 0-3 debacle. But when I woke up today, my mindset was that I am 0-0 today. Then, I handicapped the games the exact same way I always do. I made the same decisions based on my work that I would’ve made even if I had gone 3-0 last night. And when it was time to bet, I bet the same amounts I always do.
That mentality and discipline is absolutely critical to long-term success. Emotion will always be a factor when it comes to betting. But, one of the best sports betting lessons I can share with you is that we cannot let emotion affect our mindset, decision making, etc.
In Conclusion
I will always talk about my losses more than my wins. My goal is not to beat my chest and proclaim myself the greatest handicapper in the world. Truth be told, I’m just a regular guy who became a successful bettor through many years of making mistakes and trial & error.
My goal is to help more bettors learn how to deal with the ebb and flow of short-term variance. Hopefully, repeatedly talking about short-term losses will help at least some of you get into that long-term successful mindset.
Sometimes you just have to man up when you get knocked down. Get back up, dust yourself off, and get right back into the grind. Because that’s exactly what sports betting for long-term profit is: the mother of all grinds.
