It’s a widely known concept that the vast majority of sports bettors are going to lose money. The most popular is that 90-percent of sports gamblers will lose money over the course of the year, but that doesn’t stop people from wagering on sports. When those bettors eventually go broke and cannot wager any more, there’s always somebody else waiting to take their place in line.
Money Management
The number one reason most sports gamblers lose isn’t because of poor picks, but instead is because of poor money management. There are far more bettors who can pick winners than there are who can make money, and money management is the key.
Betting $50 on one game and $500 on another is a sure way to find yourself separated from your cash in the long run, just as betting 50-percent of your bankroll on one game will ultimately lead disaster. A sports bettor may win a few games when betting more than they should, but eventually the loss, or losses, will come and the bettors ends up in trouble.
Doubling up after wins or losses is another recipe for disaster, and is a common mistake many bettors make, including those who have been betting for many years.
If you’ve ever read books on sports betting, you’ll find that nearly every one has at least one chapter devoted to money management and that isn’t because authors enjoy writing about it. It’s because it is that important.
A good place to start on money management is my article Money Management for Sports Bettors.
Betting on the Wrong Events
It’s no secret that football and basketball are the two sports that receive the majority of the betting dollars, just as it’s no secret that most long-time sports bettors will say those are probably the two toughest sports to show a long-term profit in.
The sport of choice for most professional gamblers is baseball, which happens to rank well below the top two sports in the amount of money received. Hockey is another sport that many long-time bettors believe can give the sports gambler an advantage over the sportsbook, but hockey is bet less than even baseball.
A sports bettors doesn’t have to particularly like baseball or hockey. As long as they like money, those are two sports that should be followed, or at least find somebody who is a good baseball or hockey handicapper and follow their plays.
Lack of Knowledge
Most sports bettors know just enough to make them dangerous, as there is a great deal of difference between being knowledgeable in the NFL and being knowledgeable in NFL betting. Being able to name the starting offensive line for the Dallas Cowboys isn’t likely to help a person win a bet.
What many sports bettors don’t realize is that they’re actually competing against other bettors who spend countless hours on handicapping, studying trends, injuries, and betting angles.
If you don’t have the time to study the games try to find somebody who does, whether it be on a posting forum, a reputable sports service, etc., but don’t assume you know more than everyone else.
There is the old joke of a sports bettor who loses week after week, and finally, his bookie starts to feel sorry for the guy and suggests that he might want to try betting hockey.
“Hockey! I don’t know anything about hockey!”