Online betting shop

Do you or does someone you know like to bet on games of chance? Here are ten signs and indicators to help you detect when gambling is becoming a problem. They will help you take stock of the situation.

Ten signs of a gambling problem:

Lying

People who have gambling problems generally try to hide it from the people around them. They start lying to their spouses, families, coworkers, and friends.

“Chasing” losses

Some gamblers say they are just trying to win back the money they have lost. They will claim that once they win big, they will stop. Or that they lost because they changed strategies or were not lucky. But when they chase their losses, they end up piling up even more losses, and often debts.

Borrowing money

What do pathological gamblers do when gambling puts them into a financial hole? They borrow—from their family, friends, coworkers, or even strangers, without always admitting the real reason they need the money. They may also have other people pay their gambling debts. They may max out their credit cards or take out a second mortgage.

Always betting more

Like someone who has drugs or alcohol problems, problem gamblers have to up their “dose” of gambling to enjoy it. In other words, they have to bet more and more money to get the kind of rush they want. Unfortunately, the more they bet, the more they lose.

Being obsessed with gambling

When this happens, gamblers cannot stop thinking about the last time they gambled and the next time they will. Any reason is reason enough to go gambling, and they will try any strategy to get the money they need.

Being unable to stop gambling

Many gamblers know they should not gamble so much, and want to quit. They try repeatedly, but cannot fight the urge to play.

Gambling out of need

When trying to cut down on their gambling or stop altogether, some gamblers experience “psychological withdrawal symptoms.” Like someone who has a drug or alcohol problem, they become irritable, impatient, agitated, or tense if they do not get their “dose” of gambling.

Gambling to forget

These gamblers play to distract themselves, forget their problems, and reduce their stress. The game is not just entertainment for them. It is something they do to feel better and escape from whatever is bothering them. And then the gambling itself causes problems.

Stealing or committing fraud to gamble

Despite their losses, problem gamblers continueplaying, and their finances keep getting worse. Borrowing money from family, friends, and coworkers is no longer enough. To fund their habit and try to solve their problems by hitting the jackpot, they turn to misdeeds and crime.

Gambling because it is the most important thing in the world

Gamblers can become so addicted to the game and the hope to win it all back that they fall into ever-deeper financial, social, and professional trouble. Everything about their lives gradually revolves around and is affected by gambling. It puts their families, friendships, studies, jobs, and future career prospects at risk.

Travel viajes es uno de los mejores agencias de mayorista en mexico. travel viajes les ofrece variedad en paquetes y calidad en el servicio. Viajes a Cuba,Tours a Cuba, Paquetes a Cuba desde mexico, guadalajara,monterrey. Ofertas a Cuba 2017 Travel Viajes group les ofrece una gama de productos amplios.Travel viajes es el mejor agencia de viajes en mexico. les ofrecemos meses sin intereses con tarjetas santander.

Probably the least understood aspect of successful sports betting is related to money management. Money management is just as important as handicapping when it comes to having a profitable season. Sheer odds will dictate that everybody will pick winning teams on occasion, but not everybody knows how to manage their money in a manner that will maximize profits or minimize losses.

The first ingredient to proper money management is to establish a fund strictly for wagering. More commonly referred to a bankroll, this fund should be money that you can afford to lose, and should not consist of the rent payment or your kid’s college tuition. If you can’t afford to lose, you have no business betting. It’s as simple as that. Wait until your financial situation improves to the point where you can afford to lose a bit of cash and jump in at that point. The NFL, Major League Baseball, or the NBA aren’t going anywhere and will still be around for you to wager on, whether if it’s next week or next year.

Once your bankroll is firmly established, you’re ready to begin planning your assault on the bookmaker and your first step is determining the amount of your wagers. The method favored by most sophisticated gamblers involves wagering a percentage of your bankroll on each bet. This method is more commonly known as the Kelly Criterion and nearly all successful money management plans will use some type of variation of Mr. Kelly’s work.

Kelly Criterion

In 1956, the Kelly Criterion was developed by Edward L. Kelly, a physicist with AT&T Bell Laboratories. Kelly’s original concept was developed for betting on thoroughbred horse racing, but is applicable to all types of gambling, including the stock market and blackjack.

Kelly’s method is a mathematical formula that gives the percentage of bankroll to be wagered on an event to maximize profits, based on the odds and the probability of winning the bet. The formula looks more complex than it actually is and can be stated in three simple steps.

1. Multiply the odds of the event by the probability of winning.
2. Subtract the probability of losing from the number obtained in the first step.
3. Take the number obtained in the second step and divide by the odds.

For demonstrative purposes, let’s assume we are a football bettor who has a 56% winning percentage over time and is comfortable using that figure as the expected winning probability for future bets.

1. The first step is to take our 56% and multiply it by 11/10, the odds we give on a football bet, so we get .56 * .91 = .509.
2. Since our odds of winning are 56%, our odds of losing must be 44% or .440, which subtracted from .509 will give us a figure of .069.
3. Take .069 and divide by .91 and you will get a figure of .075 or 7.5%, which we would round up to 8%, therefore 8% would be the recommended percentage of your bankroll to wager on each game.

The Kelly Criterion also can be used when your odds of winning are less than 50%, but the odds are in your favor so that over the long run such a situation should yield a profit. For example, take a baseball team that we estimate has a 40 percent chance of winning a game, but sees the favorite installed as -180 (risking $180 to win a $100) and the underdog listed as +165 (risking $100 to win $165).

1. The first step is to take estimated odds of winning (40%) and multiply by the given odds of +165, so our first set of numbers shows .40 * 1.65 = .660.
2. Next, we take our probability of losing, which we have estimated to be 60% or .600 and subtract that from .660 and get .060.
3. The final step is to take our number from the second step (.060) and multiply by the odds on the game (of 1.65) and we get .060 * 1.65 = .099, which we would round up to .10 or 10%. Therefore, the suggested betting size in this situation would be 10% our bankroll.

For straight 11/10 wagers, the following table shows the recommended bet size per the Kelly Criterion. The figures in the left column are what we guess our winning percentages will be, while the number to the right is the Kelly Criterion’s recommended percentage of our bankroll to wager on the event.

If we estimate our winning percentage in football betting is going to be 54%, the Kelly Criterion would have us wager 3.40% of our bankroll on every play. If we believe we will hit 57% winners, the Kelly Criterion has us betting 9.70% of our bankroll on each play.

Stoke v Chelsea – Monday 22nd December, 20:00 – Live on Sky Sports 1

£5 free bet and the industry top price

Heavy Costa for Stoke against Chelsea

Diego Costa to score @ 6/4 (2.5). The industry best price is evens. Take the bet at http://goo.gl/4GhhDu

Diego Costa has found the target with uncanny regularity this season to help propel Chelsea to the top of the Premier League table and justify their favourites’ tag.

Jose Mourinho’s side have been the stand-out team so far this season and until a recent blip were without realistic challengers.

The 12 goals that Costa has scored in the Premier League since his move from Atletico Madrid over the summer have more than justified the £32million Mourinho paid for the Brazilian-born Spanish international.

Aside from a goal for Spain in the 4-0 European Championships qualifier away to Luxembourg, all of Costa’s goals have come in the Premier League.

After an impressive seven in his first four games the goals had dried up a little but scoring in the 2-0 home win over Hull last time out showed he has found his range once more.

Mark Hughes’ Stoke side might be better known for playing more attractive football than the team previously managed by Tony Pulis but they still know the importance of stopping their opponents from scoring.

No team relishes a trip to the Britannia Stadium as Arsenal can confirm after a recent 3-2 defeat there saw fans round on manager Arsene Wenger.

Hughes will be keen to add to his side’s five Premier League wins and four draws from 16 games going into the Chelsea fixture.

Stopping Costa from finding the target is one sure way of increasing their chances of getting something from the game.

Enhanced price therefore maximum stake of £25 per user.

Liverpool v Arsenal – Sunday 21st December, 16:00 – Live on Sky Sports 1

£5 free bet and the industry top price

Sanchez to add to Liverpool suffering

Alexis Sanchez to score @ 9/4 (3.25). The industry best is 7/4. Take the bet at http://goo.gl/FSW8sZ

Alexis Sanchez is one of the shining lights so far this season for Arsenal and his consistency in front of goal has seen him ranked amongst the Premier League’s leading scorers.

Sanchez heads into the game at Anfield third in the scoring charts with nine goals behind Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa and there is little to suggest he will not add to his tally against Liverpool.

With Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck also a threat up front, Arsenal appear to be back on course after a recent wobble – but the converse seems true about Liverpool.

Having to do without the likes of Luis Suarez this season will cause further envious glances from Liverpool fans towards the Arsenal line-up which boasts, in Sanchez, a player allowed to leave Barcelona to make room for former Liverpool striker Suarez.

The problems of managers Brendan Rodgers and Arsene Wenger are all relative. Rodgers could be said to have the bigger crisis on his hands as his Liverpool side have slumped to 11th in the table compared to last season when they challenged for the Premier League title all the way to the end of the season.

Having crashed out of the Champions League there are some even predicting a P45 for Rodgers along with his Christmas card from John W Henry.

Wenger, by comparison, has guided his side to the last 16 of the Champions League even if defeat at Stoke angered some of the Gunners faithful.

Successive wins over Galatasaray and Newcastle have silenced the dissenting voices for the time being.

Enhanced price therefore maximum stake of £25 per user.

It’s summertime. For Americans, that means baseball season and all the simple pleasures that the game affords — from peanuts and Cracker Jack to the seventh inning stretch and renditions of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” For many, though, the game is not the same without the opportunity to place a little (or even a big) wager on the outcome. Whether legal or not, betting is ubiquitous in baseball, and in all other sports for that matter. And of course betting is not even limited to sporting events: it has evolved into an international, multi-billion dollar industry. People now wager on the outcome of events like American Idol and the Miss American Pageant just as readily as they do the World Series or March Madness.

Given the prevalence of betting and the money at stake, it is worth considering how we pick sides. What is the best method for predicting a winner? One might expect that, for the average person, an accurate forecast depends on the careful analysis of specific, detailed information. For example, focusing on the nitty-gritty knowledge about competing teams (e.g., batting averages, recent player injuries, coaching staff) should allow one to predict the winner of a game more effectively than relying on global impressions (e.g., overall performance of the teams in recent years). But it doesn’t.

In fact, recent research by Song-Oh Yoon and colleagues at the Korea University Business School suggests that when you zero in on the details of a team or event (e.g., RBIs, unforced errors, home runs), you may weigh one of those details too heavily. For example, you might consider the number of games won by a team in a recent streak, and lose sight of the total games won this season. As a result, your judgment of the likely winner of the game is skewed, and you are less accurate in predicting the outcome of the game than someone who takes a big picture approach. In other words, it is easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees.

Yoon and his research team explored the optimal process of prediction in a series of studies examining bets made on soccer matches and baseball games. In their first study, they reviewed more than one billion (yes, billion) bets placed in 2008-2010 through Korea’s largest sports-betting company, “Sports ToTo.” They characterized the bets in one of two ways: (a) bets that involved a general prediction (i.e., win or lose), and (b) bets that involved a specific prediction (i.e., a precise score). Critically, they wanted to know which type of bet was more likely to result in an accurate prediction of the overall winner. Despite the fact that the specific bets were arguably more difficult and involved greater effort than general bets, they led to diminished success in predicting the global outcome of the game (i.e., which team won). This disadvantage was especially pronounced for games in which the favored team won.

These findings suggest that adopting a holistic approach when predicting outcomes, even for multi-faceted events like sporting competitions, may be more effective than dwelling in the details. However, because these findings reflect performance in a natural setting, they are open to alternative interpretations. For example, different kinds of people (e.g., risk-averse versus risk-seeking) may be more prone to placing different kinds of bets (e.g., general versus specific). In addition, different opportunities for reward may influence betting behavior, thus encouraging those making specific bets to take risks on unlikely outcomes. To control for these factors, Yoon’s team examined betting behavior in a controlled laboratory paradigm.

In three different experiments, participants were asked to make predictions about upcoming sporting events. In each study, half of the participants were randomly selected to make general win/lose predictions, while the other half were asked to make specific score predictions. The dependent measure was the same for both groups: Could they predict the winners?

The pattern of performance across the three studies was remarkably consistent: Participants who made general win/lose predictions were reliably better at projecting the winners of the sporting events than those who made specific score predictions. This advantage was evident regardless of whether reward opportunities were relative (i.e., only the participant with the highest overall performance received cash) or individual (participants received cash for every correct prediction).

Notably, experts did outperform novices. Nonetheless, even experts were reliably better in predicting winners when making general bets than when making specific bets. It seems that even in cases where greater knowledge may offer an advantage, the act of focusing on that knowledge can disrupt decision-making. Thus, while a lifelong baseball fan is more likely to pick the winning team than someone who has never watched a game, for either person a quick prediction about the winner is likely to be more accurate than one that follows deep reflection.

Yoon’s team confirmed this notion by assessing the kinds of information participants were using to make their predictions. As you might expect, those assigned to the general win/lose group reported relying on global assessments (e.g., overall impression of the teams, performance of the teams in years past) to a greater extent than those assigned to the specific score group. In addition, reliance on global information significantly predicted success for all participants. Even for those in the specific score group, use of detailed knowledge (e.g., strength of the defense, coaching talent) was not associated with better performance, while use of global information was.

These data align with lessons learned from research on basic personal decisions. Whether choosing a jelly bean flavor, rating the attractiveness of a face, or selecting a poster to hang in a room, people are more satisfied with their selection and less likely to change their minds when they make their decisions quickly, without systematically analyzing their options or mulling over the reasons for their choice. The advice is thus the same whether considering complex scenarios or simple situations: Don’t overthink it.

Today, more than ever before, we have access to extensive data that we can consider when making complicated decisions like selecting a mutual fund or betting on a baseball series. While reviewing that information may prove useful in developing an accurate overall view of the options, the results from Yoon and colleagues suggest that focusing on the details during the decision process will prove detrimental. It is best to trust your instincts and make up your mind already.

Betting Too Many TV Games

There are a large number of sports bettors who feel if a game is televised, it’s their duty to have a wager on the contest. While this didn’t create much of a problem years ago, there are so many games televised now, that bettors can easily have seven or eight wagers on a single night, and even more on the weekend.

Typically, the lines are the sharpest on televised games, as the oddsmakers and sportsbooks realize that those games will be bet the heaviest.

If you have to have a wager on every televised game, those bets should be much smaller than your typical bets, somewhere around one-fourth of the amount. I’ve seen a number of solid handicappers lose money over time by betting the same amount, if not more, on games that are televised than they do on games they honestly believe are good bets.

Casino Betting

This is a relatively new one for sports bettors to deal with, as many online sportsbooks now have casino-style gaming, which is too much for some sports bettors, including some very good sports bettors, to walk away from. I’ve known of more than one solid sports bettor who will generally show a profit each week, but give that money back, plus a little extra, playing the casino games their sportsbooks offer.

There’s always the legitimacy of online casinos to worry about, as well. It’s one thing to be at a blackjack table and see the dealer draw a 5 to their 16 to beat your 20, but it’s a bit different when it takes place online.

It’s easy to see the allure, as why try to grind out a small profit betting sports, when you can hit a Royal Flush playing video poker and quickly win $1,000 or $4,000?

If this is a problem for you try e-mailing the sportsbook and ask them to block you from their casino. Believe me, they understand, and I have heard of quite a few of them that will actually do it.

There isn’t any one key to becoming a winning sports bettor, but those who practice money management, put in some time, and practice discipline, are generally a step above the majority of bettors.

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!”

In most football tournaments – even knockout ones like the FA Cup – there comes a point in time where, as punters, we’re challenged to add incentive into the mix and come out with the right conclusion.

When it comes to the Champions League, the arrival of this point varies across groups and the teams within them. How motivated will Athletic Bilbao be to scrap for a Europa League spot? How much will PSG sacrifice to beat Barcelona to top spot? And, perhaps most importantly of all on Tuesday night, will Bayern Munich let Manchester City off the hook?

Manuel Pellegrini’s side could do with the help but the Chilean isn’t expecting any.

“No, Bayern never take it easy,” he said after his side had come from behind to beat Swansea in the Premier League. “Big teams never take one game easier. We are going to see a very good Bayern on Tuesday.”

Casting aside the myth that big teams never take it easy, I think Pellegrini is absolutely right otherwise.

Bayern, already guaranteed top spot in Group E having won their four games by an aggregate of 11 goals to one, could be excused for easing off. But while City have been awful in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola will surely not pass up such a fantastic opportunity to strike a knockout blow considering the stature of the opposition.

Don’t forget, after Tuesday night Bayern are just six games away from their Christmas break, a period in which City will play no fewer than six more Premier League games. If either side has cause to ease off, you might even believe it could be the hosts – do they really want to fall into the Europa League?

Of course, I don’t really expect City to toss this one aside – while the prospect of Champions League knockout football remains, nothing but absolute commitment will do. But nor do I expect their visitors to be anything but fully tuned up and that’s why I think Bayern are a fantastic bet at odds against.

Truth be told, City haven’t impressed me at any point this season. Laboured against 10-man United, let off the hook at Arsenal and met with no resistance by Liverpool, they just don’t look at the races and it’s a sign of their league’s weakness and not their own exploits that I’d still be shocked were they to finish anywhere other than second to Chelsea come May.

At this level, though, they’re on the way out and may well be put out of their misery on Tuesday. City face a Bayern side who’ve won 15 and drawn three of their last 18 games, who’ve scored eight goals via six players in their last two in the Bundesliga and who ran in seven at Roma earlier on in this competition.

Of course, we have also to note that these sides have met five times over the last three years and it’s only 3-2 to Bayern in terms of match wins. However, that alone suggests odds-against is more than fair and I’m of the belief that never have they met a less cohesive City unit.

That lack of cohesion will not be helped by the absence of Yaya Toure, David Silva and Fernandinho and while Sergio Aguero alone is capable of winning any game of football, I see Bayern dominating possession from the start and overpowering opponents who are still short on confidence.

Munich have a wealth of options including Bastian Schweinsteiger, who marked his return to the side with an assist on Saturday and, returning to the original point, I feel that 6/5 is a price which suggests they won’t be as concerned with the result as City are. I disagree.

Elsewhere on the coupon, bookmakers will be looking for a turn-up but it’s hard to see from where it might come.

PSG have really found the skill of turning tight games into three points and should be a goal or more too good for Ajax, while their pursuers Barcelona should also win in Cyprus. In both instances, the underdogs could be worthy of support on the handicaps but both Barca and PSG have the firepower to make such wagers appear very foolish, very quickly.

If there is a team to swerve at short odds it might be Sporting Lisbon, who look too short to beat Maribor at around the 1/3 mark.

Maribor’s 6-0 thumping at Chelsea would suggest otherwise but that appears the exception as they’ve generally acquitted themselves well, and it can only be a significant boost to their confidence that they held the same side to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture just a fortnight later.

As for Chelsea, they will confirm top spot if they win in Schalke and while a draw would leave them as long odds-on favourites to do so ultimately, Jose Mourinho will surely be keen to get things wrapped up as soon as possible.

His side didn’t have to work hard to beat 10-man West Brom at the weekend so there’s no issue there and it may be telling that they don’t face City, Arsenal, United or Liverpool until the very end of January – worrying for those who want the Premier League title race to be anything but a procession come the spring.

For Schalke is another chance for Roberto Di Matteo to get one over his old club but he doesn’t look to have the tools to do so. That said, a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge coupled with the fact his side have an unbeaten home record to defend does offer some hope of an upset.

I like this Chelsea side, particularly when the end-goal is clear, and expect them to win, but the best bet looks to be both teams to score at 4/5.

Schalke have found the net in every home game, including when holding Bayern to a 1-1 draw earlier in the season, and even without the injured Julian Draxler they have enough about them to contribute to an entertaining game having scored three inside the opening 25 minutes against Wolfsburg on Saturday.

Both teams have scored in eight of Chelsea’s nine away games – that includes trips to the likes of Shrewsbury and Maribor – so rather than rely on the visitors, at the same price it may pay to bank on action at both ends.

The FlamingTorch Snooker System is designed to make you money by betting on BOTH snooker players in any given frame of televised snooker. The system recommends using Betfair to place bets ‘in-frame’ (during each frame) and this system claims to take advantage of the huge swings in odds offered, only really found in the game of Snooker.

THE SYSTEM

This snooker system surprised me. When I heard you can bet on both players and GUARANTEE a win no matter who wins, I was very interested but didn’t think it was possible. Not being a huge snooker fan myself, I wasn’t sure if this would be for me, but due to the potential profits I thought I just must give it a go.

Using this system you bet on both players at different times throughout each frame. This is the key to guarantee a win. Any other method cannot guarantee a win. The video included in this download teaches you when, where and how to place these bets. You do not need to know much about snooker to use this system, you just need to be able to place bets online, during each frame as it’s played out live. You can watch the games live on TV or on the betting websites usually. You DO need to watch the games live because the odds will change throughout the frames, and this is when you need to place your bets.

One minor drawback to using this system, is that you can only use it a few times a year. You need to bet on Snooker Tournaments such as the World Championship, the UK Championship, The UK Masters, The Welsh Open, The China Open and more. Still, there are enough events to make it viable system, and the profits you can achieve can be HUGE using this system. In terms of losses, they’re not much to report because using this system my losses were small and winnings were quite substantial as i’ll explain below.

The video was very easy to understand and well made, nice to see real live action footage and real bets being placed during real snooker events in the video.

RESULTS

Starting with a bankroll of £250, betting throughout the UK Championship 2009 (December 2009), I finished up with £940 in my bank. This Snooker system works extremely well, so much so that I will be using it whenever Snooker is being played live from now on. A profit of nearly £700 over 7 days (i used the system for 7 days throughout the tournament) is incredible considering most bets I was placing were for around £25 – £50 each time. If you’re into Snooker, or even if you’re not – this is one sports betting system I would highly recommend.
I used Betfair while using this system, and I found that to be a winning combination.

The Martingale Betting System was developed in 18th century France. It was actually part of a group of betting methods that were classified as “martingale.” Today, Martingale refers to a relatively simple sports betting system that dictates when you win a wager, you bet the same amount on the next wager, but when you lose a bet, you double your next wager.

Some sports gamblers swear by this methodology while sharp sports bettors that understand the math feel that it’s an example of poor money management practices. The fact that this system is still practiced and marketed today says more about the state of a losing gambler’s mind and less about the success or failure of the system. Here’s how it works.

First, it’s important to know that the system is designed for even wagers, which are thought to hit about 50% of the time. A bettor with a bankroll of $500 puts $50 on an early afternoon football game. The bet is lost. Under the Martingale System, the gambler now places $100 on the late afternoon game. If the bet is won, the theory is that the gambler makes back the original loss, plus a $50 profit. Once the bet is won, the bettor goes back to wagering $50 per game until they lose again.

The problem with this system is that it can put a bettor’s bankroll in jeopardy quickly. What if in our example the late afternoon wager is lost too. Now the bettor has to put $200 on the Sunday night contest. If that game is a washout, the gambler’s bankroll has gone from $500 to $150. And with that, the true problem with Martingale comes into focus. There’s only $150 left in the bank, but under Martingale the wager is supposed to be $400. Martingale has all but bankrupt the gambler’s bankroll.

Of course, it’s not as big a dilemma if the original wager was $20, which is a wiser wager if you’ve got a $500 bankroll. Still, even at 20 bucks per pop, using this system the gambler is down $80 after three loses and is due to wager $160 on the Monday night game. If they lose that bet, their bank is down to $260. According to Martingale, the next bet should be $320 and, once again as in the previous example, the money is not there.

What most amateur sports bettors dont understand is how odds work from a mathematical perspective. Did you know that a 50% handicapper will lose 5 games in a row 3% of the time? Eventually the math will catch with the Martingale system and the player will be broke.

Martingale is seen as being a regressive form of wagering where bettors play conservatively when they are on a roll and go for the sky when they are in a tailspin. It’s based on the belief that a string of loses on even odds wagers means that eventually there will be a win to correct the deviation. But this idea that wins and loses even out, which is known as the Gambler’s Fallacy, is illogical for one primary reason—it supposes that our four bets are interrelated, and they are not. Whether one wins or loses the first wager will have no influence on the second and the outcome of the second in no way has any influence on the third outcome. If there is no correlation in the bets the order of wins and losses is controlled by variance, something that no gambler has control over.

The application of any system in sports betting tends to be tenuous. Why? Success in gambling on sporting events is based on solid sports handicapping analysis, expert information and insider insights. A gambler’s ability to utilize all of the information available to them to make the right pick will determine an individual’s rate of success or failure and not some theory regarding odds correction based on probability. If you do practice the Martingale Betting System do so with care.