Sports betting is that one thing where there’s no guarantee. Even if you’re close to winning, anything that can happen will happen. Ultimately, sports betting is a game of chance and predictions where your analytical skills are tested to wager on possible outcomes.
As such, most bettors know that behind every win is a mountain of losses. Hence, they strive to be the best and learn different strategies for profit. That said, sports betting has a steep learning curve, and beginners may tend to fall on these mistakes. In this article, we will count down several rookie mistakes and what you should do instead.
Having Unrealistic Expectations
Rookie bettors often have unrealistic expectations when it comes to sports betting. They might think they can triple their budget by winning a few games or hitting a grand parlay. Beautiful as it might seem, but it’s just not realistic.
At some point, there’s always a loss every time you play, and the more you do sports betting, the more you realize that you can’t hit a substantial profit all the time nor hit that one-time jackpot win on a big wager.
In reality, the sports betting values in the NFL or NCAAB betting odds have different reward values that fluctuate every time. What you should do instead is to focus on amassing wins by making the right choices other than the value. And just to break even with your losses on the first night, you should be able to win at least more than half of your wager attempts.
Overall, expect that sports betting is made for the long game. If you’re looking for quick cash grabs, this is not the right platform.
Overreacting to Performances
This is extremely common to novice bettors and others unfamiliar with the teams they’re betting on. A team that has consecutively won over the past few weeks would more likely get supporters and be wagered in favor of them. At the same time, teams who have sunk low due to repeated losses are generally avoided regardless of their potential to come back.
Because of this, the winning teams are generally regarded as the public favorite and often overvalued by the bookies. That said, try to check if the underdogs still hold some potential to turn things around.
Changing Wager Amounts
Financial management may be one of the most critical aspects of sports betting. That is why the worst thing you can do is to change strategies based on how your bets are performing. To be specific, bettors on a winning spree may tend to risk more and become overconfident. Meanwhile, losing bettors tend to chase bets and try to fill their losses quickly.
Instead, we encourage every player to stick to their strategies unless they have solid and well-thought-out reasoning to change wager values throughout the session.
Playing Under Gambler’s Fallacy
Gambler’s fallacy is not just an issue for beginners. This thinking also exists between professionals. Simply put, the gambler’s fallacy is the general belief that if something happens repeatedly over time, it is less likely to happen again.
For example, say that you’ve flipped your coin, which lands on tails thrice. Gambler’s fallacy is when you take that and bet on heads instead of tails over the assumption that it will less likely land on tails again on the fourth flip.
As such, this fallacy presents a significant flaw. The result of the past flip does not affect the next turn, so regardless of how often the coin would land on tails, it won’t affect the next toss. Just like in sports, winning consecutively in a week does not mean they would lose the next.
Buying Into Suspecting Platforms
As with businesses, scammers and unregulated platforms are extremely dangerous. Because there are unregulated parts in sports betting, anyone could make a company and sell betting lines with promises of guaranteed wins. All to lure in impressionable bettors to line up with their picks.
These exist at any sports event; spotting one is easy if you understand the signs. For starters, any sports betting platform or bookie promoting an extravagant lifestyle, cars, or models to advertise their services is a major red flag. Aside from that, any “too good to be true” offer or promises to guarantee it would be best if you avoid them.
Over time, you’d begin to spot these scams pretty quickly and be able to stick to transparent and legal ones. So before investing in a service or platform, ensure they have accessible license information and are recognized as a legal business entity by government bodies.
Final Thoughts
The world of sports betting is a harsh industry in which to partake. With money at stake, every decision requires an intense thought process and responsible money management. Learning through these steps takes time, and we often fall into these sports betting mistakes.
Regardless, as long as you remember what you must avoid while playing, the experience will tell you what is right and what path you should take for a successful sports betting career.