We would like to give some personal advice to sports bettors, a total of ten, which we symbolically named the Ten Commandments! Here are some suggestions from our editorial team.
1. Only bet on well-known sports and teams!
I have experienced, especially in live betting, that I got caught up in sports like volleyball. Four sets had already been played, and there were quite a lot of points scored in each, well over 45. The total points for the fifth set could be predicted, and the bookmaker offered a noticeably good odds that there would be more than 35 points in total in the fifth set.
I rubbed my hands together and put all the available capital on the over. The smile vanished from my lips when the scoreboard suddenly showed 15-13, and they announced that the match was over. I was astonished, but unfortunately had to accept that in volleyball, a match in the fifth set can end even with just 15 points. I didn't know the rules of the sport well enough, which caused my loss.
Another time, I steadily climbed up, putting everything on each match, until one day I became so confident that while browsing the betting options, my eyes caught a 1.5 odds. Unpronounceable named clubs clashed in a football league I did not follow. I thought it wasn't a problem that I didn't know them, a 1.5 odds is a guarantee for success. However, as it turned out, it would have been worth inquiring about their current form or league position. The home team lost easily, and the theoretical 1.5 odds resulted in a practical 0.0 outcome. I also had some unpleasant moments with cup matches and youth encounters.
It is ideal to follow a league from the beginning of a season and start betting around the tenth round, as until then you need to get acquainted with the current form and prospects of the teams.
2. Never bet if you have doubts!
We are all familiar with the feeling when something inside us whispers that we shouldn't. Turn back on the way to the betting shop, or don't press the Place Bet button. These feelings roughly predict the bad outcome in ninety percent of cases. Many times I did not listen to these gut feelings. I could say that almost all of my losses in this era are due to my actions against these inner feelings. It is difficult to resist because that is what makes the gambling industry so profitable for the organizers.
Human fallibility and greed can suppress good instincts. In such situations, it is very difficult to think rationally. Hope simply mesmerizes a person, that by betting on this or that, there is a possibility of winning (unfortunately also losing).
At that moment, the brain becomes numb, suppressing the inhibitory, and forcibly suppressing the beneficial thoughts that could lead to a bet, while favoring harmful thoughts that promote betting but are harmful in reality. In such cases, our brain tries to take control of the situation with transparent methods for an external observer, promising false reassurance, leading with false hopes until we start to believe it. Then comes the realization, and the higher we climb on this fake ladder, the harder we fall.
3. Do not make predictions backwards!
It may happen that quickly glancing at the betting options, our eyes catch an event because we seem to have encountered the name of the team somewhere, or we remember that they were quite good in a tournament or competition last year or in the past. Because of this kinship feeling, the team becomes sympathetic to us, and we may feel that they will easily win their match.
Many times I made this mistake, and then, of course, after betting on their victory, I look at the statistics. Usually, I realize that the team is not as strong nowadays, and rather in a bad form. It would have been better if I had not even looked at the statistics, but blindly trusted in their victory, as that would have helped me more.
There is an intermediate state in such cases, while I am hopeful and try to convince myself that yes, it will come true. Or like, "they are quite weak nowadays, but maybe they will rise to the occasion for my sake." Eventually, I realize that there is no chance. However, if I do not look at the statistics, just trust and hope, it is possible that telepathically I actually increase the likelihood of their victory much more than if I convince myself that they are not playing well recently.
The title of the commandment could also be, do not skip the preliminary analysis, but success does not depend solely on that, so this formulation would be incomplete. Think first, then bet, meaning, slow and steady wins the race.
4. If it's too certain, it never happens!
There are events that are so obvious to me that they only go wrong for that reason. There are such small odds that it is simply not worth betting on them, because risking 50 Euros for a possible win of 2-3 Euros is not worth it. In fact, I associate a 1.05 odds with a money pit.
Not out of disrespect for the team that is more likely to win, but it is not advisable to bet on such outcomes. The risk is greater than the possible profit. There is always a risk, but it is better if the risk remains in lower compared to the profit, more precisely, that is our goal.
5. Don't try to eliminate the risk, as you can only lose!
Do not try to eliminate risks by placing many bets. It is like when we play with combinations in roulette to minimize the possibility of defeat through them. Unfortunately, after a while, we see complex combinations that we think are reasonable to bet on, but which are not even capable of bringing back the invested stake. If it is oversecured it will not yield profit.
In finance diversification is a well-known strategy to spread our risk in different directions. Mathematically, it is a very smart and forward-thinking idea, but unfortunately, multiple bets mean multiple risks. Obviously, it would not be good to lose everything due to a bad bet.
We share the risk, thus we have a greater chance of not going bust. However, there is a chance that, for example, out of three different stakes (which means playing three different events separately), one or more will lose. So we will only be richer with a part of the total winnings, if we did not incur a smaller loss through it.
In the case of a single match, the risk is higher if we group all our capital there and do not divide it at all because we can lose everything with a possible defeat. However, if we win, we do not have to worry about other events, we can relax and enjoy the success.
6. Do not take this game too seriously!
Countless times I have made the mistake of putting my business plan on paper, how I will achieve a constant income of one thousand in a hundred or three hundred days through sports betting. I created super excel spreadsheets, meticulously, precisely kept track of when, how much money I would bet on which match, and then I wondered why my goal was not being achieved. The matches started, and exactly the opposite of what would have been good for me happened. Sometimes it's not a good idea to write down everything because it makes our bets tense.
We overly focus on each match, and that is not fortunate. Such statements come up as "the whole universe is conspiring against me" or "even the laws of nature are overridden when I bet on someone".
It would be an exaggeration to say, "don't write down anything". We should not keep everything in mind, it would be impossible. Because if someone prepares to bet strategically, the essence is to stick to the same system in the long run. However, after a while, it will be essential to write down a few things on paper. However, I would caution against recording every step for aspiring winners.
7. Never lose sight of the importance of humility!
I could have also written that never count your chickens before they hatch. Until a match is over, we should not make such a statement even internally that this match is already done, or this is already checked off. If there is still some time left in a match, let's be patient and trust that the possibly favorable result will last until the end.
However, never let yourself go, that is, never lean back comfortably half an hour before the end of the match, thinking that it is already in the bag. Anything can happen, and if I become complacent, there is an even greater chance of an unexpected outcome. Humility is very important. Wait patiently for the end of every match, don't become overconfident.
8. Do not have too many events on the betting slip!
Even if every odds is 1.10 on a slip with ten events, at least one is guaranteed to go wrong among them, and that already makes the value of the slip zero. Five events are on the borderline. Three is ideal if we want to bet on more than just one match, meaning if we definitely want to put more on one slip.
Not only does the potential winnings increase in direct proportion to the number of events bet, but unfortunately, so does the risk, so we need to consider and strive to find the golden mean.
9. Do not include the same bet on multiple slips!
This rule has more of a superstitious origin, but it is worth thinking about. It is not a good omen if the same outcome for the same event appears on every slip. It may happen that it is the first match, and we lose right away. It is not a good feeling.
10. Do you want profit or tempt your luck?
Sports betting is exciting because there is risk involved. Essentially, in this profession, risk equals money. We are not making sculptures, we are not peddling vacuum cleaners. The revenue potential increases proportionally with the risk. However, surely many of us have planned for the long term, started a strategy. The first bets were won, everything was fine and dandy. Then the next bet was a loss.
This completely disrupts our comfortable mood and self-confidence, agitates our nerves. It urges us to quickly recover the setback, place another bet that does not fit our system. This is when we discard our conscious sports bettor role and revert to being a gambler. I think everyone is familiar with the situation. Wins were continuous for three days, as planned, I am moving forward in my strategy. Everything seems to be going perfectly, I think I have found the strategy of my life. Then suddenly the next match is lost.
I panic, something quick is needed, live betting, a sure match, anything. No matter what sport, no matter what team, this is usually when even the most likely outcome goes terribly wrong. Then an unimaginable nosedive begins. We may realize that we were prepared for everything, built everything up, calculated every step. One thing we were not prepared for: a failure to be interposed in a good streak.
We are not prepared for this to really throw us off from the good streak we had comfortably settled into. It requires immense self-control even when we expected the experience of defeat and planned how to handle it. Unfortunately, in reality, everything is harder, and we can cause immeasurable damage to ourselves if we cannot take control and rise above the reactions dictated by the momentary situation.
In other words, we should never give up the professional mentality, never revert to being a gambler if we have already decided to step out of that role.
