Betting football is both fun and challenging and unfortunately, amateurs just make one too many mistakes that lead to their demise. We identify five of the most common and damning mistakes amateurs make and how to fix or avoid them.
Not Shopping For The Best Lines
Why It’s A Problem: You can’t succeed at anything if you don’t equip yourself with the right tools. In sports betting, many amateurs jump on the first betting lines they see. That’s a mistake.
Not all sportsbooks offer the same lines. While the vast majority will adjust to be similar, some books will offer slight variations to the matches. And when it comes to betting on football, even a half-point discrepancy goes a long way.
How To Fix It: Research the best online sportsbooks before making deposits. Find ones that offer the most betting markets and have something unique.
Don’t forget that you can sign up for more than one book. You may even get a deposit bonus like BetUS’s promo code. Instead of depositing all your cash into one book, divide them up in multiple books and avail of the deposit bonuses.
Not Having a Budget
Why It’s A Problem: Plenty of amateur bettors fail not because they are bad at predicting outcomes, but because they are terrible at managing their money.
Not having a budget can make you prone to betting too much and too frequently. It is a one-way ticket to spending past your bankroll and falling into a hole you won’t recover from.
How To Fix It: Only bet a percentage of your bankroll. Many pros use a unit system, which can account for 1%, 2% or 5% of your bankroll or whatever percent you want to go with.
If you have £3,000 in your bank roll, a percent of that is £30. Bet on matches using percentages of your bank roll at your discretion. This is a lot better than betting whimsical amounts.
Betting on Too Many Matches
Why It’s A Problem: Imagine a scenario where an overeager lad goes to a candy store and stuffs himself with chocolate bars and popcorn and washes it all down with an extra large fizzy drink. Then after a few hours they have a tummy ache.
Some wise chap named Aristotle once said, “everything in moderation.” And that doubly applies to betting as betting on too many matches can lead to too many losses and bad decisions.
How To Fix It: Bet bigger on fewer matches. Minimizing the matches you bet on will allow you to focus more on a few matches rather than stretching yourself thin.
Only bet on matches or markets you have a good read on. Determine your bet size based on your confidence level and the value of the bet. Stick to this routine and stay on course and don’t fall into the big trap we’ll discuss next.
Chasing Losses
Why It’s A Problem: Chasing losses means a gambler bets again to “make up” for the bets they lose. This is a terrible idea because this practice is fueled by emotion, and a negative one at that.
The best professionals stick to using logic and intuition, not emotion and all of them advise to never chase losses. Chasing losses can lead to a dark descent to problem gambling.
How To Fix It: Go back to number two on this list and emphasize on your budget. Understand that chasing a loss could lead to more losses and you blowing through your entire bankroll.
Be familiar with the sentiment to “live and bet for another day.” There are plenty of other sports to bet on in the future. Learn from your losses and get ready for the next ones.
Betting Under the Influence
Why It’s A Problem: It’s been proven over and over that being under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs is a detriment to most activities and that includes betting.
Being buzzed can make you overestimate your betting abilities while numbing your decision-making skills. You will make bad bets and regret them the next day.
How To Fix It: The best way to kick a bad habit is to remove yourself from the place where this bad habit occurs. Refrain from going to pubs or betting lounges and lay off the bottle if you’re at home.
If you’re attending a get-together, kindly turn down drinks. This may also be an opportunity to cut back on your drinking habits. If you really must drink, put your phone away. Enjoy the company you’re with. Don’t drive. And don’t bet.
