There is a vast difference between what a rookie poker player makes and what a WSOP main event champion makes. Unlike poker, though, sports betting is a scene where numbers are underreported. Now, we all know that bookmakers take the cake when it comes to making money. The average casual bettor never makes much. In fact, it is common for them to lose more money than they earn over sports betting. But even though the exact figures cannot be backed with hard data, a pro sports bettor makes a whole deal more than you would think. And it all comes down to their habits. The pro bettors turn betting into a craft and get it down to a T. So here are some of the major habitual differences that distinguish a pro bettor from an amateur.
Bettor Dealing with losses
Simply put, amateurs bettors chase their losses, but the pros know better. If you lose out a notable amount of money in a loss, you no longer have any control over it. The match has ended, the betting window has closed, the money is off the hook. But rookies in the betting game, naive as they are, switch to damage control mode. They try to top off their budget to what they started with. And this leads them to lapses of judgement that would not otherwise happen. They make risky plays with little calculation. If you allow the weight of the loss to carry over into your future decision making, you potentially sabotage your next bet.
Pros know how to be dispassionate when betting
The average bettor likely bets for fun. It is perfectly alright to bet as a form of entertainment when watching a game – you are just a good sport. But business should not mingle with pleasure. Certainly, pros and amateurs alike tend to be aficionados at the game they are betting on. Likewise, they might have personal loyalties towards their home teams. But just because you like a team does not mean you should make wagers that favours their odds of winning. Sports betting is not an occasion of fealty or playing favourites. It is simply the cold calculation of objective factors.
Knowing when to use parlay bets
Most online sportsbooks today have the option to opt into a parlay bet. A parlay bet lets you wager on multiple factors of your choosing. Most sportsbooks even let you wager on different types of sport on the same parlay bet slip. The attractive thing about parlay bets is usually their significantly higher payout rate, But pros know to steer clear of them.
Sure enough, those big cash prize numbers look good by the book. However, bankrolling yourself based on parlays is not a sustainable choice. If you want to get rich in sports betting, you must look at a long-term strategy. Parlay bet payouts are the opposite of that. They are only retrievable when you satisfy all the individual wager conditions. So if you want to be a pro punter, you need low variance, small but safer wagers – not get rich quick schemes.
Amateur punters follow the crowd
There is a reason that bookmakers are swimming in money. From time to time, it is important to remind oneself that sportsbooks are businesses. Every time you do not win a wager, they make their money. So it is in their interest to make sure that the general public loses more than they win. Pros know the ins and outs of this. Thus they ‘fade the public,’ i.e., bet against the public every chance they get.
Amateurs bettor flock to money-line favourites
Echoing the previous point, sportsbooks want to make their own money. So designated ‘favourite’ money lines are an easy way to lure the unwary into low-value plays. Pros know not to go by the trappings of crowd favourites. Instead, they rely on calculating implied probabilities.
The last but not the least
Pros treat betting like an actual business. That said, it need not be something elaborate or complex. But a huge part of improvement is tracking your progress. Keeping simple log books also allows seasoned punters to do better bankroll management. So not only can they redouble their efforts by pinpointing what they are doing wrong, they are much less likely to run into bankruptcy.
If you have just started out on sports betting, you will hopefully know the do’s and don’ts of it by now and progress exponentially. Practice always makes you perfect. On the other hand, if you have been betting for a while but have one of these detrimental habits – you now know what you are doing wrong. So cut your losses, and begin anew. With consistent strategy and good general practices, anyone can be a flourishing punter.
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