How to Win More In Sports Betting

Understand why one wins and others lose. Know why losing bettors lose and avoid doing those things.

Before digging deeper into the process of losing, it’s important to distinguish two kinds of losing bettors: those who should be losing (a should-be loser) and those who shouldn’t be losing (a would-be winner).

Yes, some – actually most – bettors deserve to lose. Not because they were born unlucky or the world is turned against them, but because they either don’t have or aren’t using the skills needed to win. For a non-sports betting related example, take a poker player. A pokervplayer who doesn’t know basic strategy deserves to lose: he’s playing a sub-optimal strategy in a game in which he has a negative edge under optimal conditions. The sports betting equivalent of this is betting without a clear understanding of your edge or any well-defined process for executing.

Without a doubt, the #1 reason most bettors lose is because they’re not trying to win. Try not to deny this observation. They want to win, but they’re not really trying to win. They bet for fun. They bet on their favorite team. They bet on the game that’s on TV. They bet because they have a good feeling. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with betting for these reasons. But anyone who does bet this way simply isn’t trying to win. So they shouldn’t be surprised when they lose. Or they simply guess. 

The same psychological bias that makes us remember wins and forget losses also causes us to be delusional about the reasons for our wins and losses. We tend to attribute winning streaks to skill and losing streaks to luck. When we lose, we can explain how things didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to: the starting pitcher got injured, the coach should have gone for it on 4th down, we got unlucky on a buzzer beater, etc. These are all excuses to justify why certain losses don’t really “count”. Trust me, they count. It all counts.

Our approach is only as sound as our commitment to execute it, through good times and bad. Finding a solid strategy is an important step. Having the discipline to execute the strategy is another challenge altogether. A technically sound approach that we can’t commit to (for psychological, financial or other reasons) isn’t a sound approach overall. The would-be winning poker player grinds an edge for 8 hours only to throw it all away with undisciplined play in his last couple hours. The would-be winning sports bettor does the same thing when he spends weeks methodically picking his spots, betting within reasonable bankroll limitations, but grows frustrated after a break-even or losing month and tries to get it all back with a few big bets.

Every bettor can win, but very few do. In addition to all the reasons given, the nail in the coffin is not playing to our strengths. Suppose you’re a diehard Los Angeles Rams fan. You’re obsessed with the team. You listen to LA sports radio 6 hours a day, you’ve read every article ever written about them; you sit center 50 yard line at every game. Your best friend works in the locker room. Chances are that you know more about the Rams than just about every other bettor and bookmaker out there. This is how serious sports gamblers win. They don’t guess. 

There are bettors who should be winning but aren’t. They would be winners if not for some critical mistakes. The equivalent in poker is a player who has mastered basic strategy and is an expert card counter, but still loses money because of mistakes that offset their advantage. They may play perfectly for 6 straight hours grinding their +10% advantage, but grow frustrated and fatigued during losing sessions. Frustrating in sports betting is REAL. Don’t let the entertainment of having a football 

game on TV, be an excuse to place a bet. 

Winning streaks ultimately come to an end for a short period. It’s what on does in between those two events is critical. Instead of quitting, they continue or increase their bet unit by 5 times and play at a huge 

disadvantage for the remaining couple hours in their session. Or a

College football bettor foolishly bet the Saturday night Hawaii game. They might bet the Sunday night NFL game to have something to watch. Just like that, they’ve turned a solid money management advantage into an overall disadvantage. This happens to would-be winning sports bettors regularly. 

Once you know how to lose, you also know how NOT to lose. And NOT losing is a pre-requisite to winning. So while “not losing” isn’t the ultimate goal, it’s an important milestone because every subsequent improvement you make puts you over the top. Additionally, we tend to remember our wins a bit better than our losses. This gives us an inflated opinion of our performance, which in turn leads us to incorrectly believe that we’re either already winning or we’re “on the cusp”. Because we wrongly think our process is working, we’re likely to keep doing it, and we continue the cycle of losing and lying to ourselves about it. Or while winning, one doesn’t take the time to study and research. If you expect to win, you should be able to explain why you’re a winner. If you don’t know why you should be winning, then how can you expect to win? Having a reason for why you expect to win is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for winning. Winning doesn’t happen by accident. If you don’t know why you should be winning, then how can you expect to win?

Even though this article is somewhat about losing, it’s not just for losers. Even if we’re already winners, we can improve our results with a simple formula. All professional do this. 

The more you know about the teams, players, and competitions you're betting on, the better informed your decisions will be. Keep up with the latest news and statistics, and be sure to consider factors like injuries, suspensions, and form when making your bets.

It's important to have a clear understanding of your goals and what you hope to achieve through sports betting. Setting realistic goals can help you stay focused and avoid chasing losses or taking unnecessary risks.

Proper bankroll management is essential for long-term success in soccer betting. This means setting aside a certain amount of money specifically for betting, and only risking a small percentage of that bankroll on each bet. Every professional sports handicapper has a strong unbending and unbiased money system that’s personally crafted for themselves. This can help you minimize losses and maximize profits over time.

Different sportsbooks may offer different odds for the same event, so it's important to shop around and find the best value for your bets. This can involve comparing odds across multiple sportsbooks, or using a sports betting brokerage service like this site to access odds from multiple sportsbooks through a single account.

Developing a betting strategy can help you make more informed and consistent decisions. This can involve identifying specific types of bets that you're particularly good at or focusing on certain markets or competitions. It's also important to stick to your strategy and avoid making impulsive or emotional bets.

No one is perfect, and even the most successful soccer bettors make mistakes from time to time. The key is to learn from your mistakes and adjust your approach accordingly. This can involve analyzing your betting history, identifying patterns or trends, and seeking advice or feedback from other bettors or experts.

Football betting should always be done responsibly, with a focus on fun and entertainment in addition to a way to make money. This means setting limits on your betting activities, avoiding chasing losses or gambling when you're upset or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and seeking help if you feel that your gambling is becoming problematic. This might be the time to have a professional sports betting expert pinch hit for you. 

If you start out on a nice winning streak, it might even be easy for a month or two. But the minute you start losing, the harder it becomes. 

And the thing is: everyone has losing streaks. Even the biggest winners.