Betting is a game of skill and luck. The more you know about the game, the better your chances are of winning. But even if you don’t know all there is to see, it’s possible to win money betting on sports. New players make many mistakes when they bet real money for the first time, so here are some of them to help steer clear of common pitfalls.
- Betting on small favorites:
If you bet on a sports team and it wins straight up, then your wager is either returning cash or giving you more money than you started with. Thus, the only time that betting on the favorite makes sense is when they’re producing at least 2/1 (and preferably better than 3/1). Instead, you can choose from various games to bet on from betsuper, which gives you the best of all the betting games available.
- To bet on a sports team just because it’s the “home team”:
When betting on sports, you need to get more out of your wager than simply rooting for the home team. It is especially true in basketball, where teams play each other twice a season and are equally aggressive and physical. So if you want to bet on the home team only, make sure they’re at least returning 1/1 odds or better before making this mistake.
- Betting on an underdog because it’s the “road team”:
The opposite situation takes place here – don’t bother betting on an under .500 road underdog unless they’re giving ridiculous odds (i.e., +50000 or there’s some injury situation that warrants an underdog bet). Otherwise, it’s just not worth the hassle.
- Winning on easy bets but failing to cash out:
It happens every day – new sports bettors are taking money off the bookies before they know it. However, this is a big mistake because you’re missing out on compound interest if you don’t have your money invested elsewhere or saved up in a savings account where it can work for you.
- Failing to balance between your wagers and your bankroll:
Once upon a time, there was this guy who had $2000 of disposable income, so he decided to make ten bets of $200 each – with his mind made up that he would win at least seven or eight wagers. Well, he lost five out of his ten bets and now has only $500 to bet. But this is where the problem lies – let’s say he wins two or three wagers which brings him back to even. It’s too bad that because winning makes people overconfident, taking profits off the table becomes a lot more difficult for them leading to more significant losses down the road.
- Not understanding what it takes to win:
This is another mistake that trips up new sports bettors, particularly those who are not educated in finance or investing at all – they fail to understand that there are specific criteria you have to meet before you can call yourself an actual “investor” as opposed to just being a gambler. The point here is that if you are determined to make betting a part of your investment arsenal, you have to realize that the only thing that matters is profitability in the long run. Makes sense, right?
- Not waiting for value:
When it comes down to it, sports betting is all about finding value and avoiding bad odds where they exist. It can be highly problematic for new players starting with very little capital because taking big bets trying to hit big payouts can lead them into serious trouble. Particularly dangerous are parlay bets, where low payout wagers are combined to create one huge payoff. If at any point during the chance there’s an unexpected loss, this means all their money is gone – no matter how many of the previous wagers were winners. So it’s essential to build capital slowly on bets until you can access better odds on more desirable matchups.
- Not using a bankroll management plan:
If you’re playing with real money on anything other than small side bets, you need to make sure you have some bankroll management plan in place that will keep your budget under control (see #7). Using all your money on one bet or not setting aside any funds for future bets only makes sense if you’re playing poker online – which is classified as gambling, not betting.
- Betting against yourself:
This is where new players get into trouble and lose a lot of their hard-earned cash because it’s easy to do. For example, let’s say you’re currently in a dry spell but don’t have any data on your last four matchups – maybe because you bet primarily on National Football League games. You know you should take Team A against Team B, but your head tells you Team B will probably win. Don’t go with what your gut tells you! That’s not objective or logical; it’s just betting against yourself because of emotions and optimism for the team whose chances are worse.
- Not understanding live betting odds:
After placing all kinds of sports bets online, many players quickly become familiarized with the various types of wager categories available. However, once they get past money lines, point spreads, and totals, one major obstacle that most players have to overcome is understanding live odds.
Conclusion:
keep all these mistakes in mind when placing your bet the next time. Make sure you do not commit the same common mistakes as the other beginners in the room.
