Do you make these 8 Sports Betting Mistakes?
Do you make these 8 sports betting mistakes?
Infographic by Documented Handicappers
There is a lot of information to consume before making a wager on sports and every sports bettor will make mistakes. Whether you’re a novice sports bettor or a sharp we have compiled a list of 9 common sports betting mistakes to avoid.
1. Not Researching Before Placing a Wager
The cornerstone to every successful sports betting operation is research. Casual bettors may find research to be tedious or liken picking games to flipping a coin. Quite the contrary. You need to know how to use the research to make educated sports betting picks. Make sure you understand how much information you need. Learn the best ways to acquire it, then use the research to build statistical models and systems that help you gain an edge.
2. Using Only One Sportsbook for Odds
If you’re using only one sportsbook for your odds you are making a costly mistake. When you shop point spreads, you can often find an extra point or half point in spread games or an extra $10 or $20 on a money line wager. Extra points on spread games can and will win you games over the course of a year that you’d otherwise lose. They’ll also turn a few losses into ties over the course of a season.
If you can find 10 money line games over the course of a year offering $10 more than normal it adds $100 to your bottom line. Find 10 opportunities to add $100 to your bottom line, and you’ve found an extra $1,000.
Being a winning sports bettor is about finding (and exploiting) every advantage possible. Don’t ever miss out on additional profit because you didn’t shop for the best point spreads. If you’re serious about investing in sports then you will learn to understand the value in shopping your lines and how it can make or break your investment. If you are looking for more online options, here is a list of the top 5 sportsbooks.
3. Betting on ALL Sports
Some winning sports bettors are able to bet on more than one sport and profit. However, most of the top sports handicappers or bettors tend to familiarize themselves with one sports before adding more. Beginning sports bettors need to focus on a single sport, period.
The percentage of long term winning sports bettors in comparison to people who place a bet every year is miniscule. Put the odds in your favor by focusing only on one sport you enjoy and focus all of your energy into only this sport.
Placing bets on sports you aren’t familiar with is often an indication of problem gambling or action junkies. Some people can’t seem to do anything without trying to place a wager. Slowly work your way into betting on multiple sports to make sure you have the research in place to make an educated investment.
4. Taking Advice from Undocumented Sports Advisors
Every sports bettor hopes to find sources of inside information to help them beat their bookie. Often times when squares find themselves in a hole they will absorb advice from sports handicappers that are all hype. Some people claim to have inside information because they think it makes them seem more important. Chances are they are not. If you are looking for a sports handicapper to help you with researching your sports picks then make sure this handicapper is monitored and has a detailed records history. Last week’s (14–0) record is not enough. Make sure they present documented picks of all the sports picks they have released and not just their latest winning streak.
5. Forgetting to Study Travel Schedules
If there is one thing a professional athlete or college athlete covets is more rest. How far teams have to travel to play is one of the things that are important across every sport. People, including athletes, don’t rest as well away from home and suffer from jet lag which decreases the odds of them playing at their peak performance.
The farther they are forced to travel the more their performance suffers.
A team from the West making a trip to the East Coast will often feel the effects of travel considering they are losing 3 to 4 hours depending on their location. Football teams sometimes fall into this category but they often times arrive a couple days before the game and have time to adjust. However, NBA, college basketball and MLB teams certainly fall into this category. Pay special attention to teams that play a game the day of travel and travel to the opposite coast. In the NBA and MLB this will occur throughout the season and it wreaks havoc on the players rest and recovery.
6. Forget to Check the Injury Reports Before Every Game
Injuries are most common in NFL but you have more time to research throughout the week. However, other in other sports injuries can change the expected outcome of a game faster than anything. Bettors lose simply because they don’t have enough information or understand this fundamental component to research.
You have to know as much about the health of players for both teams in any game you are going to bet. Don’t just rely on the news or sports networks. Dig deep and follow blogs and player social media accounts. Players are much more in touch now with social media and this provides fans with a glimpse into the athletes lives.
It’s easier than ever to keep up with injuries because of the Internet, cell phones, and tablets. You can check injury reports and live news feeds on your cell phone almost anywhere. Any information you get before the sports books can help you improve your overall profitability.
7. Overlooking Reduced Juice
Just like ignoring opportunities to find better point spreads, missing the opportunity to place bets with reduced vig will cost you money. Every dollar in reduced vig per 100 wagered is worth a measurable amount of additional profit. The exact amount depends on your overall winning percentage and the amount of your average wager.
Sports bettors make the mistake of focusing on certain things too much and miss opportunities because of the “blinders” they seem to be wearing. Finding reduced vig opportunities is one of these areas.
If you could find a single game every month you could bet straight up with someone, it will save you money over the course of a year.
If your average wager is $1,000 and you usually have to bet 110 to win 100, you’ll save around $600 a year making one bet with no vig a month. If you could make a bet every week without vig, you’ll quickly get to a point where serious money can be saved.
Often times sportsbooks will run reduced juice promotions but you should often shop your books to find the best odds which will save you a significant amount of coin over time.
8. Complacency
Put in the time and effort and you’ll reap the rewards. If you get lazy and complacent then you’ll become your bookie’s favorite client.
Don’t let short term success lead to shortcuts with your research. Winning sports bettors work harder and smarter than your average Joe. Winning sports bettors never let complacency creep in because they understand that complacency will interrupt your success and erode your profits.
When you find a winning system make sure you continue to innovate and improve upon your system and remember to adjust and adapt.
You can avoid the pitfalls the average sports bettor makes by following our tips above. Even the top sports handicappers make mistakes but you must learn to understand why you made the mistake and how you can avoid making it again in the future. Follow the 8 steps above you’ll be on your way to the path of profitable sports investing.
