What Are the Most Common Sports Betting Mistakes?
Not Shopping for The Best Odds
To become a successful sports bettor, you must always shop for the best odds in the market. Different bookies offer different odds on similar sports markets. Therefore, it is your work to determine which betting sites have competitive odds. To make the task easy, start with new online betting sites. These bookies are always desperate to attract clients, often offering amazing odds. The advantage of settling for the best odds is that you are sure of substantial payouts every time you place a winning bet.
No Bankroll Management
Not managing your bankroll is one of the common sports betting mistakes that new and expert punters make. Before starting your sports betting career, you must learn bankroll management techniques. For instance, set daily, weekly, and even monthly limits and abide by them. The available money should guide you when coming up with the limits. Another key aspect to remember is making sure you bet with the available money. To avoid running into debts, define your betting units depending on how much money you have. With these techniques, you will be able to manage your betting bankroll with ease.
Chasing Losses
Chasing losses involves placing sports bets to make up for the lost money. This is a common phenomenon among bettors, even though it is discouraged. In most cases, chasing your losses will likely lead to more losses than you will not be able to manage, which may lead you to end up with gambling debt. So instead of betting to cover the lost money, consider developing betting strategies to increase your winning chances.
Bets Under an Influence
The world of sports betting requires a sober mind. That is why it is highly discouraged to bet under the influence of emotions or alcohol. Doing so always leads to errors, that is, if you decide to do research. Therefore, only consider betting online when you are 100% sober. This will keep you from wasting your money placing wrong and regrettable wagers.
Betting on Unfamiliar Sports
It should be your mantra to only bet on familiar sports. This is one of the sports betting mistakes that you can always avoid. If you understand football, only focus on football matches and not basketball. Betting on familiar sports will give you an easy time researching and ultimately placing correct sports wagers at ease. You will also understand the markets better than in the case of unfamiliar sports. This is one of the tricks professional sports bettors use to avoid unnecessary losses.
Going for Big Accumulators
Accumulator betting has become common over the past few years. However, you should know your limits when placing accumulator bets. For instance, ensure you only place a reasonable number of matches on your accumulator. That is the only way to minimise the risk. If possible, stick to less than 10 events unless the operator offers accumulator-related promotions for having more than 10 accumulators.
Betting at Non-Reputable Betting Sites
Online sports betting is only as safe as the bookie you are using. To avoid a bad betting experience, only bet on reputable betting sites. Gambling on non-reputable sports betting platforms risks your money and exposes your valuable information to unauthorised personnel. Only consider a bookmaker with a valid gambling licence; if possible, it should provide the licence number for confirmation. It should also be SSL-secure with a firewall to protect your banking information and guarantee privacy.
Not Looking for Help for Addiction Problems
Every valid sportsbook teams up with social sites to ensure clients don't end up with a gambling addiction. This has, however, not stopped players from making the common sports betting mistake of not seeking help whenever they end up with addiction problems. Failing to do so puts punters at risk, which may escalate further, affecting even their social lives. Some organisations on standby to help with your addiction problems include GamStop, GamCare, BeGambleAware, and QuitGamble.com.
Other Less Common Betting Mistakes
In addition to the above-described common mistakes, there are less common blunders that even experts tend to overlook. This section will describe the less common mistakes to ensure you don't make even the tiniest mistake when betting.
Using the Same Betting Markets
Using the same betting markets is a good idea, especially if they are the only betting options you know. However, they limit you from discovering other ideal betting options with profitable odds. Be daring and proceed to discover more markets. First, learn about the markets and understand them before including them on your betting slip. This idea guarantees limitless betting opportunities regardless of the sportsbook you are using.
Betting on Your Favourite Team
Every sports gambler has a favourite football, ice hockey, or tennis team. The biggest mistake is betting on your favourite team every time they play a match. To avoid such a scenario, ensure your statistics and research guide you whenever you want to place a bet. It would be best if you only considered betting on the team you support when facts and well-analysed statistics back your decision after doing extensive research.
Betting “Blind”
Betting blind is a minor sports betting mistake that can cost you greatly. The term betting blind means placing bets without doing any research. By overlooking this betting mistake, you are bound to place incorrect bets. It is also one of the ways to end up on a losing streak. So, instead of wasting too much money wagering on bets that will not pan out, always research before adding a selection on a bet slip. The research should entail reviewing the team's past performance and learning about each team's form.
Having Unrealistic Expectations
Though a minor mistake, having unrealistic expectations when beginning your sports betting career can quickly lead to unwarranted losses. Remember that gambling is all about luck; even after extensive research and in-depth analysis, you can always end up with an incorrect bet. So, as you make your sports betting picks, manage your expectations to avoid unnecessary disappointments. This will help you maintain focus throughout your betting journey.
Always Following “Experts” Tips
It is advisable to follow expert tips occasionally but not always. "Betting experts" are individuals who have done their research to develop an expected outcome of a match. Therefore, this does not mean that they are always correct. Follow their sports betting tips only after doing your research. Anytime you feel something is off, feel free to neglect experts' tips and instead place a bet according to your research's findings.
Gambler’s Fallacy
Gambler's fallacy is a less common mistake affecting bettors significantly. The idea involves avoiding betting on an event occurring more often with the assumption that it is less likely to occur in the near future. This is misleading and may cause you to avoid placing winning bets. You should know that each event has an independent outcome, and the only way to place the right bets is to do adequate research.
Not Cashing Out
You should never make the mistake of not cashing out a bet when the odds are favourable. The main purpose of this sports betting feature is to help you increase profit, especially when placing live bets. It can also be used to minimise any expected losses. In fact, instead of not cashing out, look for events that come with the feature. The good news is that most bookies offer cash out to punters. It won't take long to find the ideal bookie with cash-out.
Not Using Betting Strategies
It is always important to use betting strategies when placing bets. Neglecting sports betting strategies will see you lose opportunities to take advantage of favourable bets. Therefore, have different betting strategies at your fingertips and apply them when necessary. You should also apply betting systems such as the System betting strategy, which allows you to minimise sports betting risks.
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Not Taking Advantage of Bonus Offers
Failure to take advantage of bonus offers is a rookie mistake that will see you spend more at a bookie than you should. Go for any bonus offer with suitable terms and conditions, whether free bets, cash deposit offers or cashback promotions. Also, look for sites with VIP programs. Loyalty programs are popular for having the best rewards that you can use to increase your betting frequency. The more bonuses you get, the better.
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Conclusion - Is There Anything I Can Do if I only Lose at Sports Betting?
So far, these are the most common and less common sports betting mistakes that most people make when gambling online. Therefore, avoid them if you only lose at sports betting. Instead of making mistakes, take a different approach that includes managing your bankroll, researching, taking advantage of bonus offers and more.
