As was the case from the onset of man on earth, temptation has always played a role in our downfall. Not that I'm going to get into a religious dissertation here, but frankly, the Sports Bettor would be wise to heed the words preached by many a Pastor or priest to avoid temptation and allure and stick to the straight and narrow.
Frankly, I'm not much of a religious man so my interpretation of avoiding temptation is a whole lot different than that of the church and can be broken down into a handful of tidy maxims. Let's call them our Five Comandments for Avoiding Temptation in Gambling.
1. Thou shall not consume beverages of the fermented fruit when placing wagers.
This one is number one on the list for a simple reason. At least half of the dumb things I see sports bettors due can be traced directly back to alcohol. You see him hang at the sports book with his bets of the day, all logically decided and played for a conservative bet well within his bankroll. Shortly he decides to sip a Vodka Tonic while watching the Big Ten get underway. This leads to a few more vodka tonics, and if he does not avoid the temptation, a bet against USC in the afternoon game because he hates the Trojans. Or maybe a big bet on the late night WAC game after having a particularly bad Saturday. Regardless of the reason, drinking and betting do not mix. If you want to have a few Sierra Nevada's with your burgers while watching the game, so be it, just put your wallet away and realize you are not betting again until you are completely sober.
2. Thou shall not abuse the bankroll by coveting large wins on parlays, teasers, or prop bets.
Ahh, how the frind that just won a 10 team parlay for some insane amount of money can skew one's thinking. And I know that the temptation is great to lay just a few dollars on a big parlay or teaser bet in hopes that lightening will strike you as well. However, these are sucker bets and in the long run they do nothing but weather away your bankroll. Anything that provides the house with a larger advantage than necessary is a poison that the player should do his best to avoid.
3. Thou shall not bet to excess when placing sport wagers.
Betting sports is fun and can be lucrative, but if a bettor is playing 40-50 games a week he hasn't given the proper time and thought to each wagers and will end up losing in the end. I generally recommend a bettor stick to one or two sports to learn all he can about every facet and team participating in the games. There is no one on the planet who can bet college football, pro football, baseball, hockey, boxing, horse racing, etc... and maintain a winning record across the board. Bettors need to pick a favorite, gather all the requisite knowledge, and bet the handful of games each week that warrant a wager.
4. Thou shall have not sports bets before thee that thou has not studied thoroughly.
This directly ties into commandment three above. If you cannot study the game, you should not be betting it. Though some would argue that finding a reliable service or tout is tantamount to having your own research team, the water is filled with sharks and the number of reputable services is few and far between. If you do find a service that appears to be on the up-and-up, by all means, review their information. But by no means should the data they provide be your only basis for betting. The tout's information must be a supplement to your own analysis and should help you see the game from a perspective other than your own.
5. Thou shall not attempt to impress the fairer sex with bets grander than one's means.
And this one is usually directly correlational to how much a player ignores commandment one. While sitting at a sports book and watching the pretty girls come by with drinks, it is easy to think a big bet ticket sitting there might be the way to take her home tonight. Or perhaps our bettor doubles or triples up because a few hot girlfriends that are around when the bets get placed. Whatever the reason, these are all bad moves. I appreciate the need for female companionship, but how long will any girl be around after they realize you have gambled away all of the cash you have because you are trying to impress them with bets well above your means?
And that should be enough for now. If you can manage to adhere to the simple five rules above this season you will be well on your way to having a profitable and enjoyable year betting sports. If you fall off the wagon, don't fret too much, just dust yourself off, pick up the pieces, and get back to being rational. There's a lifetime of winners ahead as long as you avoid the temptations thrown at you.
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