Discipline Is The Key To Sports Betting Profits- writedeal.com

Mar 27th 10 Posted by Ross Everett in Blogging

Discipline Is The Key To Sports Betting Profits

There’s a strange dichotomy between the complexity of high level sports handicapping and the amount of theoretical literature on the subject. While successful sports betting is a complex and difficult pursuit, there’s very little that’s been written on the subject from a serious theoretical angle. For that reason, it can be helpful to delve into the wealth of books available to the serious poker player for insights that can be applied to sports betting.

On one level, this is likely due to the fact that poker”like sports gambling”is a pursuit in which the knowledgeable and skillful practitioner can overcome the theoretical odds against him. To paraphrase the great poker theoretician Bob Caro, there are some professional blackjack players and sports gamblers in addition to professional poker players. There may even be a few professional horse players (though the house edge against the horse player is a hefty 17% or so). In the entire world, however, there is not one professional roulette player.

Basically, this is because that no combination of skill, strategy or money management can negate the house edge in roulette and many other casino games. While Caro likes to stress the importance of the decisions that a poker player makes to his long term profitability, in roulette player decisions simply don’t matter over the long haul. Red or black, even or odd, the house edge remains the same.

Caro stresses the paramount importance of discipline to a poker player’s long term success and profitability. It’s important to keep in mind that to succeed as a professional gambler that you need to approach a trip to the casino with a diametrically opposite mindset to that of the recreational gambler. A recreational gambler heads to the casino to *avoid* discipline and ‘unwind’. The professional uses discipline to his advantage.

Caro’s emphasis on discipline in poker is also true for the serious sports gambler. The foundation of a professional sports bettor’s long term success is to approach it with the same discipline, rigor and professionalism that he would any other job. If you continue to think about it in the same terms as the recreational gambler does, you’re in for a difficult road. The more seriousness that you bring to your sports betting, the higher the likelihood that you’ll be successful.

Now, I have no problem with recreational sports gamblers”or any other recreational gamblers for that matter. Recreational sports gamblers are, in fact, crucial to the survival of those of us who do this for a living. Theyre not our prey”like they are for the poker professional”but a thriving recreational sports gambling industry keeps the sportsbooks in business, and what I do is utterly useless if my book doesnt pay me.

The life of a professional sports bettor isn’t for everyone, and if you just want to bet recreationally and have fun with it that’s great. While a few theoretical tips here and there won’t hurt, the only discipline that really matters for a recreational player is the same thing for any other hobby–don’t spend more on it than you can afford to. After that, you’re on your own to have fun with it.

Ross Everett is a staff sports handicapper for Anatta Sports and is in charge of providing daily free sports picks to a variety of Internet websites and broadcast media outlets. He is a widely published freelance writer specializing in sports handicapping, horse racing, fencing and falconry. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a wombat.