Submitted by rsteel on
We are now nicely into the 2021 betting year. This is a good time to deal with the expectations of this business. Next week we are going to deal with the laws of probability as the topic for the grapevine. For those of you that are new this will introduce you to the nuts and bolts of this business. For long term followers next week’s grapevine will act as a refresher. This week we will continue the topic of the mental aspect of this business. I am a firm believer if you tell people what to expect to minimize surprises and set realistic expectations it will give people a greater chance to succeed.
I fully realize this advice is much easier to give out than to implement especially when on extended losing streaks. However in order to win and stay on an even keel you must be able to deal with the consequences of losing. That does not mean obviously you have to be happy about it but more so the acceptance of it.
For ease of math purposes let us assume we are in action at least 300 days out of a calendar year. Therefore you should have an expectation 125 of those days will be losing days. That is the reality of this business.
I realize this is not easy for anyone to absorb including myself. It does get easier to handle over time and experience. Anyone wanting to do this at any type of serious level has to learn to go to bed sleep well during those losing days and get up with freshness to work hard off those losses. Of course the flip side is to avoid laziness that can creep in when on an extended winning streak. Just because you are on an extended winning streak does not mean you have turned into a genius and that you can long term avoid the variances and laws of probabilities that govern this business.
Winning is available to those willing to learn put in the time and hard work. You often hear me refer to myself as a grinder. I am very serious about this label. Accepting this is a grind lessens the emotions from good and bad streaks and any one day or game for that matter.
Accepting the grind is the first step on the path to succeeding in this business. Slow and steady is not a path it is the ONLY path towards winning.