If you approach this endeavor as having a little fun a hobby wanting a few bucks on the game while watching it on TV nothing wrong with that. However if you want to make substantial money turn a profit year after tear than sports betting must be approached as a business. A GREAT business in my opinion but none the less a business. As with any business you need an investment (it takes some money to make money) and you need discipline.
There are 3 general ways to handicap a sporting event:
1)Got a feeling got a hunch bet a bunch.
2)Statistics.
3)Intangibles including motivational, situational, and psychological issues.
When someone tells you they are very good at something it probably takes you less than a minute of listening to figure whether they are boasting, bragging egotistical exaggerating call it what you want or even just plain lying. We all come across these people all the time. Experts on every topic or endeavor. It is probably even more pronounced in sports betting industry where touts scam artists are shouting from every social media platform possible to state how great they are. The old adage applies still today it is the quiet ones you have to pay attention to.
If you do your own handicapping please make sure you do not rely on your friends, peers, talking heads on TV, or anyone else for that matter to help you make your betting selections. Consensus decision making does not work in conventional business and it especially does not work in this business.
I am sure most of you have heard the phrase “trust your instincts”. This is awful advice for the sports bettor especially a beginner. A newcomer either has no instincts or cannot depend on the few instincts he does have. The instincts are usually based from a perspective of a sports fan however that does not translate effectively to a successful handicapper.
Sports betting is a skill to be learned developed over years. It is no different than getting your MBA in university. In the long run it has NOTHING to do with luck or bad beats.
Value in sports betting is the equivalent to location in business. Both are essential to profit long term.
If you “like” a particular side but you bet in to a bad line (overpriced) you will NOT make money over the long haul. Value betting/handicapping is betting the right team at the right price. You cannot have one without the other. If you have no edge weakness in the line for a given game than your optimal bet size is ZERO.
Follow me on Twitter @ricksteel99
In general the new pick alert is posted to Twitter faster than via email. So if you want to know that the site has been updated with a new pick(s) faster than most you should follow me on Twitter. This will get you to the front of the train and help ensure you get the best line possible.
Secondly I am on Twitter on a regular basis throughout every day. If you want ALL the latest up to date sports betting news this is where to get it. I am tweeting and re-tweeting the most important pertinent information to us.
We often draw comparisons to the similarities between the stock market and sports betting. There are many reasons in my opinion why sports betting is far superior to the stock market as an investment vehicle. The biggest reason it is an even playing field for everyone.
Absorb the following quote from a successful Wall Street investor. “After making and losing millions of dollars I want to tell you it was never my THINKING that made the big money for me. It always was my SITTING.
The difference between being highly profitable or going bankrupt in this business is razor thin. In a micro example 11-9 every 20 plays +1.1 units big money. 10-10 every 20 plays -1.0 units eventually your bankroll grinds to zero. I know the above is a simplistic example but over a large enough sample size that is exactly what happens.
With the playoffs upcoming you need to pay special attention to the game analysis which you should be doing on a daily basis anyway.
Unlike the NHL regular season all money line bets on individual games during the playoffs INCLUDE overtime unless specified otherwise in the game analysis.