Common Sports Betting Mistakes

Welcome to our page dedicated to the most common sports betting mistakes. If
you’re here, then you’re one step ahead of other folks that haven’t investigated
these common mistakes. By reviewing this page, you’ll become a more
knowledgeable sports bettor. Learning about these common errors will make you
less likely to make them yourself, which should, in turn, give you a better
chance of making winning betting decisions.

Below, we’ll give you detail on 13 of the most common sports betting
mistakes. If you’d like to read through them all, then you can begin reading
below. However, some of you may want to jump to details on a certain one. If
that’s the case, we’ve included links below where you can drop to certain
mistakes as you please.

Mistake #1: Not Understanding the Basics of Sports Betting

One of the most common mistakes that we see from beginning sports bettors is
that they dive into things without having a good understanding of the basics. By
doing this, they severely limit the likelihood of being able to place successful
sports bets. With just a small amount of time and research, beginners can
quickly get themselves up to speed so that they can make better-informed
decisions when betting on sports.

If you’re new to sports betting, we’ve got a treasure trove full of resources
on our website just for you. You can use these detailed guides to help you build
your knowledge of the basics and then advance your way up to even more advanced
topics and strategies.

Mistake #2: Betting Under the Influence

Another common mistake that we see all too often is folks betting under the
influence of drugs or alcohol. This is something that you’ll want to avoid, as
your decision-making abilities are hindered when you’re under the influence.
Just as you shouldn’t operate a motor vehicle, you also should not wager real
money on sports when you’re not fully there mentally.

Mistake #3: Not Shopping Betting Lines

One of the beautiful things about online betting sites is that it makes it
super simple for you to shop your betting lines. However, many folks don’t
realize this, or they neglect to do it, and it costs them money. As much as
possible, you should always shop your betting lines to make sure that you’re
getting the best bang for your betting dollar.

Whenever you use a single online betting site, you’re potentially leaving
money on the table. Unfortunately, all online sportsbooks are not created equal
when it comes to the lines on bets. The same can be said of traditional
brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, too. As bets come in, sportsbooks will adjust
their lines to help protect themselves based on their internal calculations.
Because lines can differ, you should always shop your lines to try and get
yourself the best line possible.

It’s very easy to get started shopping betting lines. First, you’ll want to
open and fund an account at more than one online sportsbook. Next, once you have
a bet in mind, check the lines available for that wager on all of the
sportsbooks that you work with. Make sure that you’re comparing the same thing
on all sites so that you have the correct baseline. Finally, once you find the
sportsbook that is offering you the best line, place your bet there. By
following this simple strategy, you’ll be more likely to make more substantial
betting profits over the long haul.

Mistake #4: Not Using a Bankroll Management Plan

Up next, we have a common mistake that we see all the time. Unfortunately,
many people out there are betting without any form of bankroll management plan.
Instead, they just bet as much as they think they should on their sports wagers
without any particular plan behind it. By doing this, they are increasing their
chances of depleting their betting bankroll.

With a bankroll management plan, you’ll have a strategic method on how much
you should bet on any particular wager. The nice thing about using one of these
plans is that it helps you stretch out your bankroll much further than if you
were not using one. Below, we’ve included a link to our page that’s focused on
bankroll management plans. Using this page, you can learn more about them and
see how to develop one for yourself.

Mistake #5: Not Narrowing Your Focus

Another common mistake that we see many sports bettors make is not narrowing
their focus. Instead of betting on a focused set of sports that they know a ton
about, some sports bettors instead bet on seemingly everything under the sun.
The problem with this strategy is that you end up betting on sports that you
don’t know a ton about, which increases your likelihood of making less money
over time.

Instead of trying to bet on everything, stick to what you know. If you’re new
to sports betting, our suggestion for you would be to start by selecting the one
sport that you know the most about. Then, you can expand the number of sports
that you bet on as you gain more experience and knowledge. Ultimately, your goal
should be to only bet on a small set of sports that you have significant
knowledge about so that you can increase your chances of winning your bets.

Mistake #6: Not Cashing Out

While this might seem like a no-brainer, you need to make sure that you
always cash out your winning betting tickets. Like a winning lottery ticket,
your winning bet ticket doesn’t translate into cash until you cash it out.
Unfortunately, we hear often of folks that forgot to cash out their ticket. As
soon as you can after winning your bet, do your best to cash it in. By doing
this, you’ll be less likely to forget or lose your winning wager.

Mistake #7: Betting Too Often

Another mistake that we see folks do often is betting too much. While it can
be fun to bet on sports, your goal should be to bet when it makes sense, not
just because you want to wager. Sometimes, you have to be patient and wait for
the right wagers to pop up for you to bet. If you ever find yourself betting
just to bet, that’s not a good thing. To help increase your chances of winning
your bets, you should bet on sports that you know well when you think that
there’s value in the wager. With sports betting, you want quality over quantity.

Mistake #8: Betting on an Unsafe Betting Site

We’ve lost count over the years of all the folks that we’ve heard from that
had a horror story experience when betting on an online sportsbook that was
untrustworthy. In most of these cases, they ended up betting on a sports betting
site without having done any research on it. This is a terrible mistake to make.

Unfortunately, there are some sites out there that cannot be trusted, and
therefore should be avoided. Over the years, we’ve assembled a list of
blacklisted sites that we don’t trust. Below, you’ll find a link where you can
see all of the sites that we think you should avoid. We’ve also added a link
below where you can check out our top picks for the best online betting sites
out there. Each of the sites on that list can be trusted places for you to do
all of your online sports betting.

Mistake #9: Letting Your Emotions Take Over

We’ve all been there at some point when our emotions have taken over common
sense. In some cases, it’s hard to bet against your home team even when they are
a huge underdog. However, sometimes, that’s exactly what you need to do. If you
ever find yourself letting emotions take over, you should pause your sports
betting to allow yourself to reset.

If you’re betting on a team just because you love them or betting against one
because you hate them, you’re doing it wrong. Take a step back, look at the
statistics, and make a calculated bet to help you have a higher chance of
winning the wager.

Mistake #10: Betting on Credit

Simply put, if you don’t have cash available to bet on sports, then you
should not be betting on sports. Unfortunately, some folks bet on sports using
credit. This is a terrible mistake, as you end up paying interest on the funds
that you’re borrowing. Since there is never a sure bet, you may end up paying
interest on your borrowed funds for a significant amount of time. In the end,
betting on credit will cost you much more than if you had just wagered with your
own money.

Before betting on sports, make sure that you have your necessary living
expenses covered. If you can’t pay things like your rent, food, and electricity
bill, then you should hold off on sports betting until you get leveled out.
Remember that sports betting should never be used as a way to help you change
your financial situation.

Mistake #11: Chasing Losses

Something else that you’ll want to avoid is chasing losses. Unfortunately,
many of us are guilty of doing this at one point or another when betting. It’s
easy to lose a bet, and then want to quickly make another one to make up for the
one that you just lost. However, whenever you make a knee-jerk bet based on a
previous loss, you’re likely to make a less informed decision, which increases
your likelihood of losing yet again.

When you have a betting loss, take a second to let it set in. Don’t rush out
and make another bet just because you lost that one. Instead, take time to
research other bets that look to have good value and make sense.

Mistake #12: Having Unrealistic Expectations

When betting on sports, it’s critical that you have realistic expectations of
things. If you’re going into it with the hope that you’re going to make an
insane amount of money in a short time period, then you’re doing it wrong. With
sports betting, it is possible to make money. However, very few folks are able
to make a significant amount of money.

We’d rather be up front with you about this fact rather than sugar-coat it.
Sports betting is not easy, and even professional sports bettors still lose
wagers regularly. So that you’re not disappointed in the future, it is best if
you go into sports betting looking to have fun and knowing that you could win or
lose some money along the way.

Mistake #13: Not Keeping Records

With sports betting, it’s always a good idea to keep some records. Our
suggestion is that you track at least two different things at a minimum: your
bankroll and your betting performance history. By monitoring both of these,
you’ll have a better pulse of what’s happening in your sports betting career.

Up first, you’ll definitely want to track your bankroll. Without doing this,
you’ll quickly lose track of how much money you have to bet with. As you do your
sports betting, you’ll win some wagers and lose some. It’s vital that you update
your bankroll according to the amount of profit or loss that you have along the
way. Based on your betting performance, your bankroll may increase or decrease.

The other thing that you’ll want to keep a record of is your actual betting
performance. By keeping track of this, you’ll be able to see a historical
snapshot of your betting history. Using this, you can see strategies and bet
types that work better for you than others. This can be an excellent way to
learn from the past to make for a better future.

If you’re planning to begin keeping records, you can do it with simple pen
and paper, or you can get more advanced and use Microsoft Excel. Whichever way
you decide to proceed, make sure that you’re religious about entering updates as
they happen. By doing this, you’ll be sure that your data is always up to date
and reliable for decision making.

Conclusion

We hope that this page dedicated to common sports betting mistakes will help
you avoid making them in the future. By avoiding these common errors, you’ll be
more likely to make winning bets in your sports betting career. We appreciate
you checking out our page, and we wish you the best of luck in all of your
future sports betting wagers. If you’re new to our site, be sure to look around
to view all of the other excellent free betting guides and resources that we
have here to help you elevate your gambling to new levels.

Frequently Asked Questions

To help close things out, we’ve gathered up some questions that we receive
often relating to sports betting mistakes. If you’re still missing some answers,
we hope that this section will assist you in finding them. To view the answer to
one of the questions below, click on the question, and the answer will then
appear for you.