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Sports betting is one of those industries in which you can improve by learning. The more you know and practice your betting skills, the bettor you get at the game. This is the reason why so many sports betting books have been written by famous industry experts who wanted to impart their wisdom to more people in this industry. Every sports bettor must follow these books to learn the things that can otherwise be learnt only through experience. Here are the 5 things I have learnt (and you can too) from some of the popular sports betting books.
Before going ahead read recommended article to know sports betting terms.
Recommended: Glossary of Sports Betting Terms
Keep on Going
Fixed Odds Sports Betting by Joseph Buchdahl is one of those books that anyone who is looking for some inspiration can read. The most important lesson this book teaches you is to go on. If you are winning a bet, you should stay in the game for as long as possible. Don’t gamble without thinking or without proper calculation and never overstake your bets if you are not feeling so.
Bankroll management is the synonym to careful betting. If you have a good control on your betting budget, you won’t make random bets and always stay within your limit. The more carefully you play, the longer you can stay and the more you can win out of the game. Take a step back if you are continuously losing and revise your strategy. You just have to prepare yourself to properly handle those bad situations when they occur.
Change is Constant
This is one of the best lessons you can learn in life and in betting world. Change is the only thing that will keep you going further in this industry. If you are stuck with a specific gambling strategy for a long time, you are ultimately going to start losing. There is no silver bullet when it comes to sports betting techniques. A plan which is working now may not work tomorrow. So, you need to learn to understand these things and keep adapting new betting methods.
This is exactly what you learn from books like Betting to Win by Leighton Vaughan Williams and Sports Trading on Betfair by Wayne Bailey. These books will also let you find new sports betting strategies to help you keep your arsenal updated with the latest betting gadgets (styles). This is important for many reasons. Even if you manage to find a betting technique that is working for you, it is only a matter of time that other players will identify and start using the same for their own benefit. This is why you should have multiple strategies in place.
Never stop having fun
While some punters see betting as a way to make money, most others see it as a way to get more entertainment from sports. It is important that you enjoy the game you are betting on, for many reasons. If you do not like that sport, you are simply not going to last very long in it. This is even more important if you are in it for the long term. If you are not a fan of the sport, you will eventually become bored and won’t be able to show any real interest in betting on the game.
Wayne Bailey’s sports trading guide and Patrick Veitch’s Enemy Number One tell you the exact same thing. Another reason why you absolutely love the sport you are betting on is that the more you like the sport, the more you will be eager to know about it, and the more you know about it, the better you can predict the outcomes of the various sports events. For example, If you have been following a particular sport for many years, you are likely to have good knowledge of it which can make a great base to start your online betting career.
Learn to manage
A good management is as much important in sports betting as in any other field. You need to keep track of everything related to the sport you are betting on. This includes the activity of your favourite sports team and players, their games, records, wins, home ground, and all. In addition, you should also keep a proper report of all your betting activities, bets you place, wagers, odds, wins and losses, etc. This will help you make better calculations and predictions the next time you bet.
This is something I learnt from Wayne Bailey’s book Sports Trading on Betfair. You can learn a number of sports betting tips from this single book. Once you have a proper record and report on everything that is important, you should regularly analyse the data to find out the kinds of bets you are making, which bets are bringing more profit to you and which ones are not so good, whether you are earning more money from your weekend bets or through weekday events, should you chase losses or bet on different events, etc. Just like a business, sports betting works well when you keep a proper track of your activities and money.
Never stop learning
The more you know about the game, the better you can bet on it. You should never stop learning if you desire to achieve success in whatever you are doing. This is even more important in sports betting as the market keeps changing very fast, and if you are stuck with an old technique or outdated information, you are never going to make it in this industry. Sportsbook markets and odds change as frequently as the sport itself. If you are not in continuous touch with the market, you will never know when the opportunity came and left.
You should read Mathletics by Wayne L. Winston to learn more about sports betting and get tips for the same. Here are a few things you can do: learn sports blogs, watch sports news, read about your team and players, learn and try out new betting strategies, track your bets and improvise, and read more, to refine your sports betting skills.