Most of our friends aren’t
experts in sports betting. They play it as a game. They enjoy the thrill of the
game, the expectation of winning something. And even as they suffer the
frustration of losing loads of cash, they rarely sit down to evaluate their
betting habits and strategies. In fact, they only have betting habits, but
seldom have betting strategies. So it is to this lack of strategy that they
introduce us. We then join them in aimless betting. And blinded by the few and
rare wins we get, we form the habit of throwing money at every other match. Soon, we get
extremely broke and addicted, looking to bet, but having no cash to wager.
Sports Betting as Investment
As I have mentioned above, the
average sports bettor is hugely uninformed. His bets are placed on emotion
and intuition. He conducts very little to no research on the teams he bets.
He relies on the opinions of peers before placing bets. He does not track his
bets and rarely works with team news and statistics. He does not know how much he loses because he
keeps no records of his bets.
What if you could treat betting
differently? What if you could see every shilling placed on a bet as an
investment? Remember, betting companies such as Sportpesa, Mcheza, Betway,
Betin, Elitebet and Betpawa, among others, are in a business. They are not going
to give you free money. They carefully set the odds and take great care to tilt
the odds in their favor. They have experts working around the clock to ensure
they make profits. And each time you create a bet slip, you are starting at a
disadvantage. In fact, you are even at a greater disadvantage if you are going
to place bets on intuition and emotion.
But what if you treated sports
betting as an investment? What if you valued every single shilling of yours so
much that you never wanted to part with it except if you were to make some
profit? To be successful in sports betting, you must begin to see things
differently. Instead of jumping into betting as a way to make easy money, you
need to realize that there is no easy money out there. You must earn every
cent. Likewise, you must value your money so much that you only use it to bet
on games that are likely to bring returns. This means that you will only click
“Confirm” when you have done your homework well and are convinced that you are
not making a mistake.
Realistic Expectations
From the outset, I have to warn
you that sports betting is not an easy way to get rich. Well, once in a while
one person will hit the jackpot and you will be motivated to try your luck. And
as you have realized, only very few out of thousands can win the jackpot. In
betting, there seems to be over a million ways to fail and when you think you
are going to win, that is when you lose. While you can improve your chances of
winning by being more objective, you can’t win always. In fact, most pro
betters will tell you that winning at least 53% of your bets should be the
minimum target and that winning over 60% of your bets is exceptional. Even pros
rarely win over 70% of their bets.
Therefore, you must consider sports betting as a form of business in
which your profits increase over time. Never go into betting if you consider it
some sort of amusement park thrill or as a way to make quick cash.
What Makes Successful Sports
Bettors
(a) Tons of resources
Like every business, successful
sports betting requires a lot of resources. For instance, in the age of the
internet, you need to find some of the most comprehensive sites that analyze
your favorite sports so you can have the latest information regarding the
teams. Secondly, you need the money to invest in your bets. As a rule, it is
important to set aside your bankroll (capital) before you start betting and
make sure you draw out a strategy that allows you to only bet within your
bankroll. Thirdly, you need a pen and a book for recording your bets and keeping
track of your finances. If you are using a computer, you may save your bets on
your computer.
(b) Focus on steady growth, not quick gains
Every business starts with a
specific amount of capital and builds on its successes to be bigger and better.
When you decide to venture into sports betting, you must think of your initial
amount as the capital and think of growing it gradually as you win your bets.
For example, if you start with Ksh 500, your first aim should be to turn it
into Ksh 700, then into Ksh 1000, then into Ksh 1500, and so on. Taking Ksh 500
and turning it into Ksh 700 is hardly thrilling but quite easy. On the contrary,
turning Ksh 500 into Ksh 10,000 is a thrilling but quite difficult task. The problem
with most beginners is that they want to make quick cash with very little investment. If
you go that route, you will find sports betting a painful and frustrating
venture. Make small amounts everyday instead of losing every day as you try to
make huge sums.
(c) Take out small amounts of money from your winnings
The problem with most sports
bettors is that they want to make more money quickly and to spend that money as
soon as they win it. That will not work. If you want to boost your winnings and
reduce your frustrations, you need to aim for small, realistic wins and to
plough back huge portions of your winnings into your bankroll so as to grow
your business. For example, if you start with Ksh 500 and place 3 bets using
Ksh 100 per bet. You may end up with Ksh 800. Instead of withdrawing all the
Ksh 800, you should withdraw a maximum of Ksh 300 so you have enough money left
to keep your business running. Ideally, you should keep your winnings as part
of your bankroll until you can withdraw a bigger amount of money without
compromising your ability to place more bets.
(d) Singles, Doubles, Trebles and Other Accumulator Bets
In sports betting, the
temptation to combine several teams in order to earn more money is a common
pitfall. Many bettors think they can predict the results of as many as 20 games
correctly. In truth, however, trying to combine several teams in a single bet
is the cause of most losses. In fact, some betting companies even offer
exciting bonuses for bettors who combine several teams because they know that
the chances of winning such accumulator bets are minimal. If you want to
succeed in sports betting, you should prioritize single and double bets. As
long as you can identify a single team with odds of 1.8 or more, placing a
single bet on it gives you a great chance of winning huge cash. Doubles and trebles
are also exciting, but longer accumulators are riskier and should be avoided by
those who want to be highly successful.
(e) Research, Research
Never bet on a team simply
because you feel it will win. So many factors can determine the result of a
game including absence of certain players, away form of a team, fixture
congestion and how the team prioritizes different competitions. For example, if
Manchester United have an upcoming Champions League match against Bayern
Munich, they may decide to field a weakened squad in their league fixture in
order to rest some of their players. Likewise, if Manchester United’s
goalkeeper is injured and a stand-in keeper is to take his place, their chances
of winning against say Arsenal may be greatly reduced. Read match previews and
expert predictions before placing your bets.
(f) Patience and self-discipline
Patience is really important in
successful sports betting. Those who are successful usually have a long-term
vision which they embrace and stick to, knowing that they would make more money
in the long run than they can in the short term. This is not unique to sports
betting; every business requires a long-term vision and perseverance in order
to make more money in the long run. As a sports bettor, you need to start small,
refine your game, polish your tactics and grow your bankroll gradually until
you have made good money. For example, you may decide to make withdrawals from
your account every Sunday only. This means that you will be targeting small
daily winnings until you have hit your weekly target. Some pro bettors set
monthly withdrawal targets just to ensure they keep their business alive and
can target small winnings until they achieve their targets.
Equally, you should have the
self-control and self-discipline to know when and how to place your bets. A
good bettor must check fixtures of his favorite games regularly to identify
exciting opportunities. Then, he must limit his bets to only those games that
offer good value for money. He must also limit himself to a specific number of
bets per day (say 3 or 5 single bets)
and then be ready to wait for other opportunities the next day, next week or
next weekend. Discipline is also necessary in order to control how you spend
the money you win and to ensure you keep enough money in your account to keep
you betting without having to turn to your bank account for more money.
Remember, you will succeed only if you understand that it takes a lot of bets
and a lot of time to build more money. There is no easy money out there, but
you can make good money from sports betting if you can be patient enough to
make more wins than loses in the long run.
At Sportszu, we wish you good luck.
Bet responsibly.
At Sportszu, we wish you good luck.
Bet responsibly.