Nine Myths and Mistakes in Sports Betting -part 1

Don't even think about investing in sports before reading this!
Avoid the amateur mistakes others make when losing money in sports betting!

Myth #1: Win Rate

Should the success of sports prediction services be measured in “win rate” or profit? Can you go to the store and pay with a high “win rate”, or would you rather prefer the cash... long-term profit is the only measure of quality in a sports prediction service. Win rate is one of the most irrelevant statistics in sports investing, often used by handicappers as a trap to lure new accounts.
As you know, many professional handicappers offer high win rates of up to 99%, luring novice bettors into their scam. 99% accuracy for sports picks is a myth, while accuracy rates of 53-60% are considered to be elite among professional handicappers. A high win rate does not guarantee profit, but seems important to the untrained eye.
A high win rate does not guarantee profit. The only proper gauge of the success of a sports investor should be long-term profit and bankroll growth. Successful system betting approaches can turn a profit with win rates as low as 37%. Conversely, sports investors can win the vast majority of picks and still lose money. The only long-term measurement for success is profit, particularly when money management principles are properly applied to a winning system.
Don’t be fooled by services featuring a high win rate! Profit is all that matters!

Myth #2: The “All or Nothing” Approach

A common mistake among sports investors new to prediction services is the expectation of immediate gains. Sports investing must be viewed as a business with long-term goals. Short-term “all or nothing” approaches lead to lost profits and aggressive mistakes. Chasing losses with poor money management is no way to approach sports betting. Amateur bettors are doomed to fail in any business with an all or nothing strategy.

If opening a restaurant, would you close down if the first few days didn’t bring profits? Sports investing needs to be viewed with the same mentality as operating a business. Those that completely revamp their approach to chase short-term losses are the restaurant owners that shut down after only a few days. Sports investing is a process that requires long-term commitment. Expecting substantial gains without a long-term mindset will only result in failure. Inconsistency is the equivalent of getting hired for a project and asking to be paid a few hours into the job.

The only way to be profitable in sports investing is to adopt a long-term mindset and remain consistent. Those that fail to understand this concept are doomed to fail. Sports investors with short-term goals will jump from one capper to the next expecting wins every day. When they fail to get daily winners, they will inevitably give up with a net loss. This is a sure road to failure!

Remember to treat sports investing as a process and consider your results on a monthly or season-to-season scale. By doing so, you will not chase short-term losses and can protect the profits that come from following proven sports handicappers. Those that adopt a long-term strategy will be able to manage their way through losses to enjoy the last laugh when they cash in each season

Myth #3: “The Fix” and Insider Information

The concept of “the fix” is a widespread belief amongst amateur bettors to explain away improbable sports outcomes. Occasionally, accusations of a fix even make it into respected books and magazines. While there have been a few scandals over recent years involving point shaving and corrupted referees, the fix has largely been eradicated from major professional sports. Dirty money no longer talks like it once did in team sports.

Over the last 15 years, the salaries of professional athletes have skyrocketed. Important players, who would need to be bribed or corrupted to fix the outcome of a game, make millions of dollars each season. Players stand to make even more from endorsements and advertisements, which would be lost if they were ever caught tampering with the integrity of a game. Moreover, it would cost a substantial amount of money to bribe and corrupt multiple superstar players. The amount being wagered would be so large that multiple sportsbooks would need to be used to cover dirty investments and the money won would not go unnoticed. In the end, the system is unlikely to exist on such a large scale in modern sports. Additionally, the multiple Z-Code experts consistently generating profit would not be able to do so if the games weren’t honest. In the end, “the fix” is largely a thing of the past.

“Insider information” is another common myth that scheming handicappers use to attract clients. The promise of insider information is more realistic than the idea of a fix, but just as mythical. Many professional handicapping services claim to have secret information behind their success. If they win, the user feels privileged to be connected to insider information. When the service loses, the service claims their inside information changed at the last minute and they were unable to relay the message in time. This is a road to hell.

There is no insider information that can be relied on consistently. Even if your brother is a professional basketball player, you are unlikely to receive special information that will regularly influence the outcome of a game. Insider information is little more than a lowlife scam used by handicappers to attract new clients.

Virtually all successful sports bettors work hard at handicapping. We don’t simply roll out of bed and make bets. We don’t utilize “inside information” to analyze games. The information used to analyze games is readily available to anyone that makes the effort to find it. To profit from handicapping, you should expect to make a similar effort and not expect “magic fixes”. Any services promising otherwise are dishonest.

to be continued...