10 Common Betting Mistakes

You have finally decided to create a new betting account. Now, the question is, what is your primary goal before you begin? To have some fun or have a long-term profit? In case you aim for the latter, there are vital sports betting mistakes you must avoid. Playing too much, not managing your bankroll correctly, losing your discipline or chasing losses will zero your balance.

If you are new to gambling, don’t worry. We are here to underline the most common betting mistakes and provide proven techniques to save your bankroll.

Which are the Most Crucial Sports Betting Mistakes

When you get into online wagering, you are bound for errors. No matter your experience, you can always get back into bad habits. Let’s get into the five most ordinary sports betting mistakes a novice can make.

Not Setting a Bankroll

Money management is as important as your winning percentage, if not more. If you do not calculate your stake, you may likely increase it after losing a series of bets, making it tough to make a real profit. This is of the most common sports betting mistakes among inexperienced punters.

Solution: Always have a clear staking plan in mind and start with a balance you can afford. We suggest you set your regular stake around 2-3% of your entire bankroll: i.e. should your total capital be $100, your bet should not exceed $2-3.

If you do not prefer betting on flat stakes (the same amount of money), you can set your limits on what a full stake, half stake, or fun bet should be. Once you have set the limits, make sure not to exceed them. Also, a betting bankroll calculator will always come in handy. 

Placing unrealistic bets

Placing a few wagers for fun is something nearly all players do, either to spice up a match, to have a good time with friends or simply due to random inspiration. For example, you are about to watch the Champions League final.

You feel ready to "bet the farm" on a 200/1 Bet Builder and make extravagant plans for spending your winnings. In most cases, you will enjoy the suspense and emotions associated with expecting a win, yet you might end up losing a chunk of your bankroll on unrealistic chances.

Solution: Placing a fun bet is alright, but you should not go ahead with spending all your bankroll seeking miracles. So do not spend more than $5 on that.

Chasing losses

This is actually not only one of the crucial rookie punter mistakes, but one even professional bettors occasionally fall for. If you think you can find a way how to bet without losing, it is almost impossible. If you lose, you are not suddenly under the gun to get your money back. You must keep your cool.

It is not necessary to find a game right away to make up your losses, and by all means, you should not wager on a game that you would normally pass on. You are encouraged to take a pause and cool down in high-stress situations, such as losing a game because of a late goal or an incorrect referee decision.

Having no discipline

Many pros place their wagers daily; that’s a fact. However, there is a clear difference between making calculated choices and betting on every possible match. A vast quantity of bets is not a sign of professionalism, but the exact opposite, a lack of discipline. Do not overdo it by betting all the time, as you increase the chances of nibbling your bankroll.

To put it into numbers, it has been estimated that 27% of all bettors are profitable in a month's time. Out of them, 58% place 10-100 wagers within that period, whereas 42% place more than 100. This is why sometimes less is more in online wagering.

Not doing your research

Value betting refers to placing a wager where the likelihood of winning exceeds what the odds implied probability, ergo a higher likelihood of success. It can be a difficult concept to grasp and is typically only done by more experienced bettors, but ignoring value bets could very well result in a lower chance of winning.

This is one of the punter mistakes that can prove to be detrimental to your bankroll management. You should always keep track of your record against a bookie and update your archive of recent wagers, including details like sport, type of bet, selection, stake and, of course, ROI.

Also Read: Why keep betting tips archives

5 Less Common Betting Mistakes

Having analyzed the most crucial errors among inexperienced players, we may move on to some further ones. While these do not look to be of such importance in the long run, they can slightly affect your wagering activity, so it is optimal they be avoided.

Betting on Unfamiliar Sports

A friend of yours is telling you to bet on a water polo “sure win”. The problem is, you can not remember when was the last time you watched water polo, not to mention placing a wager on it. No matter how tempting it may sound, you should probably ignore his advice.

It is the same thing when you have an uncontrolled urge to bet without caring about the sport or league. If you are familiar with football but cannot find any soccer matches, why should it be logical to turn to table tennis? You have to fight this feeling, as it is not only bound to cost money but may also be a sign of becoming addicted.

Solution: If you would like to broaden your knowledge, choose one and spend some time watching and understanding it before you place your first bet.

Placing Bets with Many Selections

How many times has a supposed favourite lost and cost you a massive win on an acca? If you have never experienced this, you are either lucky or really smart. Never let your choices be influenced by potential profit amounts, or else you can make a crucial betting mistake.

Plenty of times, you will end up regretting adding one more selection to get some extra profits. Remember, your actual chance of winning a four-match combo is less than 1.5% so you need a minimum payout of 70/1 to gain a profit in the long run. Let alone a painful last-minute loss might occur.

Solution: We strongly recommend you stick to singles and keep away from fancy parlays. Do not get greedy, or you will significantly lower your profit in the long run.

Relying on Others' Tips

It is often recommended to seek professional advice occasionally. However, should you pay for betting tips? After all, tipsters are only regular people who have done their research to determine what they foresee to happen. This does not suggest that they are always right, though. Only after conducting your own investigation should you follow their predictions. 

Solution: Feel free to check the so-called experts, but if you sense something is incorrect, follow your judgement and place a wager based on the results of your own investigation.

Betting Based on Emotion

Every football bettor supports a club as we all started watching football well before we placed our first ever wager. You have to be honest and ask yourself; have you ever bet against your team? If the answer is yes, you might be on the right track to becoming a professional bettor. If not, you should start being less biased towards your club.

Unless you can control your feelings when your team is playing, then you should eliminate every thought associated with betting on them. Obviously, sometimes your betslip will be confirmed but if you think your club can win each and every match, then you put emotions before logic.

Not Searching for the Right Bookmaker

Deciding to get into sports betting by relying solely on a single bookmaker is quite common. However convenient it might seem, this is another rookie punter mistake. Bookies are always to be under examination, as they have a wide variety of different odds and offers.

For instance, if you want to back Liverpool to win against Manchester City, the first thing you should do is shop around for the best odds bookmakers. One bookie might offer the selection at 2.50 odds and another at 2.70 odds or search for a special promotion for the match (cashbacks, free bets, enhanced odds).

Solution: This can be attained by having a funded account in as many bookmakers as you can, maybe 3 or 4, based on the sports you would like to wager on.

How to Avoid Sports Betting Mistakes

The easiest approach to avoid making these sports betting mistakes is to take your time and do your homework. When it comes to betting, you should not make any hasty decisions, including how much to wager or which team to back.

Never skip out on reading everything you can because research will serve as the cornerstone of all of your decisions on how to become a sharp sports bettor.