The fall is a very exciting time for sports bettors who like to bet on many different sports. It can also be a very challenging one. Through the summer there is really just one North American sport to bet on – baseball. Baseball betting is challenging, but it also has a pretty leisurely feel during the dog days of summer. Once the fall rolls around, though, baseball is far from the only game in town. The NFL preseason starts, then college football, then the NFL regular season. Soon after hockey gets underway, and then the NBA. The whole time baseball is accelerating towards the finish line. Soon after the World Series ends college basketball fires up. Bettors who have been betting just one sport through the summer have to quickly adjust to betting on several at the same time. If a bettor isn’t prepared for that change then their bankroll is in serious danger of taking a big hit. Here are five keys to success for sports handicappers to use when making the transition to betting several sports at the same time:
Ensure your bankroll is in shape to handle it – When you are betting several sports at once then you are going to have times that you have a whole lot of bets made at the same time. Over the course of a weekend you could bet several college and NFL games along with some NBA, NHL, and college basketball. It could all add up to several units in play. If you have a large bankroll and you are using sound money management principles then that probably isn’t a big deal. If you are trying to do too much with your bankroll, though, and you aren’t protecting yourself fully then you can easily find yourself broke if one weekend doesn’t go the right way. You need to make sure that you have a large, healthy bankroll. That could mean that you need to add some cash to your existing wagering bankroll, or you could have to decrease your bet size so that you have more units to work with.
Prioritize your sports – If you like betting on all the sports that are available then most times you can probably do that reasonably effectively. there will be times, though,w hen there are too many games available and you can’t possibly handicap all of the sports as effectively as you should. At that point you need to have a sense of which sports you absolutely don’t want to miss out on, which ones you will get to if you have the time, and which ones you are willing to leave until things get a little quieter.
Don’t overextend yourself – In sports handicapping, you want to make sure that you aren’t overextended either in terms of your time or your finances. This really is just an extension of the first two points, but it is so important that I will say it again. If you try to do too much – handicap and bet on too many games or sports, put too much of your bankroll in action at once, and so on – then you are going to have to put less than your full effort into each game you handicap, and you are going to get less than full results from your betting activities. Successful sports bettors aren’t the ones who bet on the most games. They are the one who win the highest percentage of their bets and make the most money. If you feel like you are stressed out because you are trying to do too much then feel free to take a step back, do less, and work harder on what you are doing.
Find ways to take breaks – When you are juggling four or five sports at the same time it can be overwhelming. Between football on the weekend and the other sports through the week there can be something to bet on every single day, and you’ll be handicapping football games during the week as well. If you work at your handicapping every day for weeks at a time then it is impossible for you to be at your sharpest every day. When you get tired you lose focus, and that’s when you start making mistakes. The best way to regain that focus and recharge your passion for sports betting is to take some time away from it. I’m not talking about quitting cold turkey for a week or anything. All you need to do is take a single day once in a while and give yourself a break. Don’t handicap any games. Don’t watch any games. Do something that has nothing to do with sports betting. It’s just one day, so you’ll survive, and you’ll feel great afterwards as a result.
Keep very strong records – When you are betting on a lot of sports you are going to be making a lot of bets. When you have a lot of money in play you need to be very aware of where the weaknesses and leaks are in your betting so that you can plug them before they cost you too much. When you are betting different sports at the same time those leaks won’t be immediately obvious to you because so much is going on. The only way you can accurately assess what you are doing well and what isn’t working for you is by keeping very good records and being sure that you are taking the time to look over those records regularly to see what they can teach you. The biggest improvement that most bettors can make in their results is by studying and learning from their records of their betting history. Handicapper who make expert sports picks do this. They have to in order to run their business and undestand where they stand. Don’t miss out on this basic opportunity – especially when improvement is so important to your continued success.
