When the calendar turns to December each year the holiday season starts, and that means that our lives seem to get busier and more chaotic – mostly in a good way. For sports bettors December is a good time of year, with the NFL getting into the tense last weeks of the season, the NBA and the NHL rounding into midseason form, bowl games being on offer for the last half of the month, and college basketball finishing off the non-conference season. It can be a profitable time of year for bettors, but it can also be one with some pitfalls if you aren’t careful. Here are six tips to help sports bettors survive the holiday season with a bigger bankroll than they started with:
Don’t drink and bet – You’ll hear lots every holiday season about how you shouldn’t drink and drive. It’s a very important message, and crucial during the holidays when drinking is a big part of everything that happens. Serious sports bettors should show the same restraint when betting as well. I don’t want to be a Grinch and suggest that you can’t have a drink and make a bet to have a good time. If you are serious about long term betting success, though, then you need to recognize that you aren’t making your best decisions after a few drinks. If you are going to have a good time on a given day then skip the serious bets for that day. Your bankroll will thank you.
Only bet if you have the time – Time can totally disappear during the holidays. There always seems to be another party or gathering to go to, or there is always shopping to be done, and everything just seems to take longer in December. If you are a successful handicapper then you know that you make your best bets when you have had the time to prepare properly. If your schedule isn’t going to allow you enough time to do what you do best then the smart move is to skip betting on that day. You’re far better off not making any sports bets than you would be making bets that you could easily live to regret because you didn’t have the time to handicap properly.
Be choosy – With so many high profile opportunities available to sports bettors during this season it is very important that they are choosy about what to bet on. If you try to bet on everything out there you are going to be spread too thin, and you aren’t going to give each game the attention it deserves. You always need to be sure you are picking the games to bet on that give you the best edge, and that’s especially important at this time of year.
Think of the public impact – During the holidays – and especially between Christmas and the new year – people have some free time on their hands because they aren’t at work. A lot of those people are drawn to watching sports, and when people watch sports they like to bet on them. During the holidays, then, there is always going to be a big increase in the amount of public money bet on games. The betting public isn’t always rational with their betting decisions, but thankfully they are often fairly predictable – they like favorites, big names, and high scoring games. Before making any bets it is important to consider if the public is going to be interested in the game, and what impact that interest could have on how the lines are set, how they move, and where the value can be found.
How do you want to finish your year? – December is obviously the end of the calendar year. For some bettors it can be important psychologically that they end their year off on a strong note, or that they finish the year with a profit. Where you stand on the year can have an impact on how you approach the last days or weeks of the year. You don’t ever want to bet scared, but you may want to consider where you want to end up before you make any bets.
Enjoy the holidays – It’s always important that sports bettors make sure that they are in control of their betting, and not that their betting controls them and their lives. The holiday season is about having fun, spending time with family and friends, and enjoying the last days of the year. Bettors love to bet and want to do that whenever they can. In the ling term, though, you’ll be a better bettor if you take the time to relax and enjoy yourself from time to time. Taking a break from the day to day grind of good sports betting is never a bad idea – you’ll come back refreshed and recharged. maybe the holidays are a good time for you to step away and enjoy something other than your action for a couple of days.
