Managing the Finances
The most important aspect when gambling and betting on any kind of sport, which includes the NFL, is the finances. It is always important to properly manage your money, not just to keep track of any profit or loss you may have incurred, but to maximize the amount of money you have that can be used to bet with. Before any type of betting takes place, the bettor needs to decide what kind of gambler he will want to be; professional or recreational. There are some helpful hints as to how to manage, control, and place your wagers that can truly help maximize the money in your bankroll, as well as maximize potential profit. More info is here: betting bankroll management
Pick your Betting Style
This should be the first aspect that any bettor should start with, deciding how he wants to play the game. There are two general betting styles that most of the sports bettors fall into, a professional or a recreational bettor. A professional bettor is a person that depends on the wagers and profits in order to make a living; you could say that gambling is a job and that is how they earn their money. There are also professional bettors that do not depend entirely on gambling, but rather do it to get a second income. On the other hand, the recreational bettor would be the person that simply bets on his favorite team or on the teams he believes will win while he enjoys watching the matches, as well as the added perk of maybe winning some extra money. Once a bettor has picked their betting style, they should be on the right path to sports betting.
Bankroll Management
Every bettor should have a bankroll amount; it is the amount of money they can or are willing to use in order to bet on sports. It is crucial to determine the bankroll amount, as every step beyond this point depends clearly on that number.
Big Bankroll
For those with a bigger bankroll, $10K or above, have different rules when it comes to placing wagers. In order to make a profit and at the same time limit the amount of risk, they need to be able to bet on more games. This is why as a rule of thumb these higher bankroll bettors should only place anywhere between 2% and 4% of their total bankroll amount on each bet they make. They would be betting anywhere between $220 and $440, in order to win $200 and $400 respectively. This may seem like a low percentage to wager, but as such, they can spread out their bets amongst many different match ups. Just like in finances, never put all your eggs in one basket.
Small and Medium Bankroll
The rules for the bettors with small to medium bankrolls are similar with a few differences. A small to medium bankroll is anywhere between a couple hundred dollars and $10K. Since these bettors do not have as much money to work with, they cannot afford to diversify as much as the bettor with a big bankroll. The reserved rule of thumb of betting between 2% and 4% wouldn’t apply to these types of bankrolls, as the bettor would not see very much profit at all. This is why it is a little more risky to have a smaller bankroll, since they must bet a larger percentage of it in order to see a good sized payout. For these types of bankrolls, it would be good to bet anywhere between 6% and 9% each wager. Do not exceed this limit per bet as it is still a good idea to spread out your bets as much as possible as to help lower the risk, even by a little.
Never Do This
There are a lot of ways to lose yourself when betting on sports, especially during a big win or a devastating loss. This is why it is just as important to give helpful tips on how to avoid committing gambling suicide as it is to help manage your money.
Wild Betting
This is a huge problem with sports bettors. They should never go on a wild betting spree, as that just invited disaster. Bets should be coldly calculated, as it is your money on the line. There are two basic kinds of wild gambling sprees; big win and big loss. When a person has a big winning week, where they have won most or all of their bets, they usually think they are invincible and will try to double what they have made. This is a bad idea, as their judgment will be clouded, and they could end up losing far more than what they have won. When a bettor has incurred huge losses during a week of betting, they may feel the need to win that lost money back, and will rush into using the rest of their bankroll to do so. Panic will only make the decisions even worse. It is a good idea in these situations to keep a level head, and remember that you are playing the odds and sometimes there are losses and wins.
Mixing Finances
It is always a good idea to keep personal finances away from your bankroll. There may come a time when a bettor will want to adjust their bankroll by increasing or decreasing it depending on how well they have performed. It is a bad idea to mix these two finances, as it could hurt the bettor in the long run. The bankroll should be a separate entity completely.
Thinking Short Term
Bettors should consider their bankroll as a savings account or mutual fund; it is all about the long term investment. They should never use the short term, win big strategy, as sports betting is an odds game and should be played long term. Instead of trying to get a 6-0 betting streak, they should focus on getting a 55% – 65% winning streak for the week. Depending on the amount wagered, they could make a profit of 13% – 16% on their initial investment. This is an amazing rate of return that you only see in the stock market. In the long run, playing it smart and patiently will bring much more success than trying to win big in an instant.
