The 7 Bad Pieces of Advice New Sports Bettors Often Hear

The value of quality information and helpful advice regarding sports betting cannot be overstated. Those pieces of wisdom are often the difference between winning and losing. But not all sources of information are as reliable as others. Similarly, not all advice is worth listening to or applying to the way you approach sports betting.

The process of filtering through sports betting facts and opinions to find beneficial knowledge is becoming more demanding. While sharp bettors typically know how to navigate around the misinformation, novices aren’t as lucky.

It might be through no fault of their own, but it’s frustrating when you consider that these early hiccups could be avoided. The sources of these misguided, inaccurate tips can often vary. Some come from popular media personalities, others from supposed “professional handicappers.”

Whatever the source may be, their messages can spread like wildfire. To help you avoid these early mistakes, here are the seven worst pieces of advice new sports bettors often hear.

1. Your Bankroll and Unit Size Is Too Small

One of the beauties of sports gambling is that people from different financial situations can feel connected. It honestly shouldn’t matter how much or how little money you’re putting on a game.

Yet, these types of people run rampant in the sports gambling community.

When beginners are starting out, one of the first things they must address is their budget. Unfortunately, proper bankroll management is something many gamblers struggle with.

So it’s somewhat refreshing when a novice starts small to avoid early, devastating losses. These responsible gambling habits should be praised, not criticized.

2. “Trust Me, This Bet Cannot Lose”

Confidence in one’s gambling abilities is necessary as potential wagers that elicit feelings of skepticism should be carefully considered.

If you’re gambling to the best of your abilities, confidence should come from the legwork that goes into your bets. Preparation and research are essential, but sometimes that work isn’t enough to win certain bets.

Every single sports wager has a chance of losing, regardless of the odds.

Overconfidence in specific bets can lead to gamblers betting a substantial amount of money. When these types of “sure-fire” bets hit, they can be quite lucrative. But if that lock somehow doesn’t come through, it can take a severe toll on your bankroll.

3. Most Tips and Picks Coming From Phony “Experts”

One of the most egregious and blatant sources of terrible gambling advice are so-called professional handicappers. While there are legitimate and well-respected pros in the industry, there are just as many deviants.

Many of these handicappers brag about their unbelievable winning percentages and unit increases. They typically lie about past results and doctor the books to improve their records artificially.

The idea of buying picks, even from professional handicappers, is somewhat of a polarizing topic of conversation.

Not only will gamblers pay a premium for these picks, but they will also likely end up losing money on the wager as well. Before you think about buying picks or taking advice from handicappers, make sure they are properly vetted.

4. More Wagers = More Profit

For whatever reason, the worst sports gamblers are often the most vocal. The only thing higher than the number of terrible pieces of advice they offer is the number of wagers they lose monthly.

One of the easiest ways to spot someone like this is by analyzing their betting volume. A mark of a genuinely horrid, degenerative gambler is the tendency to bet on every single sporting event.

When gamblers engage in high-volume betting, they tend to stretch themselves too thin. Instead of putting enough thought into bets, they expose themselves to making careless mistakes.

Gamblers, especially inexperienced ones, should prioritize quality over quantity. Failing to do so is doing yourself a disservice.

Low volume betting might seem slightly boring at first. But once you establish a good routine, you can start steadily increasing your number of wagers.

5. When All Else Fails, Go With Your Gut

Certain lines and potential wagers have a way of baffling sports bettors. Often, these particular bets come down to a missed free throw or a shanked extra point.

Sports gambling is an inexact science that forces bettors to consider several variables that go into matchups.

Those precious moments spent contemplating which side of a bet inspires confidence are when gamblers win or lose money.

In these few seconds of uncertainty, smart bettors often defer to logic and reason. Other less successful gamblers opt to toss logic aside and go with their gut instinct instead.

Whereas it’s advisable to trust your instincts when handling most situations, sports betting is not one of them.

Sports gamblers are often influenced by certain factors not conducive to profitable betting.

These factors include:

• Biases
• Gambling Fallacies
• Rooting interests

By trusting your instincts instead of empirical evidence and data, you allow these influences to take control.

6. Sports Betting Systems Don’t Work

There are a few misconceptions amongst members of the gambling public regarding the legitimacy of betting systems.

Contrary to popular belief, a betting system is nothing more than a gambler’s method or strategy.

This infamy is often due to user error or the system in question being completely ineffective. Either way, many gamblers have been burned by them in the past.

While I can’t argue that individual systems are useless, denying their place in the sports betting process is misguided. Simply stated, betting systems enable gamblers to both monitor results and improve over time.

7. All Sports Betting Sites Are the Same

Arguing that every sports betting site is the same is like saying every casino is the same.

Despite the obvious flaw in this line of reasoning, certain gamblers still stand by it. But like traditional casinos, no two betting sites are the same.

Sports betting sites often vary in quality, dependability, and professionalism. For the most part, these websites are worthy of anyone’s business.

Conclusion

As someone brand new to sports gambling, an obvious first step is to search for helpful advice around the internet and the gambling community. Even if your intentions for doing so are inherently good, they might not be rewarded.

In fact, that pursuit of information sometimes does more harm than good. Terrible gambling advice is just as prevalent as the terrible gamblers offering it. Those utterly oblivious to what constitutes sound gambling advice might even believe this misinformation.

No matter how confident someone is in a wager, there is no such thing as a guaranteed lock. Always be wary of these picks, especially if they’re coming from certain “ professional handicappers.”

If you find yourself questioning something you hear or read, always verify it with multiple sources.