Successful sports bettors are tough self-critics. They engage in weekly reviews of their work, analyzing what went right and wrong, where they made good choices but lost, where they made bad choices but won, and where they made solid picks and the outcome was what they expected.
A weekly review of how you did and how you got there will help you prepare for the next week. You may recognize leaks in your process, things you need to do better, and solid practices that you should continue to utilize. It’s all about perspective, and if you’re an avid sports bettor who is making picks on a daily basis, it’s very easy to lose perspective. Here are a few tips that you can use to help you stay focused on winning as many bets as possible.
Analyze Your Winners and Losers
Too many times sports bettors will either analyze solely what they did right in making a winning pick or what they did wrong in going with a loser. Here’s something to keep in mind: You can learn from both your victories and defeats. Each week, analyze both sides of the ledger sheet.
Determine Why You Won or Lost
You really want to know what happened in terms of each bet. Knowing why you won or lost a sports bet will make you a stronger player. As an example, maybe your handicapping of a game was impeccable, but a key injury during the game threw all of that out the window. You lost because of an unexpected injury. That’s very different than losing due to the fact that you missed something important while doing your matchups for the game.
On the other side, maybe you won a bet, but you were totally wrong as to how and why the outcome came about. Is that a good bet? Even if you win, if you made major errors then you need to be aware of them. You may not be so lucky the next time.
Analyze Games You Did Not Bet
You chose to not bet on certain games. Maybe you didn’t like the spread, thought the matchups made it too tough to handicap accurately, or believed there were better deals. Whatever the case may be, take a look at some of those contests you did not pick. Should you have bet on them, or did you make the right choice by staying away?
Do the Math
Don’t forget to do the math on the week. That includes how many games you won and lost, how many units you won and lost, and how much cash you bet and brought in. Don’t forget to subtract expenses, vig, pick services, and anything associated with your sports betting that cost you cash. Before you can wager on the next week’s games, you’ll need to understand how much your bankroll can take and how accurate you’ve been in making your sports bets and distributing your units. That’s what the math is all about – it’s about being practical.
Your Power Rankings
This will take some time, but it can be well worth it. Devise your own system of power rankings for the sports and teams on which you wager. Make it fairly simple but accurate so that you can apply it quickly each week. This may help give you some perspective on the week’s upcoming games and the spreads and lines. Most professional sports bettors, at least those who are successful, are true students of the game. This is a good way to become just that.
Moving Forward into the Week
Once you’ve gone back and assessed your performance, it’s time to move forward into the new week of betting. Use all of the great information you’ve gathered from the past week and prior weeks to help you accurately handicap and pick the next week’s upcoming games.