As we near the kickoff of another exciting NFL season, I wanted to talk about one concept that I feel is important to master if you want to have successful betting campaign.  It has to do with your mental approach to the whole idea of betting on football.

Here’s the thing: the sooner you accept that fact that you have zero control of the outcome of a particular game, the better off you’ll be.  You can have access to the best statistical research – it doesn’t matter.  You can spend all week leading up to the game watching every expert pundit on television weigh in with their opinion – doesn’t matter.  You can even pay someone who makes a living handicapping these games for their advice – doesn’t matter.  Heck, you can even know someone who works for the team, IN the trainer’s room and it STILL won’t matter.

Why?  Because once the two teams are out on the field anything can happen.  That QB didn’t just throw an atrocious pick-six that allowed the favorite to cover with under 30 seconds left, did he?  Yes he did.  That kicker didn’t just shank an easy 22-yard field goal that would have given you the cover, did he?  Yup, he did.  That terrible team didn’t just complete a hail mary with no time on the clock to give them a backdoor cover and ruin your parlay, did they?  Yes, they certainly did.  These scenarios are brutal, and I guarantee you’ve taken a stomach-punch loss on each and every one of them at some point in your sports betting career, so you know they can happen. 

Alright, so we’ve established that you have absolutely no control of what happens between the white lines.  Now what?  What can you do to ensure that you have as successful of a football season as possible?  Well, let’s focus on what is in your sphere of influence.  And this factor has two sides to it.  Are you ready?  Here it is…

1. You Need To Have A Bankroll Management System
2. You Need to STICK WITH IT

You see, having the system isn’t enough - you must have the discipline to follow it through thick and thin.  Some guys have the tendency to chase their losses.  After they lose a few in a row they try to get it all back on one game.  Now you’ve taken on unnecessary risk on one game that has no more or less chance of winning than any other game you’ve decided to put your hard-earned money on.  That’s just dumb.  Same goes for winning a few games in a row and developing an, “I can’t lose right now,” mentality.  You’ll be in the poor house just as quickly as the chaser.

Your system also needs to be in place before the kickoff of the first game of the season.  This isn’t something you can develop on the fly, because you’ll never have the ability to stick with it while games are going off.  It’s like the dieter – why would you leave a package of chocolate chip cookies in the closet?  It just sets you up for failure.

So what is an ideal money management system?  I don’t suggest there is a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all bankroll strategy, but I do know this: Spreading the risk around in the sports betting marketplace is similar to building a diverse portfolio in the stock market.  It lessens the damage done by a rough stretch (which, as we’ve discussed here, is pretty much inevitable).  If you start out with a $1,000 bankroll and decide to use $250 wagers, there is a good chance the bankroll will be decimated by an early cold streak. However, if you make $20 wagers, you can withstand any early cold streaks to remain in the market and realize positive gains.

So I recommend betting between 2-5 percent of your betting bankroll on each game.  No matter what – whether you start off hot, cold or somewhere in between, you keep betting the same percentage of money on each game.  The only time this changes?  Once you’ve doubled your original bankroll.  At that point you can double your stake amount.  Remember, there are things you can control and things you can’t, so please keep that in mind and work on maintaining the discipline to adopt and stick to a bankroll management system this football betting season.

For more sports betting tips and helpful articles, please visit www.sportsbettingprofessor.com.

Thanks,
Rich