Patience is a Sports Bettors Path to Profits
Betting for a living is often fantasized as being about big-decision moments and the highs of pulling off large wins. The reality is a very different scenario. Bettors need to work hard, learn quickly and be disciplined in order to succeed.
Patience is also an essential trait for any serious bettor and a path to profits in the long run.
Understanding the psychological side of betting is just as important as having the right kind of information and betting with the right bookmaker. Not everybody bets for the same reasons. There are various reasons why we gamble and if you want consistent profits, patience really is a virtue we were taught as children. “Good things come to those who wait” is a cliche that applies to life and betting.
- Why bettors need to be patient
Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious. It is often overlooked as a key component of making money from betting. Being able to calculate expected value and beat the closing line is obviously important but in an environment that can be influenced by randomness and luck, bettors also need to be patient.
Serious bettors know how important value (the better odds) is, no matter how small a difference it might make.
They know that sometimes it requires extra effort to find value and that with some patience, they will make more profit with better odds. It is important to understand that anxiety heightens irrational behavior. If an individual is patient they will reduce such behavior which will help them rationalize their decisions.
- Is technology making us impatient
Outside the world of betting, advancements in technology have made acquiring goods and fulfilling needs easier than ever. This desire for instant gratification has permeated betting and bettors are now provided with endless means to place bets that require little effort and minimal thought. The most popular bets and trending wagers highlight how the bandwagon effect or herd behavior dominates recreational betting.
- Waiting for what you know is coming
In short, bettors need to be patient and “see the bigger picture”. If you have positive expected value but still suffer losses, you need to understand that it is merely a sequence of losses in a bigger sample that will produce a profit. Betting is about getting an edge over the bookmaker, finding positive expected value and understanding margins so you know how much your bet costs.
In addition to a winning formula you have to be patient enough to see the desired results.
One of the most efficient ways to use a patient approach to betting is monitoring each new weeks schedule. Laying out the upcoming games is a process to see in advance what matchups look favorable instead of betting what is available. Control your itch or urges to bet games that have little value and a waste of money. Hold out for game spots you favor or feel strong about and wait for their scheduled time and date. Put your money resources to good use over each week when good betting opportunities are worth the wait.
