How to Avoid Beginners Mistakes in Sports Betting

By Sports Handicapper Ron Raymond

June 9^th, 2022

One of the biggest perceptions in sports betting many novice bettors have is that sports betting is easy, and they could make a living doing it. As ESPN College Gameday analyst and former College Football Coach Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast my friend”.

Sure, sports betting can look easy at times, but “WINNING” on a consistent basis at sports betting is a whole different ball game!

As ex-NFL Player and Head Coach Mike Singletary once said at San Francisco 49ers press conference; “I want winners”!

The mindset sports bettors need to take when wagering on sports, it’s you against the bookmaker and they are not your friend.

At the end of the day, nobody wants to lose money and if you don’t put in the time and do your homework prior to placing your bet, you will lose your shirt in a very short amount of time and the experience of sports betting will be a negative one.

I’ve put together a “beginners’ guide” to improve your sports betting experience and if you’re either a veteran or rookie to the game, you might be able to relate or hopefully learn some new betting principles.

BETTING BLINDLY WITH NO GAME PLAN OR SYSTEM

One of the biggest mistakes most sports bettors will do is go on memory and just bet blindly without doing any research or having a sports betting system to back up their picks. As Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face”.

Ron’s Tip: Have a plan or you will be part of somebody else plan. Try the Raymond Report Sports Betting System and follow Ron’s 2 Golden Rules of Sports Betting.

DO YOU HAVE A MONEY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM?

The worst money management system is placing the same amount of money on each game without setting up a budget. Have a financial game plan, understand the value of a dollar and how hard it is to make money these days, set financial goals. In the Raymond Report Sports Betting System, I consistently talk about the two types of sports betting wagers: “Action Investments” and “Sports Betting Investments”. In a nutshell, think of “beer and pizza” money bets and 401K investment bets.

Ron’s Tip: One of my financial goals is called “Cash out Monday”, it might not be every Monday, but aim to cash out at least once a month.

CONSISTENTLY BETTING ON LOSING TEAMS

Bill Parcells says it all the time; “You are what you’re record says you are!”. In fact, I’ve said this many times during my podcast and it’s one of my favorite quotes in sports betting; “When you consistently bet on bad teams expecting good things to happen, or use the due factor theory, it very rarely happens”. There’s a reason why those teams have a losing record, they haven’t learned how to win on a consistent basis. Winners find ways to win and if you’re in this game to win in the long run, avoid betting on losing teams.

Ron’s Tip: In the Raymond Report, I only bet on A and B-type teams, and I avoid betting on those C-type teams at all costs, because they are just like an old high school sweetheart, they will break your heart in the end. Sometimes the best pick you make, is the one you don’t make!

UNDERSTANDING VALUE IN SPORTS BETTING

How many times have you heard the expression, there’s no value in that pick or how do you rate value in sports betting? To find value, you must compare it to something and if you’re comparing value to the naked eye, then it’s like the old saying goes, “Value lies in the eyes of the beholder”.

Ron’s Tip: In the Raymond Report Sports Betting System, I have a chart called the “Value Report” and it compares each game odds to past situations from other teams and games of the past. I have 3 value categories: Over Value, Fair Market Value and Under Valued.

TRY NOT TO ACT ON IMPULSE

I call this the “Gamblers Kryptonite”, where they act without thinking of the consequences of their actions in a very short amount of time range. Furthermore, I never understood why sports bettors have this knack of waiting until the last minute to go make a bet, it’s like par for the course at the racetrack when the horses are being put into the gate.

Ron’s Tip: When in doubt, get out of that bet!

KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

The thing about sports betting in today’s world, you can practically bet on anything from 1^st period wagers to player props. However, it doesn’t mean there’s an opportunity to be successful. If you are betting on Premier League soccer and you haven’t watched a Chelsea or Manchester United game in 10 years, why are you suddenly, an expert in Premier League Soccer? Warren Buffet says it all the time, only buy stocks that you understand. Same logic applies here, know your strengths and weaknesses of sports betting.

LESS IS MORE CONCEPT

One of my favorite’s quotes in life; Less is More! I wished I would have known about this concept in my early 20’s, more life decisions would make sense today at 53 years old. I often read on forums or discord, I have 7 bets today, or I have a 10-team parlay for $100. To be honest, I get the parlay bet, people want that home run payout for $20 bucks, but it only takes 1 SILVER BULLET pick to make money! I’ve done the math many times on our site and posted it in columns, the more bets you make, the lower your win percentage will be in the end. Again, “Less is More!”

Ron’s Tip: Take the 30-day challenge, only bet on A and B type teams in the Raymond Report and make sure they are in Neutral or Bullish Cycles and don’t bet on double headers in baseball. You will see it’s a great “process of elimination” method to eliminate bad bets you would have made.

AVOID CHASING LOSSES

One of the hardest things to do as a sports bettor is to accept losing days. Been there, done that! In fact, conspiracy theorist will have you believe Monday Night Football was invented for sports bettors to win back all the football money they lost on a College Football Saturday and NFL Sunday. To get away from chasing losing days or weekends, have a “window plan”, where you say to yourself, I have a 30-day window to make money and keep track of your bankroll. Don’t allow one game or a bad weekend of decisions force you to think, I must make everything up on one game.

Ron’s Tip: I always ask clients this one question, when was the last time you cashed out at your sportsbook? If the answer is never, I then point them to sign up for the Raymond Report and try the 30 days challenge.

At the end of the day, you must have some sports betting fundamentals and in the Raymond Report Sports Betting System, my 5 key fundamentals are the following.