There are two things that any long term sports better can guarantee:

a)      He will have losing streaks

b)      He will have winning streaks

There are two defining factors that distinguish between a good sports bettor and a bad one, which is how these streaks are viewed and acted upon.

Think, for a moment, when you were last on a winning streak, every position was going your way, the money was rolling in, you were thinking about quitting your job and becoming a “professional full-time gambler”.

This is when things can turn ugly, especially if you believe you have a talent for picking winners, you become arrogant and start thinking that gambling is your calling in life.

As the arrogance kicks in, your bet stakes start getting bigger, you take short-cuts with your research, because your “gut-instincts” are so good, statistics don’t matter.

I’m sure you know what is likely to follow, after every up comes the down and a losing streak kicks in, every bet goes against you, last minute goals, goalkeeping howlers, you feel cursed that everything is conspiring against you. You either lose your nerve to place a bet, or even worse you go blindly chasing your loses, trying to pull it all back with on huge, long-shot, winner.

Stop trying to be the hare and follow the tortoise!

The way to success in sports betting, like most things in business and life is slow and steady, patience is a virtue. The most common problem in sports betting is that a string of 4 or 5 consecutive results whether positive or negative tends to change a bettors strategy. When looking at long-term statistics short terms streaks, whether winners or losers are quite normal.

Taking all of this into account, in the middle of your next streak, take a step away from the table and remember a few things:

Losing Streak

• You don’t have a curse hanging over you.
• Be patient; things WILL turn around
• You’ve probably had some bad luck, good and bad luck always even themselves out EVENTUALLY.
• Be positive

Winning Streak

• You are NOT a genius
• Do your research, don’t cut corners
• You’ve probably had some luck, luck does not stay on your side forever.
• Be humble.

All this “control your emotions jargon” probably sounds familiar if you have read any books on sports betting, stock market trading or the like. There are hundreds of pursuits you can apply it too.

If you have ever dabbled in the stock market. Chances are you probably know what it feels like when your stock starts heading the wrong way. All you can think about is how on earth am I going to get out of this mess. Not exactly the best state of mind to, remain calm, patient and in a position to spot the next great opportunity.

 Don’t forget things can go the other way. There are plenty of people who have throw a few luck darts at the FTSE wheel of fortune, seem their wealth swell, swanked around in their Range Rover or Bentley telling everyone that they are the next Warren Buffet, only for their luck to turn and be blown out of the water.

Being completely emotionless is nigh on impossible to achieve. Next time you lose a bet, due to a last minute goal, you are going to feel the sting, if you don’t you may as well not be human. However, what is important is that you start to understand how your emotions affect your actions, the sooner you begin to understand this the better your returns will become in betting and many other pursuits.