Common Betting Mistakes That South African Players Should Be Aware of
When it comes to playing online there are a number of common betting mistakes that players will often fall victim too. Now as a new player we may not always be aware of these mistakes, so to assist our community of avid sports punters, we have identified some of the most common betting mistakes, and brought these to surface so that you are fully equipped and aware before it’s too late.
1. Having Unrealistic Expectations
There are many people who begin their sports betting journey with unrealistic expectations of the outcome. We all fancy ourselves an expert when it comes to the sports we know and love, however that does not mean we have control over the outcomes of various sporting events, no matter how much we know.
The fact of the matter is that anything can happen in a sporting fixture, and because of this the outcome isn’t fully guaranteed. Manage your expectations by knowing that there will be occasions where you may lose your wager, this is inevitable
2. Spreading Yourself Thin
An important, but often overlooked, attribute when sports betting is having the patience to wait for the right opportunities to get some money down. Unfortunately, patience is not something that we’d associate very closely with the average bettor: especially not beginners. In our experience, most beginners place far too many wagers. For example, many people bet on a wide range of different sports. Others focus on just a single sport, but bet on almost every single event related to that sport. Neither of these approaches are ideal.
A much better approach is to be selective. Rather than betting on lots of different sports, try to focus on just one or two. Rather than placing wagers on each and every game or event, try to look for opportunities where it’s possible to make good judgments about what’s likely to happen.
3. Choosing Illegitimate Sportsbooks
Without a doubt, the easiest way to place wagers these days is over the internet. It’s convenient and easy, and there are several other benefits too. It’s essential to use the right betting sites though. They’re not all of the same standard, and some should absolutely be avoided. Unfortunately, a lot of bettors make the mistake of just signing up at the first site they find. There are a few genuinely bad sites on the web, some of which should not be trusted with your funds.
It’s risky to sign up with an unfamiliar site when you have no idea if they’re reputable or trustworthy. Knowing this information should be a minimum requirement. Ideally, you should only consider the best sites available.
4. Betting With Your Heart
One of the biggest mistakes players make is that they bet with their hearts and not with their heads. What we mean by this is that we all have a favourite team/s, players, horses that is close to our heart, whether it be personal or just something you’ve grown fond of over time, however despite this personal affinity we cannot disregard the facts and statistics when making our selections, just because we love Manchester United does not mean that they will beat a team who may be in better form at the present point in time. You need to turn to the facts and use the data to make an informed decision about the outcome of the event, rather than betting on who you’d like to win
There are some really amazing live stats centre available by some of the top sportsbooks, visit our review section to find out which ones offer this feature
5. Betting for the wrong reasons
Have you ever sat down to watch a game of football on TV and decided to place a bet just to make things more exciting? Or placed a wager on a tennis player to win a tournament because he’s your favorite? Or backed your country’s soccer team to win an international tournament because you’re feeling patriotic? If you answered yes to any of these questions (and you probably did if answering honestly), then you’re guilty of making one of the most common betting mistakes of all.
There is only one good reason to place a wager if you’re aiming to make long term profits, and that’s when you’ve identified a genuinely good opportunity. Betting without a cause or betting based on your emotions are not good enough reasons to place a bet. This type of behaviour will almost certainly cost you money in the long run.
6. Misunderstanding The T’s & C’s
The world of online sports betting is a crowded space, and for bookmakers bonuses are an ideal way in which to attract new players. For players looking to start out some of these bonuses can be very appealing, and rightfully so, however one must be cautious to read the T&C’s of bonus options very carefully as many times these come with specific requirements and clauses. Every betting sites bonus terms will differ so it’s important to familiarise yourself before signing up.