The 5 Biggest Sports Betting Mistakes To Avoid

The 5 Biggest Sports Betting Mistakes To Avoid

Also Read: The Best 11 Free Football Prediction Sites In The World (2024/2025)

While you can get all the right advice and tips, sometimes, there's no better teacher than trial and error. Mistakes, especially ones that cost you money and personal pain, just have a way of leaving a permanent imprint in your brain. Alas, this is the case with sports betting.

While gambling mistakes are plenty, there are five in particular that have left a lasting impact on us — and probably for good reason, too. It's because of these five lessons that we're now successful when it comes to wagering. Allow us to share:

1. Not Doing Any Research

Unfortunately, many bettors are laden with personal biases, one being overconfidence in their ability to predict sports. Many assume they can outsmart bookies from "gut decisions" alone.

Spoiler alert: they can't. There's a reason sportsbooks stay open and in business — they win. A lot. As a matter of fact, the betting lines you're choosing from are calculated from advanced algorithms that factor in various data points. 

You must spend a lot of time researching before plopping down any money. This includes studying the matchups closely and using your own data to spot trends. The overarching lesson here? In betting, you get what you put in, so study up!

2. Chasing Losses

You have to come to grips that you'll lose in betting. It's an absolute guarantee unless you sit on the sidelines and don't gamble at all.

How you handle those losses will largely determine your success whilst wagering. The unsuccessful bettors will panic after a big-money loss. In doing so, they'll "chase" lost money by rushing their next bet. This includes not doing research beforehand and upping the money risked to make up for lost funds.

Don't fall into this trap. Ever. Instead, keep your emotions in check. Look, you're only as good as you're next bet. Let bygones be bygones and focus on picking another win — without the weight of the past dictating your next move. Staying even-keeled through wins and losses is a prerequisite to becoming a top bettor.

3. Don't Rush Your Online Sportsbook Choice

Look, we get it; you're probably in a hurry to start sports betting online. Something about the allure of winning money just makes people impatient. However, keep that from affecting where you end up playing.

Trust us, where you bet it is just as important, if not more important, than any bet you make. Pick the right sportsbook, and you can earn hundreds through promotions and bonuses. Pick the wrong sportsbook, and you could be scammed out of hard-earned money.

A good resource for hand-picking your betting destination is My Top Sportsbooks. Here, you can find reviews for hundreds of online betting sites, along with details on what promos they're currently offering. In addition to a good sportsbook, find a solid handicapper like Doc's Sports that you can trust.

When choosing, we suggest weighing a few factors — betting menu, quality of lines, customer service, payment options, and, yes, bonuses. At a minimum, you want an online sportsbook that checks each box.

4. Betting Too Much

As implied, a good sportsbook is stock-piled with betting options across sports, leagues, and bet types (spreads, props, futures, etc.). But too much of anything can be harmful, including in this case.

You want to only wager on some things available. No, in fact, you want to do the opposite and be selective in your approach.

Remember earlier when we covered the importance of betting research? Well, good research takes time. And the more you wager, the less time you have to research.

So take your sweet time with your bets. If you've done the research and are feeling extra confident in your selection, you can always up the betting ante to capitalize on fewer opportunities taken.

5. Don't Bet On Your Favorite Team Ever

If you have yet to figure it out, the key to becoming a good bettor is to minimize emotion and maximize logic through research. Therefore, gambling on your personal team — whether for or against — contradicts that.

No matter how hard you try, it's nearly impossible to be bias-free with your favorite team. Depending on your perspective, they are always better or worse than they really are. This bias can crumble your decision-making process.