Getting started with sports betting is thrilling but also challenging if you don’t yet have experience. In their eagerness and unfamiliarity with proper strategy, new bettors often make critical mistakes that hurt their bottom line.
Based on seeing countless beginners fall into the same traps, I wanted to outline the biggest pitfalls for novice sports gamblers and offer guidance on avoiding these errors to bet smarter right from the jump.
Chasing Losses
The most ruinous mistake is recklessly chasing your losses through desperate high-risk bets trying to immediately recover. This snowballs quickly by digging you deeper into the negative as you continue losing.
Avoid by accepting losses as part of betting, sticking to your budget, and not throwing good money after bad. Take a break and reset mentally if on a cold streak rather than making emotion-fueled bets hoping to get even.
Betting the Maximum
Novices often bet extremely large amounts in the false belief it turbocharges profits but also chasing thrill. This is a fast track to going broke. Bet size should be a small percentage (1-5%) of your bankroll.
Stick to betting amounts you can easily withstand over the long term. Sports betting is a marathon, not sprint. Be content with incremental gains and don’t get greedy. Patience pays.
Ignoring the Juice
The bookmaker’s commission on losing bets, also known as juice or vig, takes a heavy cumulative toll. At -110 odds, each losing bet chips away an extra 10% of your wager.
To overcome the house edge, you need a minimum 52.4% win rate. New bettors rarely are that successful, so they bleed away bankrolls through the vig. Know the math and expectations.
Doubling Down
You win a bet which gives a false confidence so next you risk twice as much. But nothing about the upside result changes the actual probabilities, and you’ll likely give back profits through max bets that are losers.
Stick to level staking. Increasing bet sizes should only be done very gradually over long winning streaks as bankroll grows. Don’t fixate on recouping losses quickly.
Blindly Following ‘Expert Picks’
Novices often tail others’ bets without critical thinking. But every bettor, even veterans, has losing stretches. Rather than copy blindly, learn to make your own picks using advice as one input.
Get opinions from multiple proven experts. But ultimately develop your own system based on stats, trends and sharp angles. The more effort you put into personal analysis, the better your results.
Failing to Shop Lines
New bettors place wagers ASAP without comparing prices across books, costing themselves immensely due to worse odds. This is essentially flushing money down the drain long-term.
Always line shop to get the best available odds on teams, totals or spreads you want to bet. Opening multiple accounts on sports betting apps makes this easy. Line shopping adds up.
Parlay Mistakes
Beginners love parlays for huge potential payouts but this is fool’s gold without bankroll logic. One losing leg sinks the whole bet. Never parlay more than 2-4 legs and don’t bet parlays with your core bankroll.
Use tiny stakes on parlays only with surplus bankroll but bet mainly safer singles and doubles. Anything above 4 legs has very slim +EV.
Lack of Patience
Inexperienced bettors seek instant gratification and bet any decent-looking opportunity rather than waiting for the very best setups patiently with an edge. This leads to constant underperformance.
Only bet selectively when you have identified clear value through research and analysis. Staying disciplined and not forcing bets will make you profitable in the long run. Patience pays off.