Sports betting has become an integral part of the sports-viewing experience, and some people have made a killing by betting. If you want to get in on the action, how do you know when to pull the trigger? Can you use math or psychological cues to make better bets? We’ll go over what research says about betting in sports and how it can help you win.
Using the psychology of loss aversion to your advantage.
- Loss aversion is the tendency to be more sensitive to losses than gains. This can be a cognitive bias, or a mental shortcut that you use to your advantage. For example, you might be at the casino and win $10 on a bet. You’re likely to bet again because you’re in the mindset of being up overall. Now let’s say you lose $10 (lose = -$10) right after winning that first hand. You’d probably think twice about betting anymore because even though it was just one loss out of many wins (losses), it was enough for your brain’s circuitry to reinforce an aversion toward making bets in general until things start going back up again. It can also work against us: if we win $10 on our next bet but then lose $10 on our next bet, most people would probably stop playing altogether because they’ve mentally associated losing with their mistake when deciding whether or not they’ll continue gambling (despite what odds say).
- Loss aversion is universal; everyone does it! We just aren’t aware of its influence on us most of the time—we think we’re making rational decisions based solely on logic when really there’s often an emotional component involved too.”
Our brains hate uncertainty, so we try to find patterns even when there aren’t any.
The brain is a pattern-seeking machine. The human brain is constantly looking for patterns, even when there aren’t any. This is called apophenia and it’s very common in sports betting and online gambling in general.
We are terrible at spotting randomness and random sequences of numbers, but we like to think we are intelligent so we look for patterns anyway.
Our brains are wired to see things that aren’t there, especially if they have been programmed by someone else who has seen something (or said something) that made us believe there was a pattern or reason behind whatever it was they saw in their own minds eye!
Take advantage of betting on baseball early in the season.
- Baseball is the most popular sport in North America, and the National League is by far the most prominent. With so many teams to choose from, there are endless numbers of opportunities for you to win big at sports betting.
- You can bet on baseball early in the season when teams are still getting used to their new seasons. Teams are still figuring out their lineups, rotations, and bullpen. They’re also trying to figure out their new coaches and players—and this can have an effect on how they perform during play-offs!
If you bet on a game, watch it.
If you bet on a game, watch it.
It’s really as simple as that. When you place your wager, you’re placing your trust in an idea about how the game will play out. If you don’t get to watch the game and see how things actually unfold, there’s no way to know if your prediction was right or wrong! You could have won big—or lost everything!
Don’t get swept up in the hype of a matchup.
One of the most common mistakes made by novice sports bettors is to get swept up in the hype of a matchup. For example, if you really want a team to win, there’s a chance that you could be tempted to bet on them more often than usual—and this can be bad news for your wallet.
The same goes for if they’re losing: If you think it’ll take an extreme effort from one side or another to win, then it’s possible that their odds will seem too good to pass up and that might get into your head as well.
But remember: If a team wins or loses depends on many factors besides how much they deserve it! There are other teams playing at exactly the same time who may be better suited at this moment in time; maybe some injuries have hit one or both sides; maybe someone was suspended from playing instead of other players who were given permission by their teams; maybe one player has been sick recently but seems okay now—there are lots of reasons why things might not go according to plan!
Look for value in overhyped players.
You may have noticed, through your own experience or the sports betting section of your local newspaper, that there is often a large gap between what a player’s market value and what his actual value is.
For example, a player might be touted as being “the next Messi” by his agent and fans alike—but when we take a closer look at their stats (or lack thereof), it turns out that the hype has been overblown.
This is where you come in! Instead of taking the media and other people at their word about how good certain players are, why not go against them? The key here is to look for undervalued players who have been overhyped by others—or even themselves.
Bet games that matter.
The most important thing you can do is to bet on games that matter. This also applies to the bets that you put money in, and this seems like an obvious tip at first glance. But it’s not just about getting a good return on your investment; it’s also about having fun and enjoying the process of gambling in general, which includes everything from picking up a new hobby to being able to spend time with friends doing something enjoyable together (if they’re into sports betting too).
I don’t mean “betting” as something involving big sums of money—I mean that you should make sure to pick out a few things each week where there are things at stake other than bragging rights.
For example: I love playing basketball and would never pass up an opportunity for some pickup games with friends or strangers on weekends when my schedule allows for it; I’m not going anywhere near risking my pay check on any kind of wager related to this activity because there’s no real reason why I would want anything more than bragging rights over someone else who was playing alongside me during those games anyway!
You can win money at sports betting if you take advantage of some psychological tendencies and make good bets.
You can win money at sports betting if you take advantage of some psychological tendencies and make good bets.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that our brains hate uncertainty, so we try to find patterns even when there aren’t any. This is called “illusory correlation,” and it’s something that bookies use against us all the time.
For example, if I asked you which team scored more goals in a certain game, would your answer change if I gave you more information? If I told you one team had an average age of 22 and another had an average age of 24? How about if I told you one team played on grass and another on turf? Would knowing these details change the way that your brain processed what happened in that game?
It probably would—and it’s why sports betting websites often post detailed player stats alongside each game they’re offering odds on: They know that people will read these stats as indicators of success or failure, regardless of whether or not they’re actually useful predictors for how well teams will perform.
I hope this guide has provided some insight into the psychology of betting so you can approach your next bet with a better understanding of how the bookies think. As always, if you’re ever looking for more information or advice on sports betting I’m just an email away!