Money Management - The Flat Bet Part One
In all my days of wagering on. sports, poker, horse racing, blackjack, craps, and other games of chance, I have never met a successful gambler who could not manage his money properly. I think everyone will agree that success is rarely possible without money management. The importance of it cannot be emphasized enough.
In the area of football betting, money management is a must. It separates the winners from the losers. A professional gambler will tell you to bet more when you are winning and less when you are losing. But most football bettors do the exact opposite of this, and there is a valid explanation.
When you show a profit, you are in a good state of mind; you have a clear head. Thus, you have control over yourself, your emotions, and your judgment won't be affected in a negative way.
If you are losing, however, you're probably angry with yourself. You are not thinking properly and you are headed off the right path. You may start to press your bets by increasing them. But this is the beginning of your downfall.
Let's examine how this occurs in football betting. During the autumn, bet-table games are played on three days of every week- Saturday, Sunday and Monday. On Saturdays and Sundays, the games are played at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. (These days occasionally have evening games too.) And, of course, there are the Monday night games.
This means there are five times per week, on average, for you to ask yourself: "Who should I wager on, and for how much?" If you've done your homework, you know in advance which teams you are going to bet. But the amount of your wager usually depends on your financial status after each of these periods.
Before Monday night comes along, you have four, or at least two (Saturday and Sunday), chances to lose. All it takes is one losing bet to start the downfall. Unless you win all of your bets, sooner or later your thinking will be negatively affected. This is the hardest time to make correct decisions, and you may begin to chase lost money with bad bets.
Flat Bets
As far as I know, there is only one way to avoid losing money. That is by making flat bets only. For example, if you start the season with a bankroll of $1500, you could make $100 your flat-bet amount for each and every game. If you win you bet $100, and if you lose you bet $100.
Now you might say, "Why shouldn't I bet more when I'm winning and less when I'm losing?" That is much easier said than done. If you start to vary your wagers, it will send you right back to the old chasing routine. Stick with your flat bet and you'll never have to decide how much to bet. You can use all your mental energy to figure out which teams you should bet.