As we come to the end of the calendar year, many OddAlerts users will be turning their attention towards how they can better themselves in 2022. As well as the obvious choices, like joining a gym, starting a diet and quitting smoking, why don’t we all strive to gamble more responsibly in 2022?
At OddAlerts, we would like to encourage safe and responsible gambling for all of our users, and we have put together this simple guide in order to share our own experiences and thoughts on how you can control your betting habits and ultimately save yourself money in the long-run.
Remove Emotions From Betting
This is something you will hear from financial advisors with regards to investing. Remove your emotions from the game and you will be much better off. In football terms, if one of your bets has lost, you should already be in a state of mind that allows for that loss. Going back to the investing analogy, a seasoned investor in the stock market would never put all of their capital in one place, nor should you put all of your bankroll into a single bet. Think back to the number of times you have regretted making a certain bet. If given the chance again, would you split your bankroll into smaller chunks and diversify your bets?
Budgets & Bankroll Management
Bankroll management is crucial and unfortunately one of the key things that many bettors miss when trying to take gambling a little more seriously. Without bankroll management, you are betting aimlessly. What I mean by that is that there’s no end goal, no plan of action. Responsible bankroll management not only dictates how much you will place on each bet, but also when and how much you will withdraw. Having these rules in place and having the discipline to stick to them is key to safer betting practises. Interestingly, placing a high number of bets and not having a system in place for your bankroll can be just as bad regardless of whether you are winning or losing.
As an example, you might have won a few bets and seen your bankroll increase. Without set goals, withdrawal targets or staking plans, you might be encouraged to believe in your own hype and let emotions take control. This leads to poor betting. The same is true for losing. If you encounter a few losing bets in a row, you might also be encouraged to chase larger odds and/or place higher stakes. Again, a proper staking plan and bankroll management system would make sure you did not fall into this trap. Regardless of results, you stick to the system.
Find Your Niche & Do Research
I will again lean on the finance industry to provide a good analogy into how we can all bet more responsibly. Traders on Wall Street will often focus on a single industry for their investments or “bets” as it allows them to become much more knowledgable about a certain topic, not to mention it’s much easier to research 10-20 companies than it would be with hundreds. Once you think about this, it’s just common sense. We should strive to do the same with football betting. I suggest picking a market and/or leagues that you are knowledgable with and start to do your research, just like an investor would before they even spend a penny of their own money.
Know Why You Are Gambling
Mindset is vital. Adding to the previous section on budgeting, it helps to know why you are gambling in the first place. If the sole reason is for entertainment, then try to remember that fact whilst you place your bets. Setting limits using the tools available on most bookmakers can act as a gentle reminder when you need it the most. Remember, if you’re betting simply for entertainment, then the money is not the end goal.
You do not need to be placing £5, £10, £20 on every bet. If you’re betting for fun, then creating bets and beating the bookmakers is where you should focus your energy. Remove money from the equation. The minimum bet allowed on Bet365 is 10p. That’s 100 bets after depositing £10. Again, if you are betting simply for the fun of it, this makes sense. Placing the same number of bets at £5 will cost you £500. If you are gambling with a view to earning extra money, then I can not stress re-reading the previous section on bankroll management.
Drunk? Don’t Gamble
It’s a simple rule, if you are drunk then just enjoy being drunk. Heck, get more drunk if you need to. Logging onto your bookmaker’s app can see you wipe out all of the hard work you have previously put in. Discipline when betting on football is hard on the best of days, so don’t make things hard for yourself and try to stay away from your bookmakers after you have been drinking.
Get Involved
Have I missed anything? Let me know by sharing your responsible gambling tips for 2022 on Twitter and I will happily update this article as I see them.
Written by Joe (Founder @ OddAlerts)