There is a lot more to sports betting than just picking winners that casual bettors do not realize. From not knowing how to properly manage a bankroll, to having unrealistic expectations. Realizing what these pitfalls are and actively working to avoid them can save and earn you a lot of money in the long run.

Bankroll mismanagement

I will touch on how professionals manage their bankroll Thursday, but here’s a sneak preview: sharps have an entire allotment of money set aside specifically for betting. It helps them survive downswings and be profitable in the long run. However, I also understand that is not true for the majority of casual bettors. I get it as well. If you only have $100 to bet, betting just $1 on each bet is not thrilling for anyone. If you were to do that and were successful, you might still end up with just $115 at the end of the season. That just isn’t worth it to most people.

I would say most casual bettors just bet what they can afford. They have an extra $200 to spend, they might make two $100 bets over the weekend and just hope for the best. There is nothing wrong with that as long as your expectations are in line. If you’re looking to make this a career though, you have to buckle in for the long haul. Sports betting is a grind. It’s about finding value, betting numbers and detaching yourself from the emotional aspect of the game. I understand that isn’t entirely possible as we’re all human, but betting on what you want to see isn’t always advisable.

Betting desired outcomes

It is impossible to completely emotionally detach ourselves from something we’re invested in. There is nothing wrong with being a fan, rooting for your favorite team and wanting them to succeed. There is also nothing wrong with betting on your favorite team to make a potential win even more enjoyable. Just don’t kid yourself into thinking these are the actions of serious, professional sports bettors.

As I previously mentioned, professional bettors don’t bet teams, they bet numbers. Often times the best numbers are against the most popular teams. Sportsbooks realize they can raise the price of a “public” team knowing casual bettors will wager on them regardless. If you’re a Pittsburgh Steelers or Dallas Cowboys fan, you can see yourself go broke pretty quick by routinely taking bad numbers.

This isn’t to say a professional can’t be a fan, but being able to detach yourself from your fandom when it comes to making a wager is important. You are just sacrificing value if you have a rule of never betting for or against your favorite team. It may only be a handful of events, but those could mean the difference between breaking even and a winning season. Just because the raw amount of bets you lose out on may be small, it doesn’t make it inconsequential. Again, if you want to bet the Cowboys every Sunday and you can afford it, by all means, go for it. Just be aware that is not the approach a professional bettor takes.

The wrong kinds of bets

Casual bettors like to bet a little to win a lot. The sportsbooks are never reluctant to advertise when someone hits a fifteen leg parlay because they want you to make those kinds of bets. Let us take the bettor who won an $85,000 wager on Tiger Woods to win the Masters at 14/1.

14/1 odds equates to an implied probability of 6.67%. Now, if he had a bankroll which equaled $17,000,000, his $85,000 would equate to 0.5% of his roll. That might be defensible if he found an edge at Tiger for 14/1. This just isn’t the case though. He gathered up all he could “afford to lose,” and placed it on Tiger because he “had a feeling.” I’m sorry, but that is just an irresponsible act by a casual bettor.

The only reason this is getting public play is that sportsbooks want you to think “hey, he did it, so why can’t I do it too? It’s possible!” Just keep in mind the books love when you take these long-shot odds at large sums of money. Why? Because if the implied probability held true, they would’ve won that bet 93.33% of the time.

The same is true for multiple legged parlays. Sportsbooks advertise the bettor who hits on the fifteen leg parlay because those hardly ever hit. They lure novice bettors into making negative expected value (EV) bets because it is profitable for them. Don’t be fooled.

As I said, you’re free to bet whatever and however much you want. However, you will not be a winning player in the long run by consistently taking long odds and chasing huge parlays. You might as well play the lotto at that point.

Parlays

A parlay is when you combine multiple bets on one ticket and bet them “all at once.” You have to win every bet for your parlay to payout. Some books let you push on a bet and not lose the entire parlay. That alone doesn’t make the majority of them worthwhile.

Parlays fall right into the pitfall of betting a little to win a lot. I’m not necessarily talking about all parlays. My disdain lies in the ten, fifteen leg parlays that have an implied probability of less than 1%. Those are fun, and betting $20 to win $7,800 sounds awesome. But it’s not a winning strategy.

Profitable parlays

Parlays can be profitable in some small examples. It just all comes down to the math. Under no circumstance should you be betting a full unit (the amount of money you place on a regular bet) on a low probability parlay. If you piece together a parlay that pays 10/1, I’d suggest you bet 1/10th of a unit. By that math, you only need to hit that bet once in ten tries to break even. Any more than that and it is profitable.

Some professionals actually bet the long-shot parlays just so they won’t get flagged as a professional by offshore books. Another way pro’s use parlays are when they can’t get enough down on a “big” favorite. If they calculate a team as a (-400) favorite yet they are listed at (-300), there is an edge. Some books, however, might not let them get enough down to make it worth their while. To counteract that, they will parlay two big favorites together. If you have a sizable edge in both bets, then parlaying can be worthwhile in this scenario.

It just all comes back to bankroll management in the end. Being disciplined goes a long way toward being successful.

Expectations

What you hope to get out of betting should define how you approach the process. If you’re serious about becoming a professional, successful bettor, you need to establish and manage a bankroll. You need to hunt for value, bet numbers and not get “married” to teams or players.

With the appropriate time, dedication and discipline you can separate yourself from the casual bettor and make this worth your while long-term. Having said that, I’d say the most important rule for any gambler of any kind is to risk only what you can realistically afford to lose. We here at PFN believe in responsible, long-term winning investments, and we hope that helps you make a lot of money.

James Aguirre is a writer for PFN covering NFL betting and Fantasy Football. You can follow him on Twitter @PFN_James