by Ryan Jacques

Created on: October 23, 2009   Last Updated: October 24, 2009

Fact: Most people who bet on sports lose. The question isn't if this happens but why. The short answer is they bet with their heart and not their heads. Most people don't take sports betting seriously and that's fine. They are recreational bettors who do it for a good time. They bet on their favorite team hoping to make a few extra bucks. There is nothing wrong with that, but don't use their experiences to condemn the entire event, just recognize why they lose.

I don't know anyone who buys a house strictly off of feeling. I've never met anyone who took a job based solely on the fact that the company headquarters was in their hometown. I've never even heard of someone who even buys a new appliance because of a good feeling. Yet, these are the reasons many people give for why they placed a certain bet.

Would you use a broker if he told you he made his stock decisions based off of his gut feeling? Would he even be employed by someone calling you in the first place? Betting on sports is an unforgiving profession. The margin for error is very, very small.

Sometimes the difference between a winning and losing season can be as small as 5 games, and that's over the course of an entire season! To make it you have to be diligent about what you do and most people aren't.

Most people never really understand what separates the winners from the losers. They sit at home and watch the highlights on ESPN. Those are great for entertainment but offer little information about what happens during 80% of the game. Games are rarely won or lost on one big play, but that is what sticks in people's minds.

Ask any casual fan and he can tell you about the 60-yard pass play in the fourth quarter of last weeks game to win it all. Yet, can he remember the great goal line stand in a low scoring uneventful game? What works doesn't always translate into entertainment and TV stations are running a business. Most of the time these highlight reels greatly influence the casual bettor. It is possible to make a living betting sports, but it's hard work.

The majority of people lose because they come into it hoping for fast, easy money. I am here to tell you that is not going to happen. If you're going to make bets, be honest about why you're doing it. If you're a casual bettor that's fine, just don't fool yourself into thinking it's your ticket to the high life.

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