The Psychology of Successful Gambling – Myth 1

How you approach your betting is going to affect the success that you have as much as finding good selections. I am not for a moment saying that you can make a profit without finding the right selections, you can’t, but you can lose the profit you may otherwise have made by not having the right mind set.

It is crucial that you approach your betting in the correct way if you want to make a long term profit and I want to dispel some seemingly common myths.

The first of these myths is that you can make £50 or £100 into thousands in the space of a few weeks or months. If you are betting sensibly then this is just not possible. The only way in which this is possible is by using high risk progressive staking and being very lucky. Let’s take a moment to work out a more sensible strategy and how your bankroll will increase realistically. I shall assume you start with £100, make 10% ROI, bet 2% or £2 on each selection (5 selections a day) and only double your bet when your bankroll has doubled. This would mean:

• You start betting £10 per day.
• Making £1 profit per day.
• Making £30 profit per month.
• It will take you 100 days to double your bank or you double it 3.65 times per year.
• You will have turned your £100 into £1320 in one year assuming you take no money out.

Not as impressive as making that amount in a few weeks but much more realistic. Is it worth all the effort? If your answer is no then maybe you shouldn’t be looking to make a living from betting, if betting is a hobby and something you enjoy then it is like any other entertainment (as long as you do not bet more than you can afford).

The question that you should be asking is how have I made such an amazing return? You have multiplied your bank 13.2 times in just twelve months. Try doing that with stocks and shares! You started with £100, some patience and a good strategy and you now have £1320, and the same strategy and patience.

It is now your second year of betting like a pro and you decide that you are going to re-invest the full amount for one more year at the end of which you will take out some of your profit. Your year will look like:

• You start betting £132 per day.
• Making £13.20 profit per day.
• Making £396 profit per month.
• It will take you 100 days to double your bank or you double it 3.65 times per year.
• You have turned your £1320 into £17424 in one year assuming you take no money out.

Those are probably more like the figures you wanted to see. You have just made a salary of £16104 in one year from your betting. If you take the £7424 out of your bankroll as a reward for your efforts you are starting with £10,000 at the beginning of your third year and you can expect to turn this into £132,000 if you take no money out and your strategy is still working to the same level.

Of course the ride won’t be quite as smooth as I have made out, some months will lose but others will be better than expected. It has taken you three years to make an income from your betting but you have learnt a lot about discipline along the way and all you needed was £100, patience and a good strategy.

As a quick overview of what we have been discussing, it is important to remember that successful betting can make very good profits but you cannot make these overnight. If you can master the patience and discipline then you are much further ahead than those who have a great strategy but no patience or discipline.