Yes, even the sports betting experts have slumps. The
key for a quality handicapper is to stay the course. My occupation is my
addiction. As a result the only time I give myself off is the all-star break in
baseball. Off betting that is. We use that time to write articles.

Every now and then Christmas Eve will have no action, so I go to Midnight Mass. The
point is (you were wondering) when we gamble more than 360 days a year, there
are peaks and valleys.

With two-plus decades of experience, we know our
peaks greatly outnumber the valleys and thus cannot and will not panic during
our fleeting slumps even though each losing day seems like a month to us. We
don’t decrease the size or number of bets nor do we increase during our more
prevalent winning streaks. Heck I’ve seen that screaming dude from Philly on
CNBC, Jim Cramer talk about the highs and lows he’s had on Wall Street.

But he’s considered the mogul of stocks. Discipline no doubt is a major
reason.

As the ole saying goes “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon”. No
self-sustaining gambler lives and dies off of a few nights. Pressing one’s luck,
panicking, chasing, are among the deadly sins of gambling.

One of the symptoms of a degenerate gambler is someone who lives and dies by the game. Not
only is there no such thing as a bailout game, but self-control ensures there
should ever be a need for one.

In the pre-Internet days I announced on
the scorephones, which at the time were the pre-eminent source for gambling
information and also where sports services salivated to advertise. Regrettably
the owner of the company did sell advertising to the highest bidder and
inevitably every Monday Night Football promo for the 800 number scamdicappers
involved the buzzword “bailout”. They knew there were so many degenerate
gamblers in a state of panic from losing money in the two days previous and were
desperate to cancel it out on one game.

Lucky for the books and casinos,
restraint is something few gamblers have.

Many money experts will advise
smart investors to bet the same amount each month into their 401(k ). It’s the
same principle in gambling. Don’t panic during losing streaks or press during
winning streaks. Stay the course.

We gamblers tend to be the most
superstitious people in the world. It’s fine if it affects your rooting and
watching habits but should never cross the line of impinging your handicapping.

Yes even we professionals have been there where every late run seems to
go against us. I’ve sat in front of the television waiting for the missed free
throw by my team followed by the meaningless wide open three-pointer by the bad
guys at the buzzer for the half-point cover. When Lady Luck has screwed us over
the previous 72 hours, we see it coming again better than Nostradamus ever did.

While I won’t deny even those of us who make a living picking winners
are not immune from the snake bitten feeling of doom, we still tow the line
knowing with proper handicapping and willpower we win a lot more than we lose.

Feeling bedeviled from a short-term string of last second losses has had
me chomping at the bit wanting to hedge a “so far, so good” winning play on the
half-time line. Rejection of the power of that nasty whore Lady Luck actually is
easier said than done for the short-sighted and sometimes even so for those who
know better.

Greed when placing bets can turn a 55 percent ATS winning
percentage into a “losing” record, quickly in fact. Hysteria during stagnant
periods can turn 45 percent into the bankroll equivalent 10 percent less. Often
the biggest difference between the wealthy and destitute gambler is not mere
winning percentage but the ability to use self-control during the downturns.

A lot of things go into making money gambling, with the ability to pick
winners far and away No. 1. Being a good line shopper increases that. But more
times than not, the degenerate gambler is not someone who always loses, but
somebody who can’t properly manage losing.

Written by Joe Duffy of VegasTopDogs.com