If you’ve been betting on sports long enough, or even just gambling in general, you’ve experienced what is known as a bad beat. A bad beat is worse than a “standard” loss. For example, if you bet on the Giants to win yesterday, you knew pretty early on that the bet wasn’t likely to go your way. The Orioles scored 6 runs in the 3rd inning, and were up 7-0 before the Giants got on the scoreboard. Obviously, it’s never easy or fun seeing a bet lose, but some losses are worse than others. A good example of a bad beat is how the Diamondbacks lost yesterday. The Diamondbacks had their ace on the mound and were winning for most of the game. They are up 5-4 in the top of the 9th. The Braves manage to get runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out. After getting two outs, the Braves hit a grand slam and go on to win 8-5. That just hits differently. Or betting on a pitcher to strikeout at least 8 batters, and he strikes out exactly 7. That’s what Spencer Strider did Saturday night. So close to hitting a bet, and it falls just short. As we say all the time, that’s how this business works sometimes. It can offer the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
So how do we overcome this? We know that this can be difficult for sports bettors to accept, but there has to be a way to compartmentalize these kinds of losses. The first part of accepting this comes from the fact that all gambling comes with risk. This isn’t news, obviously. We accept that every time we make a bet or sit down at a table at a casino, there’s a chance that you lose. The second part is taking a look at the number of sports picks we’ve made. In total, we’ve put out over 3700 picks. At a certain point, basic math would tell you that among these 3700 picks, some of them would’ve lost in truly painful ways. This is something that happens to everyone if you bet long enough. Of course, it goes the other way, too. With over 1900 winning picks, some of them had to feature crazy comebacks that defied the odds. Crazy come from behind wins and brutal losses are part of the business, and again, will happen to everyone if they play long enough.
Sports betting is meant to be fun, first and foremost. Having funs means you won’t have as many highs and lows, because the fun of betting with friends or on your favorite team makes it all more enjoyable. Furthermore, having fun will lead to a better chance of being successful as a sports bettor. Lastly, don’t take every loss as if it’s the end of the world. There will always be more games to bet on, and much like when our favorite teams lose, a chance to make up for the loss by winning the next game.