What It's Really Like to Be a Professional Sports Bettor

When I was a teenager, I followed a famous handicapper. I would always listen to him on the radio and go to his website to read about his picks. What he had to say fascinated me.

Eventually, I came across a package he sold that he said was guaranteed to dominate. It was the “underdog package” in MLB. It was 60 underdog picks that he claimed would easily go 50-10. Well, he went 25-35. This experience resulted in the end of my believing the hype a handicapper would create just to get sales.

I never saw or heard of a handicapper who was for the people. I always wanted a handicapper who could teach me, answer my questions, and be honest and transparent.

Was that a lot to ask? I started thinking it was impossible for a handicapper to give great service and make me a ton of money.

Blind trust breeds unrealistic expectations, and that’s a problem in sports betting. Too many bettors are misled by so-called handicappers promising 70% win rates. The truth is, the average bettor lacks access to solid education, and the industry’s full of noise that makes it worse.

I once was you. If you’re a person who likes to bet on sports casually here and there and have faced all the experiences a sports bettor faces, I get it.

When I started and knew little, I could not handle betting. I had mood swings left and right. My bets determined whether I had a good day. I didn’t hang out with friends when I was down from losing money.

It’s such a sick and twisted industry at times. You can start the day with one balance in your account and end it with less, even after working a full shift. You may ask why anyone would want that life. I wanted it because it was a challenge to beat the sportsbooks and to be an expert.

It is not sustainable in the long term to win 70% of bets. For a week? Sure. A couple of weeks? Sure. However, the idea is to create an environment in which a bettor falls in love with winning 55%, which is beyond profitable over the long term, depending on what you bet.

Streaks happen in sports betting—a lot. One day you are sky-high on wins; the next you lose it all. Sound familiar? Did you ever feel that fake rush of a 5-0 day on your bets? The devastating failure of going 0-5? I have been there.

Like the stock market, you’ll see similar sports betting graphs showing massive ups and downs. It’s a part of the job and the industry.

Many people ask why I like to maintain my privacy. My answer? All it takes is one person who loses some money on your picks. This is the down part of my job: dealing with false expectations.

Sports betting is one of the few things that can make you feel like you're on top of the world one day, and scrambling to recover the next. One moment you’re treating yourself without a second thought; the next, you’re leaning on credit to stay afloat. Most bettors deal with different jargon, bet types, and odds formats—decimal, fractional, or American, depending on the region—but the emotional swings are the same everywhere.

While this may sound very basic, simply sticking with a plan is something to be celebrated. 

It is easy to lose faith in sports betting. It is easy to lose hope in following the plan and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. These are the ups and downs of betting.

When there are bad streaks and bad beats for five straight days, you have to stay distracted. How do you deal with it? If you are in a rut, get some small wins. Go for a walk, tidy up your space, help someone out, or take a breather from screens. Just accomplish anything. Create good mojo and positivity in the dark times. Small wins like these are what I like to call little mood boosters, which have nothing to do with betting or sports.

Here is my advice on dealing with the ups and downs of sports betting. It is also a profitable mentality. Do not watch the games you bet on. Get outside and do not watch the box score all day. Treat it like a business. Place your wagers and go about your day. Do not let your bets be your day.

When in a slump, be open to going against what you like. It is ridiculous to continue losing the same way every time. Make adjustments. Find out your biggest weaknesses and eliminate them. Ride streaks. Is the public on fire? Even if you like to bet against public money, join the public’s hot run until it turns. Recognize the current streak. Who’s hot, the public or the pros?

From a technical standpoint, you can profit from sports betting. I suggest not finding out how to succeed at betting on specific teams. Instead, find out which situations you can use to beat the books.

Example: You know your best friend always chases his losses. Chasing means more losing, most of the time. Why not think about going against the bet your friend makes when he is chasing? Outsmart the oddsmakers with situational and favorable odds. Think outside the box. Find odds in your favor any way possible.

When you deal with sports betting daily, have a long-term plan and manage it. If you go into sports betting with no plan and no proper bankroll, you will not succeed at staying neutral through all the chaos.

Notice I have not given you one piece of advice on what to bet on or how to make money off a specific pick. Notice, however, that when you use basic tools and behaviors, you can save a ton of money and profit off logical and healthy strategies outside of the actual placing of the bet.

Stay emotionally neutral, and remember: your bets don’t define who you are—or how you treat others.