I talked about Scared Money; now let's do a chapter about a short Bankroll. That's because 80% of sports bettors have short Bankrolls and this causes them to bet over their heads, leaving open the door for them to get into deep trouble.
Now I'm not saying it's a sin to have a short Bankroll, but it's a potential problem that could be avoided if you stayed within the perimeters of the money you have available.
You don't get into trouble ogling the voluptuous neighbor that lives three doors away. But you're open for trouble if you hop the fence some night, not realizing that Daddy O could leave work early and be only 10 minutes away from finding you trading small talk with his 8th wonder of the world. Just as she may be worth the gamble, she may not be worth 3 cracked ribs and possible retaliation from your better half when she finds you had a yen for a different type of cooking. Starting with a $200 stake and making wagers totaling $700 seems okay at 11 a.m. because the rewards send out strong, tempting possibilities. Reality is lurking there too. Maybe it's not in the form of a 6'5", 260 lb. husband, but it could be just as dangerous if Skinny Henry, your local sitter who weighs 106 lbs., is holding your marker for 6 big ones in his undersized hand. Your mistake in scaling the wrong fence was brought on by short sightedness. Your mistake in excessive betting was being able to con yourself into heavy bets without realizing what could happen: 4 or 5 losses. Both mistakes started with shortness of Discipline and awareness of potential danger. We all fall into these traps; we all go for the greener grass on the other side of the fence. I'm preaching Discipline, not operating with a short Bankroll is gonna get you into tons of trouble and will psychologically effect how you bet, and I know I've said that before. We're all guilty of wanting more and exceeding the amount of money we have to work with. What's so wrong with betting smaller, raising your Bankroll, and increasing your bets after you socked away some profits? Sure it's going to be hard to do. But you're reading this article for advice, so this is a big step for you to take. Cutting the amount of your bets to a point where they range at or less than the cash you have available. It'll save a lot of worrying about calls from Skinny Henry or even thinking about when the calls will come. As to your problem with climbing fences, wait until you see something that isn't connected to a Greek god or wait until you're tough enough to kick the fence down. It beats lying to your wife while trying to hold back the blood gushing from your nose. A short Bankroll can get you into big trouble by betting too much when your eyes are bigger than that Bankroll. A short leash can get you into big trouble if our better half even surmises your eyes are bigger than our brain which I assume is the case. © Copyright 2005 John Patrick's material. It may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. |
