PA sports betting is about seeking out an edge and identifying value. It’s about using your ability to consistently pick winners to grind out profits over time.
It’s also about avoiding costly mistakes.
Most PA sports betting novices make far too many of these mistakes. Even those with an uncanny ability to pick winners have a hard time overcoming them.
The road to profits in PA sports betting is filled with these potholes. If you’re going to bet regularly, your job is to identify them and try to avoid them.
Here’s a list of some of the most common sports betting mistakes most beginners make to help you get started:
Betting with your heart not your head
We love the Sixers too, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to bet on them to beat the Toronto Raptors in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Toronto.
You should be using your head when you make bets, not your heart. Too many sports betting beginners bet the teams they support no matter how much the odds are stacked against them.
Success in PA sports betting requires you to remove emotion from the equation and evaluate bets on their merits alone. It’s a rookie mistake to bet the hometown team just because you want them to win.
It may work out sometimes, but it’s a losing strategy over the long haul and only compounds your woes when it doesn’t.
Misunderstanding value
Just because you could get huge odds on the Flyers to win the Stanley Cup midway through this season didn’t make them a good value bet.
The true odds on the Flyers winning it all were astronomical. Much higher than any PA sports betting operation was offering.
Beginners often mistake big odds for value. The truth is that value is a measure of how the odds posted by PA sports betting operators relate to the actual chances of a team winning.
In other words, true value is only found when the odds are bigger than a team’s actual chances of getting it done.
Oddsmakers don’t actually let this happen too often. Therefore, the sports betting novices thinking every longshot they bet is offering good value are doing it wrong.
You want to look for value when betting on sports in PA and pounce on these opportunities when they come along. However, it’s important to get a good grasp on what value is first.
Not shopping around
You won’t find value in too many bets at PA sports betting operators, but you can eek some out by shopping around for it.
The odds aren’t the same at every PA sports betting operator. Shop around for the best price on a bet once you’ve settled on a side and you’ll create instant value for yourself.
Compare the odds and lines at PA sports betting apps. Visit every retail sportsbook you can. Book your bets at the best price and you’ll prove more profitable over the long run.
Novice sports bettors choose convenience over price. Those that make the mistake of not comparing odds before they bet are giving away money and that’s a rookie mistake.
Poor bankroll management
The ability to consistently pick winners is obviously the key to success in PA sports betting. However, learning how to properly manage a sports betting bankroll may be just as important.
Too many novice sports bettors ignore the principles of a proper conservative bankroll management strategy and end up losing everything they have far too fast. Rookies get drawn in by an early season sure thing far too often forgetting that there really is no such thing.
Gamblers that follow a conservative bankroll management strategy never bet more than 5% of their bankroll on any one bet. As a result, they are able to ride out losing streaks and stay in the game until things turn around.
Beginners blow their wad chasing big paydays and end up broke before long.
Making too many bets
Just because there are a dozen games scheduled for an NFL Sunday doesn’t mean you have to bet them all.
Too many sports betting beginners make the mistake of thinking they need to bet a full slate of games, rather than a small handful that offer value or a team with a clear edge.
Pro sports bettors research games, teams, and odds searching for the best bets available. If there’s a game they figure could go either way, they don’t bet on it and neither should you as a beginner.
Look for bets you think are obvious winners and avoid those that are obviously too close to call. But most importantly, don’t caught up in thinking that just because there is a game you have to bet on it. In other words, be more selective.
Falling in love with favorites
Most PA sports betting beginners back favorites far too often. Sure, they grind out a small profit with each win, but it hardly makes up for the losses when a favorite under-performs.
When you’re betting sports in PA you should be searching for good value bets and decent prices, which can be found betting both favorites and underdogs.
Chasing big paydays
Some PA sports betting beginners make the mistake of chasing a big payday betting longshots at huge odds a little too often.
The payouts on these bets are tempting for a reason.
This extends to large parlay bets as well. PA online sports betting operators love parlays because they win more of these than any other bets. The reason they offer such big payoffs is that they’re extremely hard to win.
Betting parlays and longshots with little chance of winning is playing into a sportsbooks’ hand and only rookies make that mistake.
Not doing your homework
Betting with incomplete information is a classic rookie PA sports betting mistake.
The facts are out there. The internet can provide you with injury reports, team histories, recent trends, and a whole lot more.
There’s no excuse for betting on a game without doing your homework first.
Spending just a few minutes researching a game will often give you the edge your looking for betting sports in PA.
