Growth Cycle
If we continue to make the same mistakes, growth potential is limited
by Matthew Ries (follow him on twitter @Matadoor00 )
I failed to see the hype behind another Miami team back on opening night so I wrote this while I waited for my MLB season to kick off when the Texas Rangers opened against the White Sox. My purpose wasn’t to bombard with stats or introduce a new “can’t lose system”, but rather to share a quick recap of my experience in sports betting and get others to reflect before embarking on another exciting 162 game journey (or a bankroll buster for those inexperienced gamblers betting baseball for the first time). Looking back, growth and development of the sports gambler takes on phases very similar to our own life cycle.
• Phase 1 – Infancy
Many gamblers get started betting games with family, friends, and coworkers. Stakes start with anything from meals, beers, or miniscule amounts most of us won’t miss from our wallets if we lose. During this stage of betting, there’s no record keeping or research since you rely on gut feel and bragging rights to indicate the overall level of success. If you ever ask a gambler in this stage about their track record, they all say they win much more than they lose. As you become more successful in other facets of life and begin growing up, the natural desire is to strive for success in gambling the same way as the rest of life. After all, how tough is it to pick winners when bigger stakes are involved?
• Phase 2 – Teens
Just like in real life, this era of betting development is filled with the aches, pains, and awkwardness of being a teenager. Here you begin to bet more per game and the volume of games played increases, but you haven’t built a bankroll or developed a fail proof handicapping strategy to ensure success. You begin the first mature steps in gambling by keeping records, developing money management techniques, and approaching betting with more than a riverboat gambler mentality. This is also a time when you start searching for outs; someone to take your bets but in order to be successful you have to learn to lose. Losing consists of laying too much juice and betting an obscene amount of favorites, sadly your record mirrors the ups and downs of a rookie big league hitter where every hot streak is followed by an inevitable slump. Frustration and breaks from betting are common however like anyone aspiring to greatness, you learn and adjust to the market.
• Phase 3 – Adulthood
This is where things start to click. We create elaborate record keeping and statistical spreadsheets, build a bankroll for increased wager size, and put in extensive time researching each bet. This is longer than either of the first 2 stages since everyone matures at their own pace. Winning doesn’t happen over night but records improve and slowly turning a profit becomes a more plausible outcome. Eventually, you cross the threshold into seeing positive returns over an entire season. For me, recognizing value in MLB provided the major turning point in my development. The money lines involved in the sport made it a beast like none other and I’d been burned by so many heavy favorites I began to steer clear of these games and pick better spots. I still reside in this phase now but know getting to the next level is right around the corner.
• Phase 4 – Old Age
This is the ultimate goal and one I’d equate with becoming a professional sports bettor. Old age in gambling is reaching a mountaintop, the pinnacle where you have no specific goals to achieve outside of turning a profit every year. It may be a harsh reality to say many will never reach this level but keep in mind every sports bettor doesn’t strive to reach “old age.” The challenge that accompanies Phase 4 is what drives me to constantly push myself in order to learn and grow as a sports investor. Much like in life, only the strong survive so we all can’t live into the geriatric stages of sports betting.
I know this was a roundabout way of getting to an underlying message but with a new MLB season upon us it’s a great time to refresh perspective. Take a look at old records, identify mistakes you’ve made, and set realistic goals for yourself as a bettor. These tips are general and may seem basic however they provide necessary reminders for how humbling this hobby can be especially if you approach it with unrealistic expectations. Everyone who learns to run, had to crawl and walk before he got there.
