Bet Dreams

The Super Bowl is just over a week away, which means Vegas & offshore sportsbooks are lining up all sorts of bets for people to make.

Depending on the sites that you go on, you can bet on various things - from whether the coin toss will be heads or tails; who will score the first touchdown; whether the total score of the game will have more or less points than Michigan will score against Michigan State in college basketball.

I bet you a quarter that it'll be heads.

You can even bet on whether the total time of Kelly Clarkson's rendition of the National Anthem will be under about 93-94 seconds. You name it, you can bet it on some site or sports book.

Hell, as crazy as this sounds, you can even bet on the game itself if you have a strong feel on the Patriots or Giants or the total score. Of course this is said sarcastically - with how many prop bets there are to make in the game, it can be easy to forget that there is an actual game where a team will score at least 1 more point than another team.

Remember...this town wasn't built because people win money...

In my group of friends, I'd say a decent amount of us wager on sports. Some of us wager more than others. One thing is for certain - none of us are professionals at it.

I've been regularly gambling on sports for about 6 years, more than most of my friends. Even when I was a kid who raised himself on sports through ESPN & various periodicals, I had a good sense of what football lines would be. During my time betting, I've had the ups and downs (emotionally & monetarily) that goes with the territory of gambling. Admittedly, there were times where I definitely wasn't strong enough to handle the ups and downs. That's one thing I've gotten better at - the main reason why I've had better results.

As my social circle started to include more of the gambling types, some of my friends who didn't gamble started to show some intrigue into making bets themselves.

While I wish any of my friends the best of luck when it comes to betting on sports, I'll gladly provide an answer to any of my friends who are wondering if they should start gambling.

Don't.

Most people who I've known to start gambling on sports don't stop, with a few exceptions. It can get to be a very addictive thing. Bad losses are usually harder to deal with for people who are just starting. Everyone can handle a winning streak, but it takes a strong person to handle the losing.

That's when people start forcing bets, chasing losses, increasing amounts of their bets.

For those people who haven't started gambling on a website, you'd be better off continuing your enjoyment of these sports strictly on "being a fan" basis.

You'd think with how much you watch sports that you'd have a handle on gambling and winning money through it. Vegas loves that you think that way - that's how they make their money.

You can break a game down for hours and think there's no way the Saints are going to lose at San Fran. Much of this is likely on your perception of the Saints as you see how strong their offense has looked and how much you hear and read about them through various media outlets.

None the matter, your bet starts off horribly & despite a strong push to nearly cover the game, the losing writing is on the wall. Even with your time spent watching games all year (and likely your whole adult life), a lot of times your perception on what will happen versus what actually does happen ends up being way off.

So even if you think you know sports, that's not enough to succeed at gambling. Money management is crucial as well. Never gamble more than you can afford to lose. And never chase losses. If you barely have any money in your saving/checking accounts, odds are you shouldn't be gambling to begin with.

Also, if you can't stand losing money, even a fairly small bet, you shouldn't be gambling. Losing a buck or a 5 spot shouldn't be a worry. Don't get me wrong - no one loves losing money, but you have to be able to handle the losses. If losing even a small amount ruins your mood, you'd be better off using that money on a bag of chips or a slice of pizza. Where you can actually reap in the benefits of the money.

Walking Contradiction

A lot of this is "do as I say, not as I've done", because I've definitely had times where I wasn't mentally equipped to bet, nor should I have bet so much on games in an attempt to recoup losses (i.e. chase).

I know the urge for some people to start gambling is there, but I think you'd be better off enjoying it on your couch with your Sam Adams and bag of pretzels.

If you decide to, I can't stress enough starting on a small level & stick with a betting amount (win or lose).

As you watch the Super Bowl and think it'd be fun to bet on what color Gatorade the winning coach will have dumped on them, remember that these bets are lost more often than they are won.

Stick to watching the game & the over-hyped commercials (or Puppy Bowl, if you prefer). Leave the betting to the professionals.

Like me.

Yep....it lost.