Patience is a virtue that is often overlooked when it comes to sports betting, but it’s a skill you must have in order to obtain long-term success. Whether you wager on sports, prefer blackjack or poker or any other skill gambling game, your level of patience will prove to be a critical factor as to whether you can achieve long-term success.

A prime example of this is the World Series of Poker on ESPN, which has been airing new episodes of players vying for millions of dollars and the crown of world champion of poker. Whether you are a serious poker fan or a casual observer, it doesn’t take much to realize how much patience plays a part in the game.

Illustrations of this concept are everywhere to see during these poker broadcasts. Some players patiently wait through two or three days of play until they reach the money, then it seems their patience and common sense are thrown out the window. Instead of using the same discipline and patience that got them to this point, they start wildly throwing the chips in the pot as if the chips were on fire or contained a dangerous disease.

Other players let a lack of patience eat at them when they are not seeing good cards or when they have had a run of misfortune. You’ll often see a player get unlucky in one hand and lose a portion of chips, and before you know it, he’s trying to get them back with a wild bluff or by betting too much with a marginal hand.

However, the players who maintain their poise and patience are the ones who have the chips and the opportunity to win at the end. The same principle applies to sports betting; you will have setbacks and losing days, but ultimately your ability to persevere and maintain your patience separates the long-term winners from losers.

There are many otherwise outstanding sports handicappers who are failed sports bettors because they defeat themselves. When it comes right down to it, this what oddsmakers and bookmakers are counting on. Even though you make sports betting an advantage game with your knowledge and preparation, those who take the bets are confident you will eventually assume the traits that are detrimental to all gamblers.

Lack of self-control and lack of patience are chief among them. If we lose three hands in a row at blackjack while betting $20 per hand, our gambler’s instinct tempts us to bet $100 on the next hand, hoping to recoup our losses and make a little extra in the process. Although logic would dictate to continue playing great basic strategy and keeping track of the high and low cards, logic sometimes goes by the wayside when you are a gambler.

This type of mentality has spelled doom for many sports bettors, so it’s crucial that you don’t let it happen to you. Remember that the long-term process is a marathon and not a sprint, and occasionally you are going to have off days.

An example of keeping your discipline is two-fold: Let’s say you are 1-5 on a miserable day of college football betting, and there is one big-time game left on the ledger. If you already planned on betting this game, and performed your due diligence in making this pick, you should go ahead and bet the same unit, and with the same confidence, as you would any other pick. Don’t let a bad day scare you into thinking you are destined for another loss, and are better off cutting your losses.

By the same token, if this game was not on your radar at the start of the day, then it shouldn’t be now. You might be tempted to try and get the day’s losses back with a five-unit play on one of these teams, but this is one of the worst things you can do. This is tantamount to betting on a coin flip, pure gambling, and this is where advantage gamblers ultimately lose their edge over the house.

Keep your patience in tact in these situations, and you’ll find it’s a good way to help your bankroll do the same.

Doc’s Sports is a great place for football bettors to get up-to-the minute NFL Lines and College Football Lines, daily exclusive betting articles as well as futures predictions and expert analysis.

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