Winning in sports gambling is easy. It’s fun, profitable and you rarely see a winner who does not have a smile plastered on his face. Losing on the other hand is a difficult pill to swallow. The loser is out of money and out of luck and it gets even worse when it is by a last minute shot or field goal and the loss is the result of a bad break.

Growing up as a sports bettor like many of us I had a mentor and he always told me that winning is easy, but if you can handle losing than this can be a very fun and profitable venture. There are several rules of thumbs you should keep in mind when you have lost a game and when you learn to follow all of these things then losing is not that difficult after all.

1. Don’t watch the games: If you don’t watch a game then you will never realize that a bad call, tough shot or bad reply cost you some money. This is the hardest rule that there is to follow because everyone enjoys watching a game they have action on.
2. Vent then shake it off: After a tough loss take a minute by yourself and vent. Scream at the top of your lungs, call a friend and tell him/her about it and then let it go. The sooner you put it behind you the better and you can move on to the good part; winning.
3. Look at the big picture: After losing a big game on a bad call look at your crib sheet for the day. Often people will be so disappointed with a tough beat they will not take the time to look at the numbers for the day, week, or month. If overall you are up then that loss does not seem so big after all.
4. No What-If Scenario’s: This goes back to rule #3 and is connected in many ways. How many times have you found your self saying: “yeah I won $100, but if I won that game it would have been $300!” Stop playing what-if and remember the big picture.
5. Think about baseball: A baseball player who hits .300 is considered great. Same thing for a good handicapper who just needs to be over .500 to do well and make money. Get used to losing it happens to the best of us.
6. Avoid losing and study: This is easier said then done, but it will make you a better capper if you study your losses. Look at the box scores, the lines, and anything else that you may have noticed before the game that could have saved you if you had noticed it before hand. In the long run this will save you some serious money just by investing a little time.
7. Pull back the reigns: This rule is best used if you are in a losing streak, not if you have just lost one bad game. If you are in a losing streak, shade back your bet amounts. The lower you bet the easier it is to swallow and when you heat up you can raise them again. When in a losing streak avoid carnival bets as well such as teasers and parlays. This will also help you avoid chasing.
8. Take a day off: This is suggested for winning and losing, a day off always does the body and the mind good and it gives you a chance to appreciate the better things in life.

The professionals in this business only suggest to be successful you need only hit about 54% of your selections. That means you will lose and you will lose up to 46% of the time and that is if you are good. Handling how you lose is important and will allow you to prosper and more importantly, profit.