First lets define investing. It is the act of laying out money or capital with the expectation of earning a profit in return.

Gambling on the other hand can be defined as staking your hard earned in the hope of earning a return, but with no logical reason. Playing the lottery is a good example. Most people know that the odds favor the house. Only about half of the money contributed to the total lottery pool  is paid out to the winners. That equates to a vigorish of more than 150% or 1.5. And there is no skill that will improve your chances of success. Playing the lottery is simply an end. It’s not surprising that people often describe state lotteries as a "tax on stupid people."

Too often however, betting on sports, poker and playing the lottery are considered to be synonymous. Yes, poker is a game and sure you can gamble at it. But you can also gamble on Monopoly, hopscotch or even the flip of a coin.

Games of chance must be distinguished from games which combine both skill and luck.

Poker or sports betting is not necessarily gambling. If you’re talented for example, poker could be a form of investing because you’re staking your money with the realistic expectation of earning a return.

If you have a reason to believe that your bet will be profitable, such as a  record or a proven track record, then your gambling becomes a form of investment. If you find that poker loses you money, then playing poker isn’t investing, that would be gambling.

Yes for the majority of people poker is gambling. However for those who make their living playing poker, it is more than gambling, it is in fact investing. There for the term professional gambler is in fact a paradox, anyone who makes money on Poker or sports betting is investing, not gambling. In the long run the so called “Professional Gambler ” risks or gambles nothing.

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As it became clear during the course of the game that he was unlikely to win, he just got angrier and angrier. You’ve heard the term “going on tilt” in the world of gambling. I was about to see it happen.

Instead of taking his medicine, accepting the loss, and moving on, my friend decided to make a big bet in a new game that was about to start. It was a selection he wasn’t even going to bet in the first place. But anger about the lack of defense in the first game inspired a notion that “nobody plays defense any more,” in my angry friend. He made a big impulse bet on an Over. It wasn’t as big as the first bet that loss. It was a large sized play though.

You can guess what happened.

Because my friend had bet an amount he couldn’t handle emotionally in the first game, he acted irrationally and lost a second big bet. If you find yourself digging a hole, put the shovel down!

Note that this wagering mistake wasn’t much about proper analysis, or shopping for the best line, or using money management strategies to maximize your edge. It was just a tantrum from somebody who lost his cool.

I think this is a concept that doesn’t nearly get enough attention. Part of the winning process is the proper evaluation of the elements in play. If you can’t think clearly, you can’t properly evaluate. It’s critical for you to find a comfort level in your sports wagers in terms of your bankroll AND your ability to think straight. It’s not just “is this the right amount given the size of my bankroll?” It’s also “will this amount influence my ability to make proper decisions in other games today?”

My friend lost about 4% of his bankroll on his big play, then lost another 3% on a bet that should never have been made. It’s a lot easier to climb out of a 4% hole than a 7% hole. If he had risked just 3% on that first bet, he probably wouldn’t have had such an angry reaction. His other winnings last weekend would have covered that 3% loss anyway. He would have broken even and moved onto the next day. Instead, he took a really big hit.

Finding a “comfort level” in wagering means developing the calm confidence to go forward and play intelligently when you’re not winning. You can’t make smart bets if you’re not thinking clearly!

Sure, you wouldn’t bet a game you thought was going to lose! But you have to realize that you’re still at the mercy of outside forces. No one is infallible.The best handicappers know that the law of averages will eventually”kick in”, you can not defy it forever. And, you should have learned by now that the bounce of the ball is very fickle. Sometimes you’re wrong. Sometimes you’re right and lose anyway.

If you find yourself in the midst of a big winning streak, here are some tips to keep your head on straight.

Evaluate the games to make sure your handicapping keys were truly the factors that led to victory. You have to know when you’re right, and when you’re lucky. If your winning streak looks too good to be true,it propably is just that.

Make a list before the games begin of those that you “almost” bet but didn’t. Often you’ll find that these games are losing. That will help with the humility, and will discourage you from chasing too much action. (Of course, if these games are winning too, you might as well bet them!).

Stay on top of your bankroll and make sure you’re using a responsible level of risk. There’s nothing worse than losing all the money you’ve just made in a hot streak because you overbet a few plays that ended up losing. What’s the point of going 8-0 if an 0-4 day is going to lose it all back? Worse, what if that 0-4 day is an even bigger disaster that drains most of your bankroll because you were too overconfident? Never raise the size of your bets on the account of a wining streak alone. They are meaningless.

Make sure your behavior is that of an investor who’s trying to earn a profit, rather than an addict who’s starting to chase a high. Gambling can be addictive. That’s because winning feels so great! A winning streak can be the worst thing to happen to a compulsive gambler because it sets up such a dramatic fall. Be sure you’re keeping everything in perspective.

It may sound like a problem everyone would like to have. However can grow into a real problem if you begin to thin you’re better than your really are.

It’s important for you to remember that any involvement with “chance” is going to have an ebb and flow. You’ll have good weeks. You’ll have bad weeks. Flipping a coin will have stretches of heads, and stretches of tails. But, the inherent probabilities don’t change. That’s the important thing to remember.

Here are some tips to follow if you’re confronted with a bad short term run.

*Study the games closely to see if you’re losing because of handicapping errors, or because of bad luck. Again, luck plays a big role in sports betting. Sometimes the breaks just go against you. If a star player got injured, if a questionable officiating call went against you at a critical time, you shouldn’t hold yourself responsible for the loss.

On the other hand, if you’ve overrated or underrated a team, then it is your fault. Study your key indicators closely. You might find that a mistake in one game leads you to several winners in future games. That will turn things around right there!

*Avoid any urge you have to chase. Some gamblers are conservative by nature, so they don’t fall into this trap. But, many assume that they just can’t keep losing, and that betting big on the next game will provide an easy way out. If that loses, bet bigger on the next game. You should all know by now that this is a fool’s effort. Even if it works the first time you’re on a losing streak, and the second time months later, it will eventually break you. At some point, chasing will exceed
the possibilities of your bankroll.

*If you’re the conservative type, make sure you haven’t crawled too far back in a shell. This style of wagering is prone to pass on winning plays because the fear of losing has become too prominent. The fact that you’ve been suffering bad luck in recent games doesn’t mean you’re cursed! Tomorrow is a new day, and you should be betting any games where your handicapping suggests there’s an edge. You can’t dig yourself out of a hole if you don’t have a shovel in your hands.

Being a long term winner in sports betting involves knowing how to deal with the highs and the lows you’ll encounter. Many former gamblers didn’t know how to handle short term success or failure. If you want to make a career out of this, you need to make the right decisions at the right times. Slow and steady wins the race, as long as you keep moving
forward.