They say you’re not a boxer until you have taken a few hits. Well perhaps you’re not a sports bettor until you have suffered the excruciating pain of a truly bad beat. Rest assured bad beats hurt. But is there a potential upside to this dark situation?
What is a Sport Betting Bad Beat? A bad beat refers to a situation where a wager loses in unforeseen, unbelievable or highly unlikely circumstances. Losing from the seemingly unlosable situation, creates powerful negative emotions in a bettor including anger and frustration. The term originates from the poker world but is easily related to betting on sports.
Something You Need to Know?
The advice given in this article is based on one caveat. The bad beat in question needs to genuinely be a bad beat!
Many bettors are prone to justifying a bad betting decision, by claiming the bet only lost through a bad beat.
That can be flawed thinking.
For a bad beat to truly count, it needs to be reality that the bet would have won had a freak thing, or highly unlikely play not occurred. For example:
You have bet on an NFL team at -4.5 against the spread. Leading by 10 and looking to gain a first down to end the game the team decides to run the ball. Presumably to keep the clock running. Dramatically, the running back fumbles the ball in a tackle. The opponent recovers the fumble and runs 65 yards to complete a touchdown only to see time expire.
The late touchdown has no effect on the result of the game, but it crushes your spread bet. On any given day the chance of that happening is less than 1%. You have just suffered a truly bad beat.
Here is a tip. If you want to work out what a bad beat is, search the term on Twitter. You will quickly notice many bettors claim bad beats when they were simply beaten. Losing by a half point on a spread bet is not a bad beat. It’s more about the way you lost. Spread betting by nature means half point losses are par for the course. Don’t kid yourself.
Here’s some real examples of truly bad beats The first one isfrom the wonderful world of Twitter.
And another from the famous bad beat segment with Scott Van Pelt and Stanford Steve on Sportscenter
There is no consolation for beats like that. Or is there?
Is There Any Upside to A Bad Beat?
So naturally when you suffer a bad beat you also suffer financial loss that feels like a double beat. In an instant you lurch from a potentially juicy profit to a loss of not only profit, but stake as well. Despite this, we still think there is some upside to a bad beat.
Here are four potential upsides to a bad beat.
Process was Good.
The fact it took a miracle play or freak incident to derail your bet is a clear sign that your betting process was good. Whatever analysis you applied to place that bet was most likely sound. The outcome may not have been ideal but your process stood up. This should be a boost to your confidence in the midst of some bad luck.
The bottom line is if you continue to apply that type of effective analysis to your betting you will be profitable going forward. The memory of this particular piece of bad luck will fade. Keep putting yourself in good positions and eventually good things will happen.
Stay process focussed.
Mental Toughness
The reality of betting on sports is that bad beats will happen. The way you react to these tough days reveals as much about you as a bettor as pretty much anything else. It’s not easy to lose when you feel like you did everything right.
While you would rather avoid bad beats, use them as a chance to develop your mental toughness. See the bad beat as a setback you can overcome and step up to the challenge. It may bend you, but don’t let it break you!
A mentally tough approach to betting allows the bettor to ‘stick to their guns’ instead of second guessing their strategy and betting out of desperation. If nothing else, a bad beat helps you harden up your betting mental game. You will come out stronger. You will learn to control your emotions and transform the frustration into determination.
Reinforces Bankroll Management
The most painful aspect of a bad beat is quite clearly the lost revenue. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know betting on sports is a numbers game. You need to win often to grow, or at the very least, maintain your bankroll. Bad beats teach bettors a lot about bankroll management.
The reality check that comes from losing a bet that just should have won means, if your bankroll management is poor, you will struggle to survive a run of bad beats. To play the sports betting long game you need sound bankroll strategy because rest assured, that run of beats will come.
The experience that comes from suffering bad beats conditions bettors to the reality of losing streaks. Often when a bettor is in the midst of a losing streak a bad beat rears its ugly head. The moment you think your losing run will be broken, you get beaten by a hail mary type play and the streak continues.
This experience reinforces bettors to learn and implement a staking strategy that works and allows them to live to fight another day.
No matter how bad an experience, if you learn something valuable, there is upside.
It’s a Story
Who doesn’t love to show off a battle scar or two?
At the very least, a bad beat is a story to tell. An unbelievable hard luck tale that shows you belong to a community. It’s a rite of passage. A welcome to the club moment.
It’s almost like the fisherman telling the story of the one that got away. Even though you got beaten,the tragic near miss points to your talents as a bettor.
Misery loves company and when you raise the topic of a bad beat you have plenty of company. Why not wallow in some self pity for a few moments. You suffered the pain, tell the story. Once you have, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and go again.
The Game Starts Now!
Sports betting is not an easy game. Bad beats, while all part of it, represent some of the toughest tests you will endure. The best way to overcome the heartbreak is to see the upside, learn something from the experience and apply that to your betting going forward.
If you want to start off your betting with a little head start. Be sure to check out School of Bets sign up bonuses. Get yourself some free money to bet with. At least then a bad beat may feel a little less painful.
Good luck and as always, gamble responsibly!
