By Derek Part 1

Today I begin a series on how to win money at sports betting, and although I don't expect or claim that what I detail will be an exhaustive series of articles, one thing in their favor is that each of the principles and method's examined have been tested and refined over several years.

Rest assured that nothing here is an intellectual exercise, but was discovered, sometimes painfully, by betting over a period of time using real money and standing or falling by the results. Many of you are experienced bettors and will already understand most of the principles involved, but I believe there is much to gain by having a further look at them with a little self examination.

I resemble this to driving a car. To pass a driving test we do everything by the instruction book, and after passing the test we add further knowledge and experience of real life driving conditions to make us better drivers. Be honest with yourself, we also pick up bad habits that become part of our technique almost un-knowingly. Our betting techniques are also subject to the gradual intrusion of bad habits and practices. In the absence of losing our bankroll we tend to ignore them, lessening our overall effectiveness as bettors.

Know the Enemy. For anyone new to sports betting to even consider starting without first knowing how a bookmaker operates is suicidal. To get involved without first knowing the rules is simply crazy as all eventualities should be weighed up as part of the process of determining the likely success of any wager.

Know Myself It is essential to know your strong and weak points, and brutal honesty is what's required here if you wish to succeed at sports betting. The kind of tongue in cheek statement that follows the accusation, "you're drunk" with "I only had a couple", when it's clear you're are faced, is of no use to us in our quest to win. Most of us think we are better than we actually are in any field of endeavor, and sports betting is no different. The big difference is that telling a little lie about the size of your penis won't empty your bankroll in the same way that misleading ourselves about our tipping skills will. The only certain way to get an un-biased and truthful picture of the facts is to keep detailed records. Not just the winners, but the losers too. Complete, extensive and accurate records is a must for anyone with ambitions to succeed at beating the bookmaker. Do not trust to memory, it's fallible.

If you are new to this sphere, then the safest way to begin is what is known as "paper trading". This simply means that selections are made, a stake is chosen, but no (real) money is used. Phony money, fake dollars, monopoly cash, call it what you like. The point is how can you establish a pattern of strengths and weaknesses without first testing the water? Why risk hard earned money while you're finding out the big picture? I know the thought will spring to mind during this testing period if you're showing a profit, "if only I'd used real money....", but that is not the point. There will always be plenty of opportunities to profit for real once the basics are taken care of.

The number of sports being punted is also worth careful consideration. I know of no successful sports bettor who can devote enough time and energy in the study of their profession to cover more than 2 or 3 sports with any long term success when they first start out. It is simply not possible to cover all the information angles necessary a maintain a winning career if any more sports are tackled simultaneously. I started with two sports and increased to three after a year and now I have my data bases and manage my time more effectively, I have managed to start researching and betting a further three sports.

In Part Two I will detail exactly how I keep my records, and separate the records from the accurate facts and statistics that will actually be of benefit. Make sure you check back, you have nothing to lose and plenty to gain.