Betting pyschology any advice?

[Gooner80]

I have been researching many systems, plenty of statistics and paper traded for about 10 months now. What I have learnt is that I am a super punter on paper I have made 100s and 1000s BUT as soon as I bet even relatively small stakes emotion kicks in. I either go on a really good run and get carried away, or I start losing and stop relying on the statistics that will eventually turn back my way. so for example if I trade on bet fair and things aren't going my way I get over cautious because the emotional sense is what kills me, I have my numbers and systems down to a T and on paper I could make a decent living from this or at least a very good second income. has any one got a psychological tips on dealing with this problem because I think this is the biggest hinderence and is what makes 95% of gamblers lose money any help would be much appreciated

[carlos50]

Re: Betting pyschology any advice? What makes 95% of gamblers loose is the bookmakers overround. Your problems sound similar to otherwise winning pokerplayers. Its very normal to get overcautios or aggressive if winning or loosing. I would try to study tilt control and general psychology in poker. There are several books on the subject. The best trick imo is to make sure the amounts don't matter to you. Betting out of your comfort zone is a path to disaster. If you wanna bet more than you can handle, build it up slowly until your comfort zone is higher. Second is not to focus on winning or loosing the bet. Focus on making value bets, then you will win in the end. Realisticly you will make somewhere between 0-10%, focus on that. If there is a 5% edge it doesnt really matter wether the bet wins or loose. Its like getting 6/5 on a coin flip, it is a good bet regardless of the outcome of the actual coinflip. And if winning you wouldn't / shouldnt think of it as a good bet because you won, but because you got good odds. Furthermore a solid staking plan/ bankroll management is necessary, so you dont have to worry about going broke. And last but not least it is very important to be aware which mistakes you are likely to make. Be aware of when the mistakes are sneaking in, and try to stop them in the process. Havent got a magic trick for that, sorry :D