Sports betting strategy How does a gambler think?
There is a natural order that supersedes the laws of men. It says somewhere that every dog has his day. It is under here, wrapped in the all encompassing blanket that dictates the events of the world, that we find the gambler most at home.
To the untrained eye the gambler may seem like an exception, but he, like the fabled lone wolf, or tiger, is a hunter living for the chase.
A common misconception is that the gambler thrives on victory and that it is his earnings which fuel his next bet. There is no truth to that whatsoever. The thrill of the gamble, very much like that of the predator, is in the chase.
There are various forms of gambling games available around the world. It is therefore difficult to paint one, clear, inclusive picture of what it means to be a player in the world today. From seedy pool halls through to the ritzy tables of bat gammon, from the online poker tables, to the somewhat clandestine world of sports betting (illegal in 48 states) the gamer, the hustler, the player, can take on many forms and wear many hats. But despite the myriad choices which define this free society, there is always a common thread laced between common peoples, so let’s investigate. All voluntary actions first spark with motivation and are driven home by desire and incentive.
Based on that it is only natural that the bond which unites these men and women be found somewhere in the locked box of the mind. So let’s delve deeper into the mechanisms which bond and solidify these different people into the one common group known as the gambler.
Gamblers are first and foremost, thrill seeking strategists. So let’s start with the thrill of the unknown.
Before the cards are drawn, before the game is set into motion, before the race is off, there is a blissful moment of pure unknowing. And that is where the first chills run down one’s spine. No matter what data or strategy you may or may not have in your back pocket, that element of unknown, referred to the untrained as the element of chance, to the poets as the very eyes of lady luck, is the one incalculable factor. Any sports fan or card player knows that miracles in point of fact, happen. Three point buzzer beaters, ace’s on the river, these are just two of a million examples. And that is the first thrill. That inescapable question, will it happen today.
Let us now focus on the strategist component. Gamblers have an innate ability to break down a situation into its separate parts thereby gathering a fuller picture of the process. Let’s give a solid example. When dealing with cards a gambler knows how many of each card is in the deck, based on the cards he has, the cards he’s seen, and the cards he can see, he or she will extrapolate a potential scenario, always keeping in mind the number of players at any given point. Using this raw data, and pooling into past experience the gambler will then loosely calculate, the odds of victory.
It is here, in this process of calculation, that they will feel their second surge. Like a detective who loves putting the pieces together. There is a thrill here, which can be found in almost nothing else. One could argue that the same process can be seen in the fundamentals of human dynamics, or politics and this is true, but what separates gambling from these other human endeavors are the stakes. In human dynamics the stakes are unclear, in politics, the search for power and influence is the motivation, but in gaming what we have on the table is much simpler and in a sense purer. What we have on the table is cold, hard, cash. It is a microcosm built to form for the lone gunman. Human behavior factors in, true, and relations are formed, but at the end of the day the entire responsibility lays in your hands and yours alone. Here in the throws of the sport, victory and loss will ultimately only effect you, and it is only up to you to understand the various factors which can bring about victory and defeat. At the end of the match it is only to you alone whom you will have to answer to whether you win or lose.
Obviously after the game, when returning to the “real” world, your wins or losses have an influence on others, but at the table, making that bet, there is only you and that is how the gambler thinks. His life is compartmentalized in two separate realities. There is the game, and before it and after it, there is everything else.
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