Betting 101: Poker and sports betting how one is like the other – Yahoo Sports

Last week I had the privilege of speaking to Penn State students about the business of sports betting. Some were aspiring to become sports agents, others were data scientists wanting to create their own betting models, and others were unsure what they wanted to do but knew they wanted to work in the sports industry.

Before betting, I was in poker. I played poker, was in poker media, and, at one point, even dealt poker at the Bellagio. In telling my story, one student reached out to me afterward and had one question, How do you stay disciplined when you are running badly?

This was interesting because poker very much parallels betting. In order to be successful in either field, you need discipline and bankroll management. The remark that caught my attention, however, was on luck. Ive been getting incredibly unlucky, the student said

Heres the advice I shared with him, including things I learned in poker that are relevant and useful in sports betting today.

In poker, keeping track of hand histories is key. Hands you're winning, hands you're losing, its important to jot down the action of a hand that youre unsure you played correctly. Then, you can review it later to see if you would have played the same or perhaps taken a new action.

The betting equivalent is keeping track of all your bets. If something you wagered worked out, analyze afterward why it was a winning wager. Did your reasoning align with the outcome? If your wager didnt work out, analyze why it was a losing wager. Did you overvalue an injury? Did you undervalue a travel spot?

If you ask 10 bettors why they lost a bet, nine will say its because they got unlucky. They will put the blame on the referees, cite the weather or a million other reasons. Be the one person that will be honest by saying, My reasoning was incorrect.

Keeping a record of your wins and losses is definitely beneficial, but analyzing why a bet did or did not work out will make you that much better.

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Like stocks, both poker and betting are about risk analysis. You are weighing the probability of a team or player winning or losing. Through a wager, you break down the risk-to-reward ratio. Because money is involved, you need both emotional and financial intelligence.

Heres what I mean. In poker, you typically are a $1/$3 cash-game player. You lose two $300 buy-ins. In turn, you jump stakes to either the $2/$5 or maybe even jump to $5/$10 in an effort to quickly win your losses back. This is definitely one way to go broke.

Similar things can happen in betting. There is a 10-game slate and you made the decision to wager on one thing. Your bet lost but theres still four games remaining that night. In an effort to get back your losses, or to heal your bruised ego, you place a wager on something you never had an intention of betting in the first place. This is forcing a bet. Perhaps you double-down to win and now youre worse off.

A major rule of betting: dont chase. Having both emotional and financial intelligence means knowing that tomorrow is a new day.

Gambling Twitter is cluttered but there are things you can look out for to protect yourself. I do my own research, I handicap my own games and provide the analysis. Not everyone does, and thats OK. You may have a list of people you follow/tail. Make sure that those you follow are staying in line.

If they lose a bet, are they tweeting that they got unlucky?

If they lose a three-unit play, are they posting a six-unit play after?

Follow those who post their losses as loudly as they post their wins. In poker, players talk to other players to review analysis together. In betting, why not do the same? Send a direct message to the person posting a play. Reply to their tweets and see if you can bounce ideas off one another. The more insight you can get about their actions, the more comfortable you can feel about following or fading them.

As far as handling the swings, staying disciplined is a practice like anything else. When I played poker, I would literally sit on my hands, placing them underneath my thighs while sitting, forcing myself to take time to think of my next move. I also stopped shuffling chips because I found it easier to just toss them into the pot without hesitation.

For betting, if you need to separate yourself from your phone/laptop in order to not chase or click buttons you dont want to be clicking. Get into a habit of staying composed and not feeling the urge to chase, which could lead to a compounding mistake.

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Betting 101: Poker and sports betting how one is like the other - Yahoo Sports