[RangeFinder]

We all see threads on bad beats, time and time again. Let's face it, they are going to happen to everyone who bets, not matter what the game is. It can be poker, blackjack, horse racing and in our case here, sports betting.

So, what is the best way to handle a bad beat? Yea, another one is coming to anyone who reads this unless you quit betting altogether, which is not likely going to happen. I just had a bad beat tonight which inspired me to write this. I once got the best advice from an old time professional gambler when I lived in Vegas. I was sitting in the old Stardust Race and Sportsbook and just took one of the worst beats a human being could take. To make a long story short, I had a bet on a baseball game and was leading by 8 runs, 9-1, going into the bottom of the 9th inning. I lost. I was livid. I was loudly cussing F bombs. Then the old timer sat down next to me, and calmly told me this. "They're going to happen, son, and you need to work on how you handle them". I looked at this guy like he had two heads. he then said "Look, I know that one hurt, but I'm going to tell you something that I want you to always remember" and went on to say "You lost by 1 run, doesn't matter how it happened, you still lost by 1. If you would had known it was going to be THAT close of an outcome, you probably would have bet another game. You see, bad beats are a result of bad handicapping, it should have never been that close, or you would not have bet the game, so see it as a mistake and bad handicapping."

So, with that advice from the old timer, I look at bad beats like a bad play. It never should have come down to that last shot, last field goal, last whatever, and in this specific case, inning, even though I had such a huge lead. Maybe I didn't know the bullpen was burnt from throwing the last 4 games in a row, which I found out later. So it goes to show, there are things you can miss that can cause a bad beat.

Next time it happens, see it as just another loss. Also, remember the ones you got away with.

[TPowell]

Buy the hook in virtually every game you can (especially buying TO the whole number). Is it profitable? No it isn't more than likely but it does help with the bad beats

[Sam Losco]

i was running bad recently but went over 2.5 goals in the west ham game yesterday with a goal at 90+3

you win some, you lose some. by big margins or by the skin of your teeth

[funnyb25]

Buy the hook in virtually every game you can (especially buying TO the whole number). Is it profitable? No it isn't more than likely but it does help with the bad beats

Prolly the worst advice I have seen...Buy the hook in every game you can to the whole number, you will get buried more than the bad beats will do

[TPowell]

Prolly the worst advice I have seen...Buy the hook in every game you can to the whole number, you will get buried more than the bad beats will do

I said it wouldn't be profitable. Would provide you with some piece of mind at least in the case of some bad beats. Alan Boston has talked about doing it in the past himself.

[TPowell]

Speaking of bad beats, about to get my own. Had Florida A&M +5 (-120). Up by 2 and foul with 3 secs left. Games goes to OT. They jump out to a 4 point lead..... now down 5 with 15 seconds left.

[jjgold]

Part of game

Bat beats work both ways

[Buffalo Nickle]

The best way to handle them I have fouhd is to scream the F word over and over.

[funnyb25]

Speaking of bad beats, about to get my own. Had Florida A&M +5 (-120). Up by 2 and foul with 3 secs left. Games goes to OT. They jump out to a 4 point lead..... now down 5 with 15 seconds left.

I had St. Francis +5. Up outright by 8 at half. Other guys start the 2nd half on a 25-2 run....is that real life? LOL

[lakerboy]

Powell hang it up

[TPowell]

Powell hang it up

No way pal. 4-2-2 this week with Gonzaga -4 pending and last week I was 34-24-1 last week. Rolling in March like normal!

[bosigga]

The best way to handle them I have fouhd is to scream the F word over and over.

Lol this usually does it

When bad beats happen, try to remember the improbable victories you had too

[daneblazer]

Get a scream pillow

[RangeFinder]

The best way to handle them I have fouhd is to scream the F word over and over.

I tried that. That's when the old timer gave me the lecture.

[Rich Boy]

Easy solution but probably 90% will not follow it, including myself.

Do not watch any games, only check the final score. Dont even check box scores or scores per half/quarter.
Find a site that shows ONLY final scores, thats it.

Only problem is most guys like watching games for the action.

[Waterstpub87]

We all see threads on bad beats, time and time again. Let's face it, they are going to happen to everyone who bets, not matter what the game is. It can be poker, blackjack, horse racing and in our case here, sports betting.

So, what is the best way to handle a bad beat? Yea, another one is coming to anyone who reads this unless you quit betting altogether, which is not likely going to happen. I just had a bad beat tonight which inspired me to write this. I once got the best advice from an old time professional gambler when I lived in Vegas. I was sitting in the old Stardust Race and Sportsbook and just took one of the worst beats a human being could take. To make a long story short, I had a bet on a baseball game and was leading by 8 runs, 9-1, going into the bottom of the 9th inning. I lost. I was livid. I was loudly cussing F bombs. Then the old timer sat down next to me, and calmly told me this. "They're going to happen, son, and you need to work on how you handle them". I looked at this guy like he had two heads. he then said "Look, I know that one hurt, but I'm going to tell you something that I want you to always remember" and went on to say "You lost by 1 run, doesn't matter how it happened, you still lost by 1. If you would had known it was going to be THAT close of an outcome, you probably would have bet another game. You see, bad beats are a result of bad handicapping, it should have never been that close, or you would not have bet the game, so see it as a mistake and bad handicapping."

So, with that advice from the old timer, I look at bad beats like a bad play. It never should have come down to that last shot, last field goal, last whatever, and in this specific case, inning, even though I had such a huge lead. Maybe I didn't know the bullpen was burnt from throwing the last 4 games in a row, which I found out later. So it goes to show, there are things you can miss that can cause a bad beat.

Next time it happens, see it as just another loss. Also, remember the ones you got away with.

Old timer is wrong. The problem with his mentality is that he looks at the results of sports games as if they are predetermined, ie " If you know it would be that close." "Bad beats are just bad handicapping". Nonsense, totally and absolutely nonsense.

Sports, like most things, are mostly random. Imagine instead that you had the same sporting event played under the same conditions 1,000,000 times. From those, how many games would have your team leading by 8 runs in the 9th and then losing game.? A small amount. If you lost .00005% of those 1,000,000 games because of that, would you conclude that you handicapped that badly?

I would assume that you wouldn't.

[MickeyMan]

Be grumpy around the people in your life and treat them like shit but don't say why.

Be in a good mood after being on the right side of a similar situation.

[astro61200]

Emotionally abuse your family.

[zzzsports]

Easy solution but probably 90% will not follow it, including myself.

Do not watch any games, only check the final score. Dont even check box scores or scores per half/quarter.
Find a site that shows ONLY final scores, thats it.

Only problem is most guys like watching games for the action.

works for me. Just sleep throughout the whole game and check the final score. As if cheering or ranting behind a screen would determine a different outcome. You're just stressing yourself out. Bet and forget.

[El Nino]

Be grumpy around the people in your life and treat them like shit but don't say why.

Be in a good mood after being on the right side of a similar situation.

This. Also, throw rocks at pigeons.

[Surfjack]

Go surf

[Sam Odom]

sell off half pts

reduce the juice on all bets

about 'bad beats' -- if it hurts too bad you had too much $$$ riding on it

[Sam Odom]

Now... THIS would be a Bad Beat

[slapshot]

if you bet every day and some days multiple bets....you will run into cold stretches...guaranteed!

only way for the bankroll to survive these bad beats is to substantially cut back on the money you risk.

having said that....when you're hot....you need to maximize your winnings.
ie you need analyze your own performance and adjust accordingly.