But, there are some casual bettors who do make money, season after season, betting on football. And, these folks are not necessarily a lot brighter than their peers who lose money week after week and season after season.



The people able to make money wagering on football may have little else in common, but all believe it is essential to establish an unviolable set of rules. Below are the rules employed be a very successful recreational bettor, a man who has come away ahead during eight of the last ten seasons.

1. Begin each season with a budget. Decide the maximum you will bet on an individual game and the maximum number of games you will bet on each week. If you can't stick to your budget, you shouldn't be gambling. At best, it means you are not a good gambler; at worst it may mean you have a gambling problem.

2. Make your bets as you would make any investment. Consider your risk tolerance, analyze your opportunities (the individual games), and make well reasoned choices.

3. The more games you bet on, the more likely you are to be making some relatively weak picks. Make a few strong choices and have the self-discipline to pass on the other games.

4. Consider trends, but remember that they may not help you much, if at all. Does it really mean a lot that a team has covered the spread for three weeks in a row? Decide which factors are really important and which are largely irrelevant.

5. Analyzing your results on an ongoing basis to improve your future selections is a good idea. Reevaluating and/or changing the limits set in step #1 is not. Whether you think a change in your self-imposed limits can help you quickly catch up after losses or do even better after wins, it's a terrible idea.

That's it. Just five simple steps to improve the chances of the recreational bettor to come out in the black this season.