We all know that one sports bettor that just gets way too wrapped up in their favorite teams or players when gambling. They will flat-out ignore all the useful data and turn a blind eye to existing trends or current projections.
Gamblers that allow their emotions to get involved face a tough road, allowing their whims to dictate their betting decisions rather than the facts or probabilities.
But are some sports more dangerous to emotional gamblers than others? Or are there sports that emotional gamblers should simply avoid altogether?
Here are five sports emotional gamblers should avoid.
1 – Boxing
Since its inception, betting on boxing has been on the minds of gambling enthusiasts. Title bouts in Las Vegas get the pulse of the gambling community racing as few other events can.
It’s clear why boxing can easily send a passionate gambler into an absolute frenzy. The sport, by its very nature, is wildly exciting. You have two elite specimens of the human race squaring off to beat the other guy to a pulp.
Even for the casual viewer, you can’t help but pick one guy over the other. Some fans have watched their favorite come up from the amateur ranks. Some of the bettors have likely even won a fortune by betting on their fighter in the past.
This leads to the gambler betting even more money without any concern for their next opponent’s skill level. Emotional gambling like this can lead to some terrible losses for ardent gamblers.
Instead of betting because of how they feel, it’s more prudent to think things through and make a calculated wager. This is a far more deliberate and profitable way to do something.
2 – MMA
Another sport where emotions seem to grapple with logic more than usual is mixed martial arts.
MMA is quickly becoming one of the most popular sports on the planet. The meteoric rise to the top has been greeted with plenty of attention from Las Vegas.
UFC rules the roost in the world of MMA. Their pay-per-view events crowd fans into even the “diviest” of dive bars, and bettors flood the Vegas sportsbooks to get in on the action.
Why has the UFC stood out among its competitors?
Because Dana White and his company place a giant emphasis on the drama of it all, especially keening in on rivalries and personal grudges between its fighters. This all adds up to colossal money pouring through the doors of the UFC and its top fighters.
The way a particular fighter is promoted by the UFC can significantly impact how gamblers will bet. Before Connor McGregor abruptly retiring earlier this year, fans flocked to the sportsbooks to either bet for or against him.
Many of the decisions were based 100% on their love or hatred of the polarizing prizefighter.
The sheer brutality of the sport only adds to the excitement for gamblers. Unfortunately, many sports bettors allow that excitement to overwhelm them.
This strikes an emotional nerve and leads to foolish bets.
3 – Horse Racing
The “Sport of Kings” is filled with romance and nostalgia. Some of my fondest memories of my adolescence were born at the horse track.
No, my dad wasn’t a degenerate gambler that would drag me away from Little League practices to go to the horse track. We had a close family friend that was the stable master for the track about 45 miles from my hometown.
We would have behind the scenes access to all the beauty and pageantry horse racing has to offer during the season. It was beautiful, and during those years, I learned a valuable lesson about horse racing and gambling.
Don’t Let Your Emotions Make the Decisions
I saw many bettors fall prey to an apt name or a particularly beautiful horse and part ways with their cash.
Successful gamblers that bet on horse races study form and apply specific methods when placing their bets. Betting on a whim like a name game or wagering on a horse because it’s a beautiful shade of gray is careless and impractical.
Don’t get me wrong. That’s my favorite thing about horse racing. However, I easily hold my emotions in check. I understand that my $2 is a fee I am paying to enjoy the majesty of this animal for 15 minutes or so until the race ends. My $2 goes to pay an actual winner.
In horse racing, it is rapid-fire action, and multiple races are frequently being simulcast around the country. That opens you up for losing a lot of money in a spectacularly short period.
Losing any significant amount of money in such a minute period leads many to chase those losses. This is, by far, the most common mistake many gamblers make. And if not checked down quickly, it can lead to disaster.
If you are a passionate gambler and love horses, I implore you to bet with your head and not your heart. If you just can’t pass up a wager on Ode$$a OUthouse (not a typo), please kiss your $2 goodbye and move on.
4 – Soccer
Look, it’s hard for us Americans to admit it, let alone understand it. But soccer is the most popular sport in the world.
Soccer crushes every other sport in terms of gambling revenue, and that’s not just based solely on there being more fans. Soccer fans carry a passion that is unrivaled in the sports world.
Whether it stems from national pride or local passion, soccer fans get locked into bitter rivalries with other clubs and their equally rabid fan base. We typically see more unrest between soccer fans than anywhere else in sports.
Soccer has spawned generations of fiercely loyal fans. This sometimes leads to an emotional uprising that no sport on earth can rival.
Huge international events like the FIFA World Cup and Copa America ignite a special kind of fire in soccer fans. These competitions draw sharp lines along competing nations, pushing things up a notch, and fans often take them far more seriously than necessary.
Here’s an Example:
Andres Escobar scored an own goal in the 1994 World Cup leading to the United States advancing and Colombia being eliminated. Five days after his return to Colombia, Escobar and a friend went out for drinks. It would be the last drink of his life. Escobar was gunned down outside of the bar at 3 AM that morning. The shooters reportedly yelled “goal” after each shot.
The murder is widely believed to be retaliation by criminal drug enterprises that lost millions betting on the Colombians to win the match. Obviously, this is an isolated incident, and an overwhelming majority of soccer fans are not murderers.
But you’ll see it if you spend any amount of time watching a match with a large group of avid soccer fans. The collective oneness becomes apparent. That rush of adrenaline is multiplied when the fans surrounding you have a little skin in the game.
5 – Football
Now, I finally have the attention of my readers in the United States. I had to throw the murder story in here just to keep you reading. I love “The First 48” as much as you all. And in the US, football will always mean more than soccer to most gamblers.
Football is by leaps and bounds the most popular sport in the United States for sports bettors. Hungry fans rush to the sportsbooks in droves to place their bets every week of the season.
College games are as popular as the NFL, and fans love betting a few dollars on football action. I’d like to think most gamblers bet with their heads and not their hearts, but some fans cannot help themselves. They will place a silly wager on their alma mater or professional home team.
Each year, the Super Bowl brings mountains of cash into play. Most of this money comes from casual sports bettors. These gamblers couldn’t care less about betting on regular-season games.
Typically, the bets from these gamblers will be placed on a whim with no significant emotional attachment. Then, there are the unfortunate ones, the gamblers that almost impulsively lay their wagers.
They’ll bet on anything from the spread to how long the national anthem will take to sing without so much as a second thought about the implications.
It’s a good idea for emotional gamblers to slow down when it comes to football, do some productive research, and use that big brain to make your picks.
Conclusion
Imagine betting a tremendous amount of money on a football game simply because you once met a girl or guy in a bar that attended a particular university.
It may sound crazy, but emotional gamblers often make such rash decisions. I’m going to shoot straight, that’s not a bright play.
Emotional gambling should be avoided altogether if you can manage that. It will likely save you some regrets and will no doubt save you money.
Michael Stevens
Michael Stevens has been researching and writing topics involving the gambling industry for well over a decade now and is considered an expert on all things casino and sports betting. Michael has been writing for GamblingSites.org since early 2016. …
