Learning the Difference between Simple and Easy

I think one of the big things that attract people to online betting is a perception that betting online is easy.  There are a number of reasons betting can appear easy:

• If you are already familiar with how odds work and have done some betting offline, you may feel like you already know all the basics.
• Getting online to bet is incredibly convenient.  All you have to do is turn on your computer, connect to your betting platform, and get going.  You can do this wearing your pyjamas.
• Most quality betting platforms have a simple, intuitive layout that is easy to use.  Learning how to place a bet online is simple and only takes a few minutes.

The internet betting era in particular has catered toward casual punters who want their profits fast.  Online, there is always a feeling of getting things instantly.  When you run an internet search, you get instant answers.  When you send an email, your message is instantly delivered.  When you bet online, you instantly profit—right? 

Wouldn’t it be great if it were really that easy?  But there is a big difference between something being simple and something being easy.  Betting online is definitely simple.  You can get started in minutes, and once you know the very basics, you certainly can bet all you want with seeming ease.  But you cannot win with ease.  Winning is hard, especially winning consistently. 

That is where things start getting more complicated.  If you are serious about your sports betting, and you do want to be able to win repeatedly, you are going to need a betting strategy.  There are a lot of steps to take here, and most of them are challenging:

• Select a sport to focus on.  I recommend just one or two!
• Choose an online betting site where you can wager on that sport.
• Decide what types of wagers you are interested in.
• Come up with a betting strategy focusing on your sport.
• Start learning everything you can about your sport and about betting in general.
• Begin following your sport religiously every week and researching historical data.
• Start testing your betting strategy on paper.  Do not use real money yet!  Look for consistent profitable results.
• Come up with a money management plan that you are going to follow with every single bet.
• Log each and every win and loss, whether it is live or on paper, as well as everything you are learning about betting. 
• Only then should you start betting live with real money.

Once you reach that last step, your work is far from over!  Most of those bulletin points still apply on an ongoing basis.  You never get to stop learning, researching, following your sport, and testing improvements to your strategies.  Sports betting turns into a full time job quickly for anyone who is serious about it.  So is it simple?  Yes.  But easy?  No.  Not if you want to win enough to make it your full time job!