The entertainment value, perhaps more so than anything else, is what draws millions of sports fans to betting on their favourite pastime.

Watching live sports is thrilling fun, and the rush of the excitement is made even more exhilarating when you’ve got a so-called “horse in the race”, meaning money on the line.

But for those who take sports betting seriously in terms of approaching it from a winning point of view, there are certain golden rules to follow.

Bet Only When You Want To

The best bets are those wagered when an opportunity to win presents itself. When wanting to succeed, betting simply for the sake of betting is a recipe for disaster.

Some of the worst bets in history have been wagered in a rush.

Sadly, most punters aren’t betting because they have done their research and studied the form. Instead, they are simply throwing money in the water simply because the next event is about to begin.

Choose The Way To Make It Pay

With so many different betting options available, it’s important to find the best way to make your particular bet pay.

You’ll achieve this only by familiarising yourself with the different types of bets available, weighing up the potential of what could go right as well as what could go wrong, and ultimately, betting in accordance with your confidence in the expected outcome.

Keep A Record

Chronicling your bets is just about the best way to track your progress and improve.

While keeping a record of your bets might seem like a boring chore, it will help you to determine which areas you are succeeding in, and also where you are simply bleeding money.

Challenge Your Personal Rules

Many bettors “ban” themselves from wagering at certain prices.

An example of why this isn’t always a good idea happened a few years ago. At the time, it was considered a bad idea to back Premiership teams at odds-on during away-games. This was despite an obvious lack of evidence that there was any sort of good reasoning behind the “rule”.

This is why it’s important to make your own decisions instead of merely following the crowd.

Never Bet When Drunk

While this might seem an obvious piece of advice, many bettors continue to fall into this trap.

Unfortunately, since gambling and caulfield cup betting and having a drink to socialise oftentimes go hand-in-hand, it is particularly easy to fall into this habit.

Betting when drunk will only help you make poor and spur-of-the-moment decisions that will likely end up draining your entire bankroll.

Search For The “Why”

Experienced sports bettors know to not blindly follow the money without putting any thought into the matter.

When confronted with a “sure bet”, always ask yourself how and why that bet came to be in the first place.

Swimming against the tide can – and often does – pay huge dividends.

Don’t Disregard The First Price

Bookies never issue their prices on future events all at once. Instead, they add more odds options as they go along so that punters have as many picks as possible to choose from.

Oftentimes, the first price remains the best value.