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You could have heard someone bragging that they picked 9 out of ten NFL games last week or managed to take a three-way parlay to the bank or engineered wins in both the daily double and trifecta at the track. Wow, what a good day that gambler had! Essentially, ask them how they said did the rest of the year.

The fact is that anyone can hit on a bet every once in a while, but in sports betting, where the very best pros are right 60 to 65% of the time, it takes more than one day of luck to turn a true profit. Sports betting may not be a science, but it's a discipline and it does involve research, analysis and skill. If you want to be a successful sports bettor, here are five tips which will start you and keep you on the right track.

Successful handicappers are experts in a couple of sports. To start with, do not bet soccer or even the horses should you not follow soccer or even the horses. You need to know the guidelines, strategies, players, coaches, trainers, venues as well as more of any sport on which you're going to wager. That means reading previews, keeping abreast of daily developments and engaging in detailed analysis. You should often be open to learning something new and taking your understanding to another level. Be an expert and then a guru.

If you really want to make money on a weekly basis, then you have to treat sports betting like it is a business. Why? Since it is a business. Sports betting is not about hunches, it's about weighing evidence, which includes stats, injuries, depth analysis plus much more. Keep files on teams, your wagers, your successes and failures and analyze your effort. If you're constantly losing, you have to figure out why. In the event that you don't, you run the risk of going broke, going nuts or going to jail. Sports betting is a business and should be treated as such.

It is extremely essential that you track almost every wager, including how much you bet, just how much you won or lost as well as your resulting balance. Be careful in deciding just how much you're going bet. Should you have a $500 bankroll and you are making $50 wagers, that grubstake will be eaten up quickly. Make small wagers and if you win, then loosen up the bankroll a bit. But don't go overboard and don't start making desperation wagers so that you can make up for losses.

By crazy bets, I mean the following-exotics including parlays, futures, mixed parlays and various props. Should the odds are long, in which case you should avoid them. Concentrate on making single wagers on specific games in one sport. Moneyline, point spread and over/under wagers are generally sensible and winnable. You will not make a killing on any one of these wagers, but when gambling on sports, they're your very best bet. If you make some solid cash then designate 5 to 10% of your winnings (not your bankroll) for long shot wagers.

Say this as if it were a prayer, it could save your gambling life. Never bet when you are desperate, drunk, high on drugs, depressed, tired, angry, stressed or under-informed. Never do that. Never.

If as a sports bettor you're looking to have a few laughs and drop some money on a game or two, then do so. Have a ball. You might win a couple of bucks and then lose a few or lose even more. But don't expect to earn consistent cash from your efforts. To be able to do that, you should be a true student of the game and an astute businessman, managing your money, making sensible decisions and keeping your emotions in check.