Especially for us squares. When I first started wagering I never really kept records on anything. Made my bets and either collected or paid (mostly paid) at the end of the week. As I got more involved in the betting side of it I started to realize what I was missing. Here's a couple of generic examples of how it helped me by keeping records of all wagers I made.
My buddy who is 100X's sharper than I was back then (and still is) told me to just try and quit laying road favorites in the NBA. He thought it would make me do better over the course of the year if I just changed that one thing. I would try it a short period but one would come in I had liked and I would abandon the program. "Gee man I would have hit that if I wasn't on this stupid program of yours". After he kept after me eventually I tried it again and started writing down every NBA bet I had made. To make a long story short that simple tip alone put me from loser to almost even when I did it for the entire year. I was playing WAY too many road favs and it was costing me. It took me writing down the bets and being able to go back over them with an objective eye to understand this. His word or what others said was not enough, I needed to see it in writing! Over time once I realized this was a bankroll drainer for me I slowly started making the plays again every now and then. I pick and choose my spots because I was so afraid of what they cost me but they are actually now a positive bet for me. I respect how dangerous they are so I am very selective with these bets, when you understand there is a problem it is a lot easier to attack it.
One other example was poker. For tax purposes I always kept logs on this. How long you play, stakes, what you won or lost, where you played etc.... Again on the recommendation of a friend I began to keep closer records, more detailed stuff. One thing I beefed up was I started taking inventory of where I was every hour. Not just noting how much I won or lost based on 8 hours play for example but where I was after each hour. Sure enough I found out I was playing too long! After 6 hours of play not only was my hourly rate going down it was close to putting up losers during these time periods. I didn't consciously realize it but I was getting tired I guess and making bad decisions. A simple adjustment of playing shorter hours made a big difference over the course of a year in my hourly rate. I told others and they had similar results. One guy realized he came in the games too loose. It wasn't until he got stuck that he began to play well. The more you make note of the more you can learn. As gamblers the things we wager on and our own situation in life is constantly evolving so we need to make adjustments as well. What worked 3 years ago doesn't work now in a lot of cases. If you don't stay on top of your job you will shortly be left behind, be it you are a computer programmer, lawyer, accountant, gambler etc....
Anyway these are relatively simple examples but keep records on whatever you do. The more detailed you are the better off you are. Many have computers and data bases but they can get stuck in a rut as well. Don't limit what you keep records on to what the computer asks you or was designed 2 years ago, keep updating it. Took me all summer to get up to date on NFL halftimes last year and other related stuff. Even if you have to take an old notepad out you should be making a written record of every wager you make. It's like making a budget for the family, in order to cut spending you have to see where the leaks are first.
My buddy who is 100X's sharper than I was back then (and still is) told me to just try and quit laying road favorites in the NBA. He thought it would make me do better over the course of the year if I just changed that one thing. I would try it a short period but one would come in I had liked and I would abandon the program. "Gee man I would have hit that if I wasn't on this stupid program of yours". After he kept after me eventually I tried it again and started writing down every NBA bet I had made. To make a long story short that simple tip alone put me from loser to almost even when I did it for the entire year. I was playing WAY too many road favs and it was costing me. It took me writing down the bets and being able to go back over them with an objective eye to understand this. His word or what others said was not enough, I needed to see it in writing! Over time once I realized this was a bankroll drainer for me I slowly started making the plays again every now and then. I pick and choose my spots because I was so afraid of what they cost me but they are actually now a positive bet for me. I respect how dangerous they are so I am very selective with these bets, when you understand there is a problem it is a lot easier to attack it.
One other example was poker. For tax purposes I always kept logs on this. How long you play, stakes, what you won or lost, where you played etc.... Again on the recommendation of a friend I began to keep closer records, more detailed stuff. One thing I beefed up was I started taking inventory of where I was every hour. Not just noting how much I won or lost based on 8 hours play for example but where I was after each hour. Sure enough I found out I was playing too long! After 6 hours of play not only was my hourly rate going down it was close to putting up losers during these time periods. I didn't consciously realize it but I was getting tired I guess and making bad decisions. A simple adjustment of playing shorter hours made a big difference over the course of a year in my hourly rate. I told others and they had similar results. One guy realized he came in the games too loose. It wasn't until he got stuck that he began to play well. The more you make note of the more you can learn. As gamblers the things we wager on and our own situation in life is constantly evolving so we need to make adjustments as well. What worked 3 years ago doesn't work now in a lot of cases. If you don't stay on top of your job you will shortly be left behind, be it you are a computer programmer, lawyer, accountant, gambler etc....
Anyway these are relatively simple examples but keep records on whatever you do. The more detailed you are the better off you are. Many have computers and data bases but they can get stuck in a rut as well. Don't limit what you keep records on to what the computer asks you or was designed 2 years ago, keep updating it. Took me all summer to get up to date on NFL halftimes last year and other related stuff. Even if you have to take an old notepad out you should be making a written record of every wager you make. It's like making a budget for the family, in order to cut spending you have to see where the leaks are first.
