Fine line between winning and losing

Just have a couple questions for some of the veteran guys on the board. This may be the wrong thread for this question.

I have hit a very bad streak lately and just feel like I am bumping up against a fine line between winning and losing.

This weekend....took the Chargers -5.5 in the 2nd half vs. Carolina Panthers.....Panthers screw me on a last second throw

Then last night....took the Brewers -1.5 runs for the game......and Cincy has a great 9th inning and I lose..

These are just two examples, but I could go on and on.

Here are my questions:
1. What % of winning any bet is just pure luck?
2. Do most of the people on this thread play their own picks or are they just looking at what other people play or focusing only on service picks?

I guess I just ask these questions out of frustration...sorry for the rambling

2) i sometimes take picks of other people from this forum. sometimes i buy picks from my favorite handicapper. i only do parlays. i always need 3 picks to complete my bets.

my advise is always play within your budget. i usually bet 3 parlays per day, 25 or 50 flat each and daily spending limit is $150 regardless of if i play MLB or NFL or both. never bet more than what you can afford and don't let sportsbook control your life. my total from MLB as of last month is about +10k. im doing extremely bad since 4th week of last month, but i will catch up. tomorrow will be different for you.

I for one only play my own bets. MLB is such a long season that it becomes nothing more than hitting hot and/or cold streaks. When your cold, you have to lower your amounts, or just pick your games, but don't bet them until you get hot again. The same goes for all sports with streaks.

You can play a team where all the stats favor that team and you feel that there's no way in hell it loses. And Boommmmmmmmmmm-
They lose by 10.

I also had SD, but on a 5 team teaser at -1, and thought that game was in the bag. I would have netted over $2000, but instead lost.
I put all my games before 1:00 for the day, that way I won't chase the late games. I parlay, tease and play the ones I like all at once. Sometimes, I mix in NCAA along with the NFL, that way my odds become greater than they would if I was just betting the 4:00 NFL games.

You'll find that if you lose early and don't have any bets in for the late games, you will start to chase your money and end up losing twice as much.
Enjoy gambling by cheering for your teams and you will find out that you will win more, than just playing games for action.

Let me tell u a story i ve read: ...Rain suddenly came down hard, people running wild to find a place to escape the heavy wet starting to fall on their shoulder. As soon as people were hiding under neat of the trees, there were 2 men rushing to find a place also. One is tall, skinny guy, and other is short,fat heavy built. Then there were 2 other bystanders enjoyed watching people on the street from their balcony. One of them is a local book asked his friend:"Tell me which one will get to the tree first?" Immediately,his friend said:"the tall, skinny one because i think he runs faster !" "Why don't u make a bet?" Local book asked."Okay, 5 dimes, i take the tall guy" Friend replied.
In a moment, before the tall guy rush to the tree, dashing like a dart, the short fat guy almost ran over tall guy then jumped to the safety.
After paid the local 5 dimes, friend wondered: "How do ya know the short guy came first?" Local smiled and replied :" I don't know, but i take your bet and against you"