Introduction

One of Kevin Laverick's favourite sayings is that "you win or lose in your head, not on Betfair".

What Kevin means is that your mind can tempt you into bets and trades that you really should stay away from, causing you to hit avoidable losses.

Discipline and patience are so important as you get involved with the Betfair markets.

In this lesson, I'll describe scenarios that you are going to come up against. Learn to recognise the signs, then you'll avoid falling for the tricks your mind will play and save yourself some money.

F.O.M.O.

This is a nightmare... the worst form of temptation and you have to be ready for it.

There are going to be many times when you think about a bet, decide against it, then watch on as it goes on to be a missed winner.

Or, perhaps, you have a trade identified, but a goal is scored just as you're about to enter.

That's when F.O.M.O. - fear of missing out - appears in the back of your mind.

As you prepare to enter your next bet or trade, you remember that annoying winner that was snatched away from you. You were so hard done by!

Not this time though... you make sure that you get your money down.

Sure, it's not the best bet or trade, but you won't miss out this time!

Except this one goes on to lose...

What now?

Right... I need another bet or trade to get back that mistake.

Hmm... Portuguese Segunda... that'll do.

You can see where this is going... poor decisions and chasing losses will not end well!

This is what you have to remember every time you 'miss out' on a winner.... if the bet or trade was strong enough, then you'd have been in it.

It wasn't strong enough, so you weren't in it and you missed out on nothing.

Managing Frustration

Football is going to be football. Referees are going to give penalties for blatant dives, strikers are going to miss open goals and goalkeepers are going to drop some absolute clangers.

That's just how it is.

Some of these things will benefit your bets and trades, others will leave you feeling frustrated.

With experience, you'll learn to accept that what happens can't be changed and, most of the time, you'll just get on with it.

However, there will be times when you can feel the frustration lingering.

When this happens, it's best to log out of Betfair and reset your mind. Go for a walk, meditate, enjoy a cup of coffee or whatever it is that makes you feel at ease.

Even after many years of trading, there are still times when I can feel frustration. It never goes away, I've simply learned to recognise and deal with it.

Personal Responsibility

The most important factor in your success is you.

The key to your success is you and no-one else.
If you succeed, it's because of you.
If you fail, it's because of you.
The only person that matters in this is you.

When you achieve success, it will all be down to you.

It will be because you learned the skills necessary to trade well.

It will be because you had the patience and discipline required to beat the markets.

Sure, the amazing Live Value Calculator and Live Value Shortlist tools along with the help and support we provide is going to be a huge help, but we can't force you to make level-headed decisions.

At the end of the day, you have to take responsibility for every bet and trade... win or lose.

Mindset

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