How to Avoid Being a Sucker

Updated: September 27, 2026

They say "a sucker is born every minute" and when you look around the world at the multi-billion dollar gambling industry, it's hard to argue with that statement.

Casinos are the most obvious entity to "take advantage" of the unsuspecting gambler, with their sprawling floors full of table games and slot machines, and the entourage of hotels and restaurants to boot.

And who hasn't seen the movie Rounders? Even though it's fiction, there are plenty of suckers who sit down in poker rooms every night and lose to the more experienced card sharks.

The same is true when it comes to sports betting. While some bettors are savvy enough to beat the books, the vast majority of bettors lose when they step up to the betting window or, in our case, deposit at an online sports book.

Beating the sportsbooks at their own game is possible, but to do so, many bettors need to get rid of their preconceived notions or already active bad habits when it comes to betting on sports. Basically, they need to avoid being a sucker.

Betting on Sports You Don’t Understand

There's a lot of math involved in sports betting, but if you don't understand the sport and how to use your edges properly, it has little meaning. Chasing steam is a proven winning strategy in sports betting and works well in the big markets, but it is much less useful when betting on smaller market sports.

In fact, even some of the largest online sportsbooks in the world have little knowledge of some of the sports they offer for betting. There's an advantage for those who know these smaller markets, but those who beat them will almost certainly be quickly limited by the bookmakers once they begin to show they have an advantage.

Even chasing line moves in the primary markets can be dangerous if you have little understanding of the sport you're betting on. Blindly following moves is not always a sound strategy, especially if you can't accurately quantify your edge in a particular sport or market.

In terms of just basic handicapping, regardless of following market moves, not understanding the sport you're betting on is insanity.

Of course, knowing a sport won't be enough to make you a winner if you bet with bad lines or bet on EV markets. Unless you're following someone with a decent (and verifiable) record, or have the knowledge yourself, stay away from betting on sports you don't know anything about.

Betting Based on Emotion

Sports betting isn't an exact science, but you have to use a variety of tools to try and predict the outcome of a sporting event. There's no room for personal bias, ties to your favorite teams, or emotion when it comes to beating the books.

In fact, if you could turn yourself into an emotionless robot when betting on sports, that might be the ideal scenario.

Betting on your hometown or favorite teams (or against their rivals), not betting on a team you have lost money on in previous bets, and all sorts of other angles are all things that losing sports bettors do on a daily basis.

Betting Too Often

Another problem that bettors run into is thinking that they should bet on every game, market, or proposition. There's a good reason why sportsbooks have state-of-the-art equipment and a staff of experienced oddsmakers. It's to ensure that their markets are efficient.

Over the past half-decade or so, the sports media, including ESPN and other networks, have finally begun to recognize the value of using betting lines to predict the outcome of sporting events. They now mention the odds in their analysis and cite the lines in their game previews.

This is something that savvy sports bettors have known for years. Who knew that the people who make their living predicting the outcome of sporting events would be accurate? The point I'm trying to make is that the oddsmakers are smart. They're smarter than you, your neighbor, and the guy at the bar who sits around all day drinking and watching sports. In fact, they're smarter than just about everyone who bets on sports, because the vast majority of sports gamblers are losers.

Betting every game on the board is simply insane. Pick your spots. You won't consistently catch the oddsmakers with their proverbial pants down. Line shop and make your bets count.

Of course, there will be days when you bet more games than others, but for the most part, there will be very few days when you look at the odds that day and start to salivate.

There's no shame in taking a day off. It's good to pay attention to the results of the markets you normally bet on every day, but if you bet every day, it becomes a grind. There's no shame in feeling burned out and taking a break.

Betting Too Much Money

Betting too much money is something that has been sinking talented bettors for years. It's also something that the sports betting masses do on a regular basis.

Bankroll management is vital to becoming a successful handicapper.

There are usually two times when players foolishly increase their standard bet size or bet more units than they should.

• When they are on a winning streak and think it won't end
• when they are on a losing streak and chase losses;

It's one thing to increase your bankroll as your winnings increase, but it's illogical to bet more on games simply because you won your previous bets. Obviously, there is no correlation between winning a previous bet and winning your next few bets.

Betting more when you're winning isn't advisable, but it's a much better transgression than chasing your losses during a losing streak. Even the best handicappers go on losing streaks. They don't bet more on subsequent bets to make up for those losses. Chasing your losses is an excellent way to go broke. Even if you're betting on markets you consider inefficient and placing +EV bets. If you're not managing your bankroll properly and chasing your losses, there's a good chance you'll go broke.

As a sports bettor, your bankroll is your lifeblood. It's your tool of the trade. Would a carpenter go to work without a hammer and nails? No, it would be impossible to do his job. The same goes for sports betting without money.

If you go on a losing streak, there's no need to push to make up your losses right away. Think of sports betting as one big long run. There's nothing worse than being out of action due to poor bankroll management when you're a profitable sports bettor.

Examples of Sucker Bets

There are some markets that never, or almost never, offer value to sports bettors. These markets are not the ones that professional or profitable sports bettors will bet on. Some of them seem simple enough, but others require a little more explanation.

Almost every sports book offers coin toss bets for NFL games. Of course, a coin toss is a 50/50 chance of coming up heads or tails, but sportsbooks don't offer even money on a bet like this. They need to make their commissions.

In fact, many times they don't even charge the standard -110 juice. At many bookmakers, the juice on a coin flip is -115! There's absolutely no way this bet is profitable under any circumstances, let alone at higher than average juice.

If you’re betting markets like this, you’re an action junkie and a sucker.

Parlays and teasers have value in certain situations, but for the most part they are big moneymakers for sportsbooks. Some sportsbooks will have spots where they are vulnerable to two and three team parlays and teasers, but teasers past two or three teams are largely EV bets.

Even the true odds of winning two- and three-team parlays and teasers don't beat the payouts offered by sportsbooks, but as the number of teams increases, the odds get worse and worse for the bettor. For example, the true odds of hitting a 7-team parlay are 127/1, but most sportsbooks offer a payout of 75/1. The true odds on an 8-team parlay are 255-1, but online sportsbooks offer 125-1. You get the idea.

Unless you're clearing a free play bonus or just don't care about making money, betting on parlays larger than two or three teams is almost always a bad decision for your bankroll. Less experienced players will see the huge payouts and be attracted to these types of bets, but you should steer clear.