Resiliency

If you've made it so far through what will be the longest football season in memory, you should be very proud. There were two weekends of college football before the NFL ever got going. Then, the barbarous attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center necessitated an appropriate interruption of national sports events, the rescheduling of scores of games, the extension of the college football and major league baseball seasons, and emotional restarts. You couldn't blame any player, team, coach, fan, or handicapper for being more than a bit drained by the sequence.

The remainder of this interrupted, tear-filled, rescheduled, longest-ever season figures to be a real challenge for everyone involved – player, coach, and fan. So, this is the time for one of the most important reminders of this, or any other, campaign.

Most football players are quite young, very tough, and, therefore, very resilient. Coaches are very tough-minded. That's usually how they got to be coaches. They get paid to bounce back from adversity and to get their players to do the same.

When a team takes a licking, or worse yet, suffers a hard-fought, draining, late loss, it sometimes initially appears as if such a team will never be able to recover in time for its next game. But so often that turns out not to be the case.

Don't get me wrong, bouncing back is not always easy. Losing can cause finger-pointing and other ill will. But it is the sign of a good team and a good coach when they fight back from injury or adversity. On the contrary, it's the sign of a bad team when the coach either wallows in a negative situation or allows his players to do so.

By the way, most good handicappers keep notes on the "wallowers" and "rebounders" for future reference. It's a bad sign when a college team that's having a disappointing season can't get fired up to play with great spirit against its archrival. In the NFL, it's a bad sign when a noncontender "rolls over" when meeting a playoff-bound team late in the season rather than relishing the role of being the spoiler.

But the point here is this: If most of the players and most of the coaches are going to fight through adversity and be resilient, you – as a handicapper – should condition yourself to do the same. Don't allow yourself to become disoriented by one "bad beat" or one luckless weekend. I guarantee that you are not the first sports bettor to suffer an inconceivable, virtually impossible pointspread loss that couldn't have happened unless six highly unlikely events all took place, in order. There is not a thick enough book in all the world to list everybody's favorite stories of "bad beats," from the two recovered onside kicks in the last 30 seconds, to the onside kick returned for a touchdown, to the fumble at the 1-yard line, to the missed coin toss, to the time when the referees went into the locker room and made the seminaked players redress and go out on the field to attempt a "meaningless" point after touchdown. Worst yet, much as the phrase "poker sympathy" is an oxymoron, you should realize by now that your bad beats are tragic only to you; to others, they're usually incredibly funny. The basis of most humor is other people's anguish.

Now is the time of the season that you should renew your personal vow not to become disoriented or depressed by one game, one day, or one weekend's results. It's natural to be disappointed, but I don't think you have much of a chance of being a successful handicapper or sports bettor over the long haul if you're too easily depressed, or depressed repeatedly for extended periods. It's OK to cry in your beer for an hour or so, but most good handicappers then get back up, lick their wounds, and get ready to again fight the good fight. They know that even if they're great at sports betting, they're probably going to lose more than 40 percent of the time.

You should remember that many teams and games tend to become more formful as the season goes along. So, it can literally pay to be resilient and flexible. Rather than grouse when you're losing a wager, you should be on the lookout for notes about players, teams, or coaches that can be of possible benefit in the future. In the military they say, "Don't get mad, get even." In sports handicapping, the operative phrase should be, "If you get mad, you'll never get even."

Resiliency, flexibility, and tough-mindedness are the keys. Obstinacy, depression, and recklessly chasing your money are the killers.

You win in sports betting by keeping an open mind, by being flexible, by bouncing back from tough losses, by constantly searching for motivated teams and pointspread value, and, most importantly, by studying the teams and making high-percentage play after high-percentage play.

By and by, those percentages will start working for you. Then, you will reap the rewards of your labor. I've always said that in order to win at sports betting, you've got to stay on an even keel and think a good game.

Finally, it helps to think a good game if you stay healthy, rested, and in good condition. It's easy to wear down at this time of year, whether it be from outside factors, excess tension, or persistent low-level sleep deprivation.

So, be determined to hang in there for the long haul, when the pickings can get pretty good. Stay in shape. Get adequate rest. Think a good game. Don't wallow when things go against you. Be ready to laugh off the bad beats. And never let disappointment linger to depression. Keep your real life and handicapping life in proper balance and perspective, and you'll enjoy both a lot more.

Chuck Sippl is the senior editor of The Gold Sheet, the "bible" for sports bettors since 1957. To get more handicapping advice, forecasts, angles, power ratings, and emerging-player information, subscribe to The Gold Sheet, or pick one up at your local newsstand. If you haven't seen The Gold Sheet and would like to review a complimentary copy, call (800) 798-GOLD (4653) and say that you read about The Gold Sheet in Card Player. You can check the web at www.goldsheet.com.