Have you ever heard the advice that you shouldn’t bet more than you can lose?

I have different advice; Don’t bet what you can’t afford to win.

I came into my handicapping profession understanding football and what drives and depresses performance. That foundation contributed to the picking of football games, but the process of translating that information into bottom line profits requires an entirely different skillset.

I have been the student of my clients who best utilize my picks for profits, and I have adjusted my approach to money management to more mirror their success. When I opened Qoxhi Picks in 1981, I naively thought that delivering winning selections would be enough to ensure my clients made money.

Not close.

Know what the stats are on an individual to end a betting season with a bottom line profit?

When I pose this question in person, I have had responses that widely vary but always have it well below 50%. When that question was first posed to me, I estimated 3%. Turns out I overestimated the rate at which gamblers make money by ten fold, in fact the number is zero point three percent show bottom line profits by season end.

It’s not so much that they don’t win games, it is much more tied to how they wager on those games. A gambler will often wager more when they are ahead in order to make a killing, and more when they are behind in an attempt to get even. Both erode profits like rain on a cake.

If a person wagers too much, they are doomed to have inadequate capital to endure periods without profits. If a person wagers hardly anything, they don’t see the necessity to employ the diligence required to generate consistent gains. Money management begins with establishing an opening account balance that one can afford, while also being enough to have a 30% profit margin worthwhile to the investor.

In 2001, in partnership with skilled programmer Dustin Thomas, we developed the Qoxhi Account Manager. This tool is designed to shift wagering on football from chance to a steady business approach. It begins with a client declaring an opening account balance and then the discipline to keep the manager current with actual point spreads, vig numbers and wager amounts. With a click on the money rated game, the Account Manager will display the exact amount to be wagered on that contest.

Making money in the business of sports wagering requires a first step of replacing gambling tendencies with consistent business practices. Some find this is not nearly as much fun as gambling, while others consider the profits a worthwhile tradeoff.