My Journey – by Drago Vasilj

First betting experience: A friend who was betting on a regular basis got me into betting, that was around  seven years ago in my first  year of college. I started with combo bets,  mostly tennis and soccer, with some small amount wagers. As sport betting is a very common hobby in my town I started relatively late because I was sceptical about it and thought that people who bet are mostly addicts (which is only partially true).  I had some beginners luck, won a couple of combos and  thought that I would be able to win  regularly  every month and start to cover some of my studying expenses. That was the case for the first two months and on the third when there was winter holidays and the market was weak I lost half of what I earned. That was I time I learnt nothing comes easy. Over the next two –three years it was a period of trying different systems, I made no notable  profit and took several breaks, simply because I was always lacking some piece of puzzle but at the  same time I learned from my mistakes, at least in most cases as I can be a stubborn person sometimes. Losing times:  First big losing streak  came during winter holidays, the small amount of cash that I earned during two months was cut in half I and was brought down to earth. It was obvious that I had holes in my game and needed to make changes in order to have consistency long term. High combo bets were off the menu and I also began to get answers on why I was having losing runs and limit them in a way. One of the key problems I was having is not avoiding the markets/periods when bookmakers are stronger. Simply put, there are days, weeks when they do a really good job at setting lines and odds which doesn’t suit my strategy, its feeling like..oh so these buggers have set the right line this time, I wont bite into it. So what do I do now? Nothing, I don’t bet at all and wait for a better market offer. Another obstacle that I was having when going on line was a fear of a losing run. To be honest its something that I had to acknowledge and is always there with me. Still it’s important that I know this feeling when I miss 3-5 picks in a row to realise the situation in which am in and to keep believing in my strategy regardless of the situation. However that looks easy when writing about it but in reality is not, the pressure is there and it cant be denied. The right sport: Like many kids my dream was to become a professional athlete. I did all sorts of combat sports  in early teens and later played Basketball in junior and senior high school team. However, my dreams were shattered at very young age (16) when I got a hital hernia while playing basketball. After stopping all sport activities basketball became a sport that I had bad memories of and didn’t want to either watch it or bet on it. Anyhow in the back of my mind I had a feeling that there would be more success specializing in basketball because I knew the mentality of that sport, so I decided to get over it. Basketball is a pretty tricky sport; high number of points, different sorts of competitions, team chemistry, financial club situation, injuries, trends, club relations, coaches…you name it. Its challenging and that’s  what I like,the complexity of it which means that there is also a lot to work with as well. More so, its not easy for bookmakers to set the right lines as every game has a meaning of its own. I always try to correct my past betting mistakes and analyse why I have a better record on some markets than others. Like any  sport basketball has its good and bad sides for betting. Working on line: Getting on line was pretty challenging as a high hit rate was needed in order to keep the yield above 20% and also it was very important to be consistent each month, so I was very happy when I got a contract. However I also knew that the most important was to show good work on line because bringing profit to customers is what matters and there was no need to get excited about the given opportunity, but to keep  on making the right selections. First couple of picks was a rough start, I was 200 units  down in less than a week and it felt terrible because losses were mainly by a point or two, still I was able to get a couple of winning picks in a row and save the month. It is a great learning experience as I cope better with losing runs than I did before. My objectives: I don’t really like to set goals as I am a realist and for me the most important thing is to bet smart . When the score settles even if its a losing tip looking back I like to say it was a good pick but it lost, the next one will be a winner. I prefer that kind of mindset than to chase a specific yield or profit  and I think it brings longevity, taking bets one by one and staying down to earth. Its an up and down business and the results vary month to month, however by choosing the right selections, taking time is what matters.]]>