The Star Wars universe is full of interesting characters and infinite wisdom on how to succeed in life. Read the advice from Jedi Masters and other great minds on the topic of sports betting!
“Your eyes can deceive you; don’t trust them.”
– Obi-Wan Kenobi (in A New Hope, 1977)
The Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi provides this advice to a young Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars movie, instructing Luke to follow his gut feeling and not be fooled by illusions and tricks distorting our visual perception.
In sports betting (as in other areas) the “gut feeling” is often a hunch fueled by learning and experience, but it could also be affected negatively by numerous mental mistakes and biases. What we actually see with our own eyes can lay the groundwork for many of these misconceptions, so don’t trust your eyes.
If you see a sporting team or an athlete in action once or twice, or even regularly but far from every time, chances are your impression of these teams will be heavily affected by these experiences. You might have seen them when they were especially bad or good. Instead, trust long-term trends, stats and expert opinions – and just carefully blend in the deceitful input from your own eyes.
“Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.”
– Yoda (in The Empire Strikes Back, 1980)
The small, green figure of Yoda is an endless supply of wisdom. The quote above is a useful reminder that predicting the future 100 percent is an impossible science.
This is an especially important lesson to keep in mind when doing sports betting analysis looking at historical data and/or data-mining great profits. The past is the past and if you are looking for patterns you will always find them – but the future is a lot more difficult to see.
“In my experience, there is no such thing as luck.”
– Obi-Wan Kenobi (in A New Hope, 1977)
In most sports, and especially team sports, luck plays a role in the outcome. Your bets are affected by good luck and bad luck, but long-term there is no such thing as luck. If you consistently show profit through thousands of bets it is no coincidence, and likewise if you are losing.
Sports betting is a game based on skill, so don’t dwell on bad luck in one or a few games (as Darth Vader says, “I find your lack of faith disturbing“), and be careful not to get carried away by a few lucky wins. Your best measurement of sports betting skill is long-term profits and your ability to place bets at prices that beat the closing odds.
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
– Yoda (in The Empire Strikes Back, 1980)
Perhaps Yoda’s most memorable quote, these eight words have probably shown up in more motivational presentations than any other quote. While the quote itself might be a solid case of “easier said than done“, in sports betting it can be applied to your betting bank and the old gambling proverb “scared money can’t win“.
Never bet money you can’t afford to lose – never! That ensures you are not betting scared money and guarantees that you are doing, not trying.
“You can’t stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting.”
– Shmi Skywalker (in The Phantom Menace, 1999)
Shmi Skywalker plays only a small role in the Star Wars movies, but as the mother of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader she is still a fairly important character.
Sports change, teams change, athletes change, coaches come and go, the weather changes, pitches are replaced, pandemics happen, wars… so much affect the outcome and everything changes constantly.
And above all, the sports betting market constantly adjusts to reflect change and successful betting strategies and patterns, meaning you always have to be on the front foot to beat the market. Don’t get lazy even when winning, as you can’t stop the suns from setting.
“Who’s the more foolish, the fool? Or the fool who follows him?”
– Obi-Wan Kenobi (in A New Hope, 1977)
As a rule, don’t trust sports betting tipsters offering their insights for free or even for a fee. Some knowledgeable and honest people exist in this line of work, but for each one there are a hundred fraudsters with fake betting records, bold claims and no real insight you can’t find elsewhere.
Thanks for reading, and remember that the force will be with you, always.