Fezzik, from LVASports.com, responds.
This is a loaded question with possible pertinent answers in more than one area. You ask specifically how a "pro" handles it, so I'm responding to that here. Before I do, though, I'll say that you have to be emotionally prepared to power through losing streaks without it ruining your bankroll or your perspective. All successful gamblers, regardless of how good they are, have to deal with losing streaks. They don't "tilt," and they don't abandon the endeavor, if, and it's a big if, they analyze their recent losses and determine that they're still playing with a long-term edge. Normal fluctuation dictates that streaks -- both winning and losing -- will happen. It's part of the game.
Back to the question, the standard answer is, "Take a few days off and come back with a clear mind." Personally, I think this is great advice for a losing gambler -- except he should take a few years off, not a few days. For a pro, however, it's terrible advice.
If you were struggling in a chemistry course or a physics class, would you take a few days off? Of course not. You'd get your ass into a library, be much more focused in the classroom, and try to spend more time with "A" students in those classes.
Gambling is no different. Work harder. Focus. Try to work with the best proven winners. Break down your year-to-date work. Have your bets been beating the closing numbers? If not, that's a big red flag that you may not be playing with an edge. Focus on the more beatable aspects of the game. Look at prop bets, quarter bets, team totals -- anywhere the edge has the potential to be bigger than what you're currently concentrating on (betting sides in major sports is more difficult).
Going back to the classroom analogy, the great advantage a sports bettor has is that he has to take only one "course" at a time. If you're struggling in chemistry and really struggling in calculus in college, it's an uphill climb. In gambling, if you're struggling with college football, you can simply stop taking that sport. In fact, drop all the sports you're having trouble in and focus on one sport and one sport only.
For years I've observed professional handicappers who work in the NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball, MLB, and even hockey -- and they stink at all of them. They do crappy research and make crappy plays and they don't win. For the good ones, it's not a lack of talent, but more a lack of time. There are 120 college football teams. Spending just five minutes per day (woefully inadequate) on each team requires 10 hours per day just to do a cursory review of the teams. And that's just one sport!
It's a fact that my best results across the board have always come when I'm fully focused on a single sport (CBB, NCAA tourney, NBA playoffs, WNBA, NFL season wins, NFL Week 1). Then, when I try to cover muitiple sports … uh oh … the train often derails. In the fall I'm fully aware that college football totals are the most beatable, so I concentrate on those. But I've historically done best in the NFL. Given this, and time constraints, I quickly switch to the NFL for the rest of the year. Hockey? CBB? CFB? Not so much, if at all. Sure, I'm leaving some good bets on the sidelines, but try to spin too many plates at once and they'll all come crashing down at some point.
Another part of doing better involves taking steps to improve your situations. A slumping blackjack player should focus on playing great games with very deep deck penetration and tolerance in bet spreads. A sports bettor should similarly focus on getting the best of the available bets. In the past, whenever I was struggling, I'd be willing to drive 50 miles to the Nevada/California border to play against the then-independent "Primm line" in Primm, Nevada. I might get Bengals +3 there when the whole world had the game lined at 1.5. Similarly, there are props at certain shops that are always mispriced. They're for small limits, but a good $500 bet always trumps a questionable $3,000 bet.
Most importantly, during a losing streak you must bet less, not more. It's just sound bankroll management that's necessary to stay in the game when you're on a downswing. I've seen too many gamblers (even very sharp ones) binge with an "I'm a winner, I've always won, I'm on an 85-114 run, no way that can continue" attitude. Do that and roll the very possible 3-12 on your next 15 bets and it's game over.
One big flaw in the gambling and classroom comparison is that you can ace a gambling test and still get killed with the right answer. The random variance of sports betting is such that you will often make solid bets (like a card counter betting big into a big plus count) and get your lunch handed to you due to variance. So even if you're a wizard, pay attention to your bet size so you stay within limits that won't hurt you.
