In this time I have learnt a lot of lessons around how to handle a knock to the balance sheet and while it is easy to say, it is only as you mature as a punter that you resist chasing your losses realising tomorrow is another day.

There have been times when over the years I have bet fairly big, relative to my earnings and not Kerry Packer’s of course,  and whether you are winning or losing, this puts pressure on you and the spinoff is that you are adding additional stress to your life. If at the same time you have something else which is causing you sleepless nights then the combination can be  dangerous and I have learnt the hard way that in situations like these, betting must take a back seat.

2012 has been a stressful year for me on the work front and in the early weeks of Super Rugby I came out firing at the bookmakers with little success. Fortunately I have been able to call back old experiences and took a conscious decision to pull back on my betting; playing less to try and make a substantial profit and more for the pleasure of it.

The result is that rather than compound existing pressures by winning and losing large sums on each game, I have been able to use sports betting as an outlet to relax and enjoy myself.

This weekend for example I was on the wrong side of a poor kicking performance from Morné Steyn. I had taken the Springboks to win by 10 points or more and with loads of kicks missed, they only ended up winning by nine points.

While disappointed to have lost the bet, my stake was such that it did not impact my bankroll and I could shrug it off and move on; whereas had I been heavily invested the nature of the defeat would probably have ruined the excellent Father’s Day my family laid out for me on the next day.

The bottom line is this: when under pressure in other areas of life, the best advice I could give you is to ease off on your sports betting.

Brent Graham is a sports betting blogger at www.goodforthegame.co.za and to get on his free weekly e-mail list  send a message to brent@goodforthegame.co.za titled “Best Bets”.