Bafana the only life raft in a sea of losses.
The past weekend offered a classic example of why betting with the head beats betting with the heart, in strict financial terms.
South Africans who backed their fellow citizens to win in various sporting codes lost their money – except those that went with national football team Bafana Bafana, who beat Lesotho (as predicted on this page).
The Springboks lost to New Zealand’s All Blacks in the Rugby Championship (again predicted right here). And their female counterparts were no match for France in a Women’s World Cup group-stage match.
The less said the better about the Proteas’ performance against England in the ODI (definitely not prophesied here).
Most of South Africa’s top golfers duffed it at the Irish Open, despite high hopes after victory a week earlier at the European Masters.
Brad Binder’s spectacular crash in the Catalunya Moto GP on Sunday perhaps symbolised the nation’s sporting fortunes.
Bafana, of course, were the exception – though they were a cramped 1.27 to win while their opponents were at 16.00.
Take the emotion out of it
The first piece of advice in every investment guide is to guard against making money decisions based on one’s emotions. The same wisdom is trotted out on every betting site, with the advantages of data analysis preached.
Patriotism and fandom are the ultimate forms of emotional bias, but it takes a strong will to always put feelings to one side and only lay down money on choices made through cold, hard logic.
Feelings are what distinguish us from machines, after all.
Watching a match or a race while rooting for one side with the heart and the other side with the head equals a conflicted soul.
For the small punter, the act of placing a bet in solidarity with one’s club or country and experiencing the anticipation of the contest can be part of the excitement and (almost) as pleasurable as actual winning – as long as the wager is affordable.
For professionals or serious hobby punters it’s different. For them, being rational is a strict rule and stats are a best friend – read the form guides, injury reports, head-to-head counts and weather forecasts.
