Creating a new Excel spreadsheet is the first step for all winners in sports betting. All results are recorded in that spreadsheet, so that punters monitor the performance of a betting system. If until now you have not done so, now it is the right time to start. You do want to increase your chances of becoming profitable in online betting, don’t you?

By tracking your predictions and collecting all betting transactions in Excel, you will be able to analyze many aspects of your betting patterns that you had no clue about. At the same time, you will discover leaks and mistakes in your system that cost you dearly.

In any way, these detailed records will be irrefutable evidence of your betting performance, if you ever want to prove either to your friends or yourself that you actually win in online betting and you are not spending a fortune on your hobby like so many others!

However, the process is indeed time consuming and down right boring. Online bettors consume a lot of time to come up with a system according to their expectations, not to mention placing the recommended bets. The arduous process of recording bets in Excel afterwards seems at first hard and meaningless for most players, who may think that there is no particular reason to spend more time on the computer.

At the end of the week or month, though, when you load up the Excel spreadsheets that you so painstakingly have created, you will be in front of so many discoveries that should compensate you more than expected.

First, the greatest discovery for many of you will be realizing the extent of your losses. Nobody could ever have a complete image of the money wasted on wagers, but those who record their betting activity in Excel or similar applications. The surprise will be definitely so great that some might revise their view on their betting skills.

However, don’t make the mistake to get frustrated and quit recording the results. If you stop tracking down your bets and analyzing your past performance does not mean that you will also stop losing that money! You are still betting in the same, wrong way!

Nevertheless, it might be good to get a little frightened, when you discover a huge hole in your monthly financial budget, due to your online betting habits. Hopefully, it will be the reason for reducing your stakes and improving your system. Even the decision to abstain from wagering for a long time, until you regain your lost confidence, is welcome.

Besides, failure to monitor our performance is one of the 10 reasons why we lose in online betting.

Furthermore, you will be able to spot the games that produce the greatest losses, or the odds that repeatedly fail to pay back.

You may possibly discover something new that you had not thought of until now just by browsing over your previous predictions and track record. For example, you could build a new betting system based on the seemingly higher-than-average success rate of predicting away wins; or you may find that you do quite well in specific leagues, and thereafter focus on specialization in sports betting.

On the other hand, you may indeed confirm what you already suspect; that you keep betting on short odds neglecting to make an invaluable odds comparison among bookmakers.

Initially, keeping track of your betting performance needs not be too complicated. The most common columns in your spreadsheet should be:

  • The date, to be able to sort the matches in chronological order so as not to get lost;
  • The games/teams;
  • The odds you bet on;
  • The stakes; and of course,
  • Which bets won or lost!

At the far right of the spreadsheet and next to the profit/loss column you should be keeping a record of the bankroll, so that you have a crystal clear image of your betting performance. Concerning betting on sports, success is measured always in money for good or bad.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that instead of Excel you can use similar products that are available free on the web, such as OpenOffice, if you find Microsoft Office suite expensive.