Even the most professional sports bettors in the world develop bad sports betting habits.

The difference between them and most bettors is that they identify what those habits are.

When they start to return, they immediately do something about them to ensure they don't become problematic.

If you are a betting professional, then you have probably developed some bad habits yourself.

Here are 9 of the more common bad habits that can be a problem for bettors.

They have in common that they can be easy traps to fall into, which can be very costly if they are not identified and corrected.

1# Betting without a goal

If you have no idea what you are trying to do as a sports bettor, then you are just wandering the desert with no direction.

Your goal could be anything as small as betting on national sporting events like the Grand National or FA Cup. Or it could be as grandiose as "to win enough money so you can quit your day job and never have to work again!

Without a goal, you're just throwing your money at a sportsbook with no idea when to cash out – or, more critically, to stop funding your online wallets.

2# Believing your own hype

Sports bettors typically have an ego.

They need one to make the riskier bets and believe they are smart enough to outsmart the sportsbooks and the betting public.

When your sports betting is successful, then great.

The problem is that when you have an ego, it is easy for that ego to become inflated.

It seems after making some profit and appears successful at betting, bettors believe it is easy, and now they cannot lose. Meaning that they take risks that they don't have the bankroll for or make bets on sports you know nothing about.

Bettors must remember that they are only as good as their next winning bet and that every winning streak they have now just brought the next losing streak that much closer.

If you lack that humility and self-awareness or misplace it for a period – then you are going to be in trouble when it comes to sports betting.

3# Following the crowd

The general public is mostly at large, incorrect about most topics, from pandemic vaccines, betting on Wall Street to the "next big thing" in sports betting. In reality, you should take any chance to bet against the general public.

If you only make this one habit, you could turn around the entire future of your sports betting career.

This strategy is called "fading the public". The public loves a winner and wishes to be in the winning camp, with the media inflating this view.

The public does not do their research as you do - so there is a better chance your bet will be correct (and no doubt with better odds) than what the public is going with.

4# Cutting corners

Once people become novices have been betting for a while – and if they start to enjoy their success – they begin to cut corners to make the process a bit less onerous.

They might begin spending less time doing research, analysing statistics or watching games.

The problem with not following your trusted methods is that when you cut corners, you are no longer practising what you were doing when you were winning! Getting lazy means, you will not be able to guarantee your success as with your previous bets.

5# Failing to innovate

The world of sports betting is changing and progressing. New betting options are still available, and further information can be easily found to help you understand and interpret games.

With the amount of online information available, bettors are becoming smarter, betting on sports the bookmakers know little about or cashing out when results are not going their way.

Bettors who fail to innovate and take advantage of every option will lose ground against the bookmakers - betting profits will inevitably decrease.

6# Chasing losses

Let's assume you lost $1,000 on a bet that you were sure was going to win.

It doesn't, so you decide that the best thing you can do is get a quick $1,000 win to make up for that loss. And the following week, you have calculated that this bet has an even better chance of winning.

So you bet high to be able to recoup the losses from the previous week.

As nothing is guaranteed, now you're facing the possibility of going completely broke if the bet does not happen as you expected. Then, you lose even more money because you were chasing your losses. This has worked on occasions but unlikely to work every time.

You're embracing a high-risk strategy when you chase your losses like this.

Eventually, you'll wind up going broke. A broke punter doesn't win any money, so don't do it!

7# Blaming others

You ask your betting mate who he likes.

You scour Twitter for hot picks. You visit forums and finally decide on the one you want with the best logic of winning. Then you become infuriated at the bettor you used when it loses.

This is sinful betting behaviour.

You picked your bet; stick by it. Blaming others leads you down a dangerous road of making bets against your better judgement.

Better to determine what went wrong, so you don't repeat your mistake.

8# Making too many bets

Effective bettors only bet when they reach the best-expected value.

Put simply, if a bet doesn't have a positive expected value, they walk away from the bet entirely. Meaning that some weeks more bets are placed than others.

Think about poker players.

The players who fold their inferior hands seem to make more money. Passing up on bad sports bets is like folding your lousy hand in poker.

Bettors are better off increasing the amount of a wager on fewer bets they are more confident in.

Spreading your bets may sound a logical strategy, but then you'll require nearly all of them to win - to obtain any profit.

9# Sticking to the same teams or sports

Some bettors only bet on specific teams, leagues, or sports.

They do this because it is their area of expertise, and they can make their wins happen more often.

Unless you can be confident that those teams and leagues offer the best possible betting opportunities for your area of expertise, then you are going to miss out.

It could be that another conference, or even other country leagues outside of the big five that offer much better value because there is less media attention. Like point #5, failing to innovate and experimenting with different teams and sports can be counterproductive to your betting profits.

During the Premier League 2015/16 season, bettors who always thought Premier League favourites Chelsea FC would win had their hopes and subsequent bets suddenly dashed as the club lost game after game.

Innovative bettors who bet on Leicester City FC saw an unfancied team (who were favourites for relegation) win game after game - outsmarting the bookmakers and increasing their profits.

Don't make bad sports betting habits

Bad sports betting habits creep into your betting strategy each time you decide to bet. The trick is to quickly identify when you are acting on your bad habits - so you can stop doing them.

Stick to your set goals, don't follow or blame others, keep doing your own research and remain innovative.

Each time you suffer a loss - ask yourself, was it down to a bad habit of yours or merely bad luck?!