Three questions before any bet

Thirty seconds before you bet, ask three things. If any answer is no, pass.

1. Is the price right?

You need a number and a price at or better than your limit. If the line has moved past it, the bet you liked no longer exists.

2. Is the size right?

The stake should be your normal unit size for this kind of play. Ask yourself whether you would be fine if it lost. If the honest answer is no, it is too big.

3. Is the reason right?

You should be betting because of what the market shows. Not because you lost the last one, won the last one, are bored, or the game is on TV tonight.

Example only: you want Team A -3 at -105 or better. It is now -3 at -125. You lost earlier today and feel like you need this one. That is no on question one and no on question three. Pass.

Where it shows up in our plays: the price limit answers the first question, the UNITS line answers the second, and the WHY answers the third.

What cuts against it: three yes answers do not make a winner. They make a bet you can defend whatever the score says.

Takeaway: price, size, reason. In that order.

Price first.

Education only, not a guarantee. Bet only what you can afford to lose. 1-800-GAMBLER.