Losing because ... is too knowledgeable about football

Recent research by two Israeli scientists shows that experience or knowledge is not a secret to success.

Israeli scientists, Professor Pinhas Dannon and Dr. Ronen Huberfeld published the study of football betting addicts in Psychopathology. They discovered the unexpected truth: Experience or knowledge is not a secret to success. Evidence is that the two best players in the study have no experience of gambling or knowledge of sports.

Although betting is often associated with casino games, sports betting is increasingly popular and unlike other gambling games. Professor Dannon explains: 'Sports betting people often have strong belief that they are the smartest players. With the experience and knowledge available (such as the ability of players, coach's habits, weather conditions and stadium capacity) they can predict better results than average players. often'.

The more you understand football, the more betting . lose?

In research, scientists focus on the field of football betting. This is the most popular and fastest growing form of betting. They chose three groups of participants, including 53 professional sports betting, 34 fans, who were knowledgeable about football but never gambled and eventually, 78 people never gambled and were blind Soccer.

All participants are required to bet the score of the last 16 knock-out Champions League matches. This model simulates the gambler actually putting their money into the game. Players must predict the results to win.

Scientists expect people with soccer knowledge to have a higher success rate. But in fact, the researchers found that their success rates were not better than those in the other two groups. Interestingly, the two most successful players, exactly 7 out of 7 bets come from the team with no knowledge of the sport.

Professor Dannon said: 'This does not mean that no experience is an advantage. Many people in the third group were unable to correctly predict the score of any match. This result has exposed a fact, that understanding is not an advantage in betting. The feeling of control encourages players to believe in themselves just an illusion ".

Previously, gambling addicts were treated with the same methods. Psychologists have characterized the traditional trend of gambling as 'control disorder'. However, this study has shown that not all gambling addicts have the same disease.

Professor Dannon warns: 'Because psychologists often apply a treatment to all gamblers. There is a standardized treatment for sports betting addicts. However, these methods do not help them overcome addiction. Instead, they need psychological therapy such as changing their thinking habits, freeing their thoughts from control illusions. "

'Casino gamblers have little faith in themselves, and they will lose it sooner or later. But they still gamble because they are addicted to gambling. In contrast, betting gamblers really believe that they can control the results of matches. Because these different pathological characteristics require different treatment regimens ".