53. Ego

Ego and confidence are very closely related. Let me quote a little passage from an article by Cy Wakeman.

‘Many are guilty of buying into the common misconception that ego and confidence are essentially the same thing. They equate both with a brazen attitude that’s seemingly unflappable under pressure. It’s even been said that taking on such an attitude at work will get you ahead in your career. The reality, however, is that these two concepts are quite different. To have confidence is to have faith in your own abilities and believe in yourself, but the ego is something else, entirely. Unlike confidence, the ego operates out of self-interest. It seeks approval, accolades and validation at all costs in order to be seen as “right”. It is resistant to feedback and assigns motive where there isn’t any.’

Self confidence is a huge part of betting. You are ultimately betting your opinions against others. Confidence is incredibly important particularly during the downturns that will inevitably happen. You have to believe in your judgement, the processes you have in place, the models…

If you don’t believe in yourself no one else will. Where ego is so important in betting is having the ability to recognise that things aren’t working as you hoped. It can be very tough, when something may have worked previously or you are convinced should have worked, doesn’t.

It maybe something completely out of your control. However, you have to make sure your ego can accept failure and be ready to move onto the next challenge. If your ego cannot handle that failure it will end up costing you significantly more in the long run.

You have to recognise that this is an incredibly tough business against some incredibly smart people. Failure isn’t in trying something new. Failure isn’t walking away from something not working. Failure is letting your ego dictate that you end up trying something for far too long
with negative outcomes. I used to trade some in running NBA basketball. The upside is such that if you can make it work the benefits are potentially huge. It was a constant struggle. I was convinced that it should work although the results suggested otherwise. We probably
ended up trading it for too long because of ego. I was sure we could make it work. We couldn’t and it cost more than it should have. The other aspect of ego is don’t place bets with people you shouldn’t or for stakes bigger than you should, because of ego and the need for validation.

Confidence is crucial for a pro punter but you have to make sure that your ego is kept in check and that you re able to analyse all factors objectively. Or it will cost you plenty! You have to master so many different skills to be a successful punter.