Is there a difference between sports handicapping Pros vs Joes? It is one thing to be good at something. It is a whole new ball game to call yourself a pro.

Take the game of golf. There are great amateur golfers winning club championships all across the country. Most would not last a round of golf playing in a PGA Tour event.

You could say the same thing about the sports betting industry. Any recreational bettor can go on a hot streak and win a ton of cash. However, when it comes to generating a steady winning rate of even 60%, very few if any recreational bettors are capable of duplicating that feat.

The issue with pro handicappers in today’s crowded marketplace is that anyone can call themselves one. There is no standardized certification program in place. There are no prerequisites required to join this elite group.

If you are able to sell your picks to someone else, you can consider yourself a pro. This is what sometimes gives the profession a bad name. Too many gullible sports bettors have been dupped into laying out hard-earned cash on selections that are no more accurate than flipping a coin.

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Pro handicappers need to market their services to maximize their return. Until a pro reaches a certain status within the handicapping industry, their phone is not ringing off the hook with customers lining up to buy their picks.

Turning to a pro in the first place is a decision that should never be taken lightly. There is a tangible cost to purchasing a selection package for any sport. If you are not willing to go all in by betting every selection at the recommended betting units, you are probably just wasting your money.

Pros design their selection packages for the long haul. There are going to be hot streaks and cold streaks along the way. The goal of any pro is to maximize every winning run to make it last as long as possible. By the same token, pros are always looking for ways to minimize the cold spells by keeping them as short as possible.

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The same handicapping techniques are employed on an ongoing basis with some tweaks to the formula here and there. The use of massive amounts of statistical data need to be condensed into facts, stats and recent betting trends that can have the greatest impact on the outcome of a game.

Pros rely on this empirical data to formulate their premium picks in the absence of outside bias. They add in few more intangibles that need to be taken into consideration and top everything off with some good old fashioned “gut instinct.”

By trusting the process (if its has been proven to be successful), pros can build a very high level of consistency into their particular handicapping process. When looking at sports handicapping Pros vs Joes, you need to find a trusted capper and follow their lead.

The average joe is typically no better than a coin toss at picking winners. That does not mean you cannot win money betting on sports. It simply means that you do not have the professional skills needed to win money on a regular basis.

You would like to think that you are pretty good at your job. This is especially true if you are working 40 hours or more a week performing that job. Repetition can build valuable skills that lead to continual improvement.

A true pro handicapper is no different. The most successful pros are willing to put in the necessary time and effort to hone their craft and improve their results.