If you
are a professional gambler then you know that you have nothing in common with
the majority of gamblers, being separated from them by the word ‘professional’.
Bookies rely on emotion to fill their coffers. The majority of gamblers rely on
lucky rabbits feet, their psychic abilities, gut instinct and portents such as
the weather, shapes of clouds or the ‘feeling’ that the next one is going to be
the big one!!!
Think about the big race meetings for example,
the pageantry, the noise, the carnival atmosphere. Do you think that this
evolved by accident? It’s all engendered to create a mob mentality, to get
people going with the flow. Logical methodical thought is the bookies enemy.
Someone who is having a good time, caught up in the party atmosphere, or indeed
they may be scared that they’ll lose the weeks housekeeping if their ‘sure
thing’ doesn’t come in. In either case, emotion rules, logical thought and
planning doesn’t get a look in. Professional gamblers, who by definition take a
different approach, are regularly banned by bookies up and down the country.
Bookies don’t like to lose, and they lose to professionals who don’t play the
game by their rules.
So what’s the trick? Are some people just born
cool? Almost certainly. However, being ‘cool’ is a trick that can be learned. A
basic understanding of body mechanics and mental control are all that’s
required. When people get emotional, whether happy, sad, excited or scared, the
way that the blood flows around the brain changes subtly. Without making this a
lesson in biology lets just say that those parts of the brain that deal with
emotion are most active during these times. However, the problem for us is that
these parts of the brain claim the majority of the available resources, energy,
oxygen etc. This deprives other parts of the brain and consequently they don’t
work as well until the situation redresses and a balance is achieved. This
includes those parts of the brain that deal with logical thought and
communication, which are separate from the emotional centres. So how to we
create that balance ourselves so that we stay in charge of our own brains?
Learning a simple process of self hypnosis calms the mind/body system and
switches off or calms down unhelpful emotional responses. There follows a set of
specific instructions on how to use basic self hypnosis techniques to achieve
this, you’ll probably be amazed at how simple it is, and that you probably
already know how to do it. You just didn’t recognise it as self-hypnosis.
Start by taking three very slow deep breaths,
in through the nose, hold for a mental count of two, then exhale slowly via the
mouth without forcing, almost like a sigh. Make the out breath longer than the
in breath. Its important when doing this to relax the tummy muscles so that you
fill your lungs to the bottom. Most of us breath to the top our lungs, which is
shallow breathing. This type of breathing actually predisposes us to an
emotional reaction. Slow deep breathing on the other hand is associated with
calm.
Once you have calmed your breathing down then
you can begin to use the power of your imagination through visualisation
exercises.
Imagine yourself being calm and focused. You
are not affected by noise, or pressure, or atmosphere. You are about to make a
rational decision. You’re going to place a bet on a horse which has a reasonable
chance of winning. You’ve either decided this yourself, based on totally logical
factors, or you’ve taken advice from someone you trust. You don’t care what the
horse’s name is. Nor do you care about any other extraneous factors. You are
making your decision based on factors such as past performance, the going that
day and the jockey.
Doesn’t that sound a better way to approach
placing bets?
Of course physical and mental preparation are
only part of the skill set needed to beat the bookies. Professionals make best
available use of the skills of other professionals. Once you have mastered the
necessary self-control and are no longer controlled by your emotions you make
better decisions.
Article submitted by Gordon Drew
based on discussions with Michael McBriarty –
Professional horse racing advisor. http://www.michaelmcbriarty.info
