What's the Most Money You've Spent RESEARCHING a Bet You Didn't Place?

[SharpEddie47]

Thought experiment that became uncomfortable when I actually did the math.

Last month I spent six hours analyzing a Rams/Seahawks divisional matchup. Injury reports, historical splits, weather data, line movement tracking. Six hours.

I make $85/hour consulting. That's $510 in time cost before I placed a single dollar.

Then I decided the line had moved too far and I didn't bet it.

Negative $510 ROI on a bet I never made.

How much have you spent researching bets you ultimately didn't place? And does thinking about that research cost ever push you into placing a bad bet just to justify the time?

 

[Klaus]

Have calculated this.

Annual subscription costs: €340 for data feeds, €180 for statistical databases, €120 for odds comparison tools.

Time investment per Bundesliga match researched: approximately 2.1 hours average.

Matches researched but not bet: roughly 35% annually.

Wasted research cost last year: approximately €2,800 in time value plus €230 in proportional subscription costs.

Never considered this before running the numbers just now.

Uncomfortable figure.

 

[FadeThePublic]

Oh god yes.

2022 NFL playoffs. Spent four days building a model for a specific matchup. Bought a data package I didn't already have. Probably eight hours total.

Line moved three points before I could get the bet down at the right number.

Didn't bet it at the new number because the value was gone.

Never used that data package again. $60 wasted plus the time.

 

[TaffyTipster]

Mine's less sophisticated but still stings.

Before the Six Nations last year I spent an entire Sunday reading injury updates, form guides, squad selections.

Six hours roughly.

Then Wales had a late withdrawal that changed everything and I didn't trust any of my analysis anymore.

Didn't bet any of the games I'd researched.

Watched them all anyway wondering if I'd have been right.

Probably would have been wrong.

 

[CoachTony_Bets]

Eddie's question about sunk cost is the real one.

I've definitely placed bets I wasn't fully confident in just because I'd spent too long researching them.

"I've already put three hours into this, I have to bet something."

That's backwards thinking. The time is spent regardless of whether you bet.

But knowing that doesn't stop the feeling.

 

[ParlayPrincess_88]

I don't really research so I don't have this problem lol

But now I'm wondering if I SHOULD research and I'm realizing researching sounds exhausting??

Like six hours on one game?? That's a whole Saturday!