Check if MySQL Column is empty
<p>I'm working on a page, where users post their betting picks. In MySQL I have the table bets (id, event, pick, odds, stake, analysis, status, profit).</p>

<p>I would like to check if 'status' is empty in MySQL, but the <code>if()</code> statement is not working. If it's empty, it should output all the bets from a user. The code posted is in a for loop.</p>

<p>So what is wrong with the <code>if()</code> statement? And is there any better way to do this?</p>

<pre><code>$result = queryMysql("SELECT * FROM bets WHERE user='$user'");
$row = mysqli_fetch_array($result);

if ('' !== $row['status']) {
    echo  "Status: " . $status . "&lt;/div&gt;" .
    "Published by: " . $user . "&lt;br&gt;" .
    "PICK: " . $pick . "&lt;br&gt;" .
    "Odds: " . $odds . "&lt;br&gt;" .
    "Stake: " . $stake . "&lt;br&gt;" .
    nl2br($analysis) ;
}
</code></pre>