Every year, millions of sports fans around the world tune in to the games of their favorite teams and believe in themselves: “My team must win.” I have some bad news for all those who believe this: it is not. To break even, say, you need to win 52.4 percent of your bets to break even. Generally speaking, even the most successful “experts” do not get more than 60% of their bets correct. Everyone, regardless of their background, will experience loss at some point.
A hundred percent guarantee of success when making sports bets is impossible to achieve. However, there are several strategies you can use to increase your chances of success.
This article covers several different tactics to increase your chances of making money betting on sports. Read on to learn more.
One quality bet is better than making several bets
During a typical NFL week, there are 16 games available to bet on. Every week, a large number of punters will place a bet, whether it is against the spread or on the total score of each game. Some players may choose a busy MLB weekend or an NBA or NHL game night and place bets on the same day.
While it’s possible to find success doing this for several weeks, it’s a losing proposition over time. It is important to remember that the more bets someone makes, the more money the sportsbook takes in commission.
It is impossible for any rational bettor to claim to be extremely confident about every game on a given league schedule. Some might admit that they only participate for the action and to be emotionally immersed in each game.
Research the games you are interested in betting on and rank them according to the ones you are most confident on. Normally I wouldn’t be able to bet on more than five different games in one day.
Avoid compound bets
Combination bets are attractive because has is has the potential to make a large profit if the bet is successful. A normal match between two teams will pay off at odds of around 2.6:1. If a player is lucky enough to score an eight-team win, he or she can win 150 times the amount of their initial stake.
Bettors will occasionally come across a story of how someone managed to turn a €10 bet into a five to six figure payout. These types of stories are just lottery tickets. It seems people weren’t too optimistic about winning the lottery last time I checked.
Using combo bets as opposed to placing single bets on the same games does not break any rules. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t underestimate the allure of a big win by hitting six or more games at once.
If you are going to bet, stick to bets involving two or three teams. You’re unlikely to win 150x your initial bet, but you’ll have a much better chance of getting a reasonable payout than losing your entire first bet.
Not impressed by the audience
“The home team always wins,” as the saying goes, is something that every seasoned sportsbook player has heard. As a result of such statements, it is understood that any form of gambling, including sports betting, almost always results in the player losing his money. As a result, casinos and sportsbooks are successful because they have few failures.
It would take the sportsbook taking a significant loss, for a large portion of the money bet on one side of the game to turn out correct for the sportsbook to suffer a significant loss. If that happened, sportsbooks would be forced to pay out more money than they had earned from losing bets.
Because these types of situations are rare, it is generally wise to “fade the crowd” in many popular betting games to reduce risk. This is especially true when bettors do not change the line because they are concerned about exposure.
Take the following scenario for example. Consider this scenario: The Dallas Cowboys were 7.5-point favorites over the New York Giants. With many tools it is possible to track the percentage of bets placed on each side as well as the amount of bets placed on each side. What if the Cowboys were favorites to win by a landslide? Oftentimes, bettors changed the line and widened the gap, making the Cowboys nine-point favorites. If the bettors do not adjust the line, it would mean that they are confident in their position and are not concerned about the financial consequences of the Cowboys covering the spread.
Whenever possible, it’s best to lighten up the crowd and bet on the Giants under these circumstances. This approach is not foolproof, but as long as sportsbooks are profitable, you will be profitable if you follow this strategy and place your bets.
Search for the most effective rates
Many bettors have a sportsbook where they feel most comfortable betting. These same individuals may not be aware that other sportsbooks may provide better odds for the games they are betting on.
In several sports, even a half-point difference in a row can significantly affect the outcome of a game. If a team is bet to cover a margin of 8.5 points, that team would need to win by nine points or more to successfully cover the margin. The same team, on the other hand, would be less vulnerable if they were given an eight-point margin, because a win by eight points no longer counts as a loss. Alternatively, the bettor can “kick” their bet and get their money back.
Considering the high level of security provided by the sportsbook, opening accounts on different sites will not hurt. The advantage of doing this is that you will be able to compare lines in many places, allowing yourself to take advantage of the best line every time.
Take advantage of online betting options
Although it is more traditional to place bets before the game, in-game bets can often be more profitable. Live game spreads are more often calculated by sportsbooks using algorithms. As a result, “game flow” is not considered as much as one might expect.
Take sports as an example. Let’s say one football team has seven points over the other to start the game. A quick early touchdown from a team in favor will almost certainly put the live spread in the double digits. As a result, many bettors find success in live betting on the underdog in these conditions because the bettors’ initial lines are often very accurate in these situations. The player can benefit by believing that there will be some “regression to the mean” and that the game will end up closer to the originally determined line. This is called “regression to the median”.
Do your own investigation
It goes without saying that the more time invested in doing research before betting, the more likely they are to succeed. There are several approaches that can be used to conduct a suitable study. You can search for weather forecasts or follow the latest information on injuries. In addition, factors such as the team’s current performance and previous performances against the opponent should be taken into account.
All these examples can be considered research that does not require significant investigation. There are some games you should probably avoid betting on if you have significant player or team research to do and feel like you’re starting from scratch. Instead of fooling yourself into believing that you can succeed in sports betting where you are not educated, stick with what you are familiar with.