Sports betting opportunities continue to grow and evolve, especially thanks to the continued growth of online betting. It is easier to place bets on even more markets than ever before. Punters can also enjoy access to more in-depth statistics and live data, and sports betting sites not only offer local markets but niche markets from around the globe. Greater choice means more opportunities, but it also means bettors need to have a solid betting strategy to help minimize losses and maximize potential profits.
Know Your Market
When you’re considering betting on any event or sport, do your research. Learn as much as you can about the game and the league, as well as its teams and players. Many sportsbooks, according to Richard Presley from Pokerscout.com, offer markets on popular sports, so you can pick something you’re already familiar with. It will help if you have a passing interest in what you bet on, beyond having money invested in bets.
Study Bet Types
As well as knowing the game and learning everything you can about it, you should learn the different bet types.
Some of the most popular bet types include:
- Moneyline – Picking a winner or loser in a particular game.
- Point Spread – Betting on the point spread between two teams or individuals. This can be a good way to gain value betting on favorites.
- Over/Under Bet – Betting that the total points scored in a game will be over or under a specific target. An over/under bet in a football match could be 47 points. Betting under this means betting that the two teams will score fewer than 47 points between them.
- Parlay Bet – A parlay bet is an accumulator that links multiple bets. To win the parlay bet, you must win all the wagers. This is commonly used when betting on favorites at short odds, as a means of increasing the total odds.
As well as these bets, you can find other less common bets, such as teaser bets and proposition bets.
Look For Value
To make long-term profits from sports betting, the bettor needs to find value bets. Value bets are those where the wagered outcome is more likely than the odds offered by the bookmaker. If you wager on value bets consistently, you will walk away with a profit in the long run, assuming you have a good staking strategy. Finding value bets can be tricky, however. Sportsbooks analyse vast amounts of data to help them offer odds. But, while it can be difficult to find value bets, it isn’t impossible.
Study The Stats
To find value bets, you effectively need to price up a game or market yourself. If you have a game where two teams are evenly matched, and there is no chance of a draw, the odds should be -100 for both teams. If you can find odds of +120 on one of those teams, that represents a value bet.
Pricing up a market yourself means studying the form book, using data and statistics from various sources, and creating your own formulae. It does take work, but it is worth it in the long run, and there’s a lot of satisfaction to be had when you get it right. Fortunately, in the modern sporting world, there are huge amounts of data to access.
Don’t Be Afraid Of Niche Markets
Different sportsbooks tend to specialize in different sports, but they don’t want to miss out on fans of lesser-known or less-popular sports. This means you can find bets on niche markets if you look carefully. There may not be as much liquidity or movement in prices, but this can work to your advantage as you may be able to find more value bets.
Cashing In Isn’t Always Your Best Option
Whether you’re betting on parlays, accumulators, or single events, opportunities to cash out are available. During live betting, for example, you can cash out at almost any point. If you’ve bet on a team to win and they take the lead, it can be tempting to cash out and avoid the heartbreak of having the other team score and your bet lose.
However, cashing out means losing a portion of the odds offered. If you’ve done your research, found value bets, and have confidence in the strength of your bets, keep the faith and ride the bet.
Set Your Budget
Whatever your preferred type of betting, only ever play with money you can afford to lose. Set a budget, whether it’s monthly or a total budget, and don’t go over it. Having a budget not only helps ensure you gamble within your limits but it will also form part of your bankroll and betting strategy.
Manage Bet Sizes
Don’t bet all of your budget on one bet. In fact, many betting experts recommend that you only place between 1% and 2%, up to 5% as an absolute maximum, of your total bankroll on a single bet. Set your bet sizes and then stick to them when placing bets. The actual size you place on a bet might vary according to whether you’re placing single bets, parlays, or multiple bets, but each individual element should match your designated bet size.
Don’t Bet On Tilt
Losing is always difficult, but it is part of gambling. If you won every single bet, it wouldn’t be gambling. This means you need to learn to accept losses. Betting on tilt means betting emotionally, rather than using your head. Stick to your strategy and your bet size, don’t be tempted to double up bet sizes or make any additional bets to try and chase losses. Betting on tilt typically means you make poor decisions and stray from your strategy.
Make The Most Of Bonuses
Most sportsbooks and online bookmakers offer welcome and some ongoing bonuses. The bonuses can be generous and can be a good way to enhance your betting bank, minimize losses, and maximize winnings. However, you do need to ensure the bonuses are actually beneficial. For example, you don’t need free spins on a casino’s online slots, and free bets on sports you don’t participate in aren’t beneficial, either. Take advantage of cashback on losing bets, bet matches, and deposit match bonuses.
Track Your Results
Tracking your results means you can monitor your betting balance and ensure that you’re not betting too much. It also means you can track results, determine which bets are working and which aren’t, and use the results to help optimize your betting strategy in the future. Keeping your results in a spreadsheet allows easier manipulation of the data than having to keep referring back to your betting account or using pen and paper. Regularly update the spreadsheet and analyze the data to optimize your strategy.
Take A Break
Sports betting should be fun. Take a break every now and then to ensure it remains a hobby and that you continue to enjoy it. Many betting sites enable you to place limits on your deposits and bets, and you can set reminders so that you take breaks at given intervals. Make the most of these features to prevent overload.