The global sports betting industry is booming from North America to Asia, to the United Kingdom and all across Europe. A whole new community of sports betting fans are emerging all over the world over.
With that in mind here's a short list of six key rules to stick to whether you're a newbie to online betting or a seasoned pro who needs a refresher.
Oddsmakers play a crucial role in the betting ecosystem with websites covering soccer bets odds and American sports odds and competing to offer you the best coefficients, markets, and bonuses. Odds will play an increasing role in how we perceive sports products, the available markets, and betting opportunities.
To help you understand the world of sports betting a little better, and more importantly, assist you with establishing a good betting rhythm for yourself, the list below includes some time-tested strategies, tips and pieces of advice that will have an immediate impact on how you approach this exciting hobby.
1. Start by Setting a Budget
Good news, everyone! Betting on sports is legal, and it has been for years. With so many opportunities, it feels like you may benefit from a few tips to help you adjust your own grasp of the sports betting market.
Listen, sports can be tempting, dynamic, heartfelt, but more so than anything else, it can quickly burn through your money if you let emotions get the best of you. Therefore veteran punters have established one clear rule to success – set a budget and stick with it.
Budgeting the money you have will make you far more cautious about how you spend them. Smaller starter's capital means that you have to get creative and use your money smarter. It's a trade-off between sacrificing a little more on a particular match and splitting your bets evenly across numerous promising games.
Being able to budget means you will teach yourself some discipline and never make rash decisions, which is key to succeeding as a sports bettor.
2. Do Not Make Rash Decisions
Free yourself of emotion if you want to see your bankroll grow instead of shrink. Sports are an amazingly emotional and personal experience so it's understable that you would be tempted to act rashly.
Smart punters, though, know everything about how emotions can lead you down the road of bad decision-making. Is your favourite team playing? Are the odds against it? Well, why not go with the best possible outcomes in terms of value rather than spending a little too much on your favourite team, which is very likely to lose, according to the bookies?
It's a fine line between being a loyal fan and making the most worthwhile decision for you as a punter. We strongly recommend that you approach sports betting with a cool head.
3. Know the Sport You Are Betting On
One thing that many bettors do as a mistake is to bet without having sufficient information. Punters feel over-confident that just because they've watched last year's English Premier League, they are perfectly aware of what's going to happen this year.
This is wrong. According to Soccermatics, a book written by math professor David Sumpter, every season of the English League will play to completely unique circumstances that must be studied and profiled accurately. A sports fan who is in the thick of the sport and follows everything that is put out there as actionable information should not have much issue with pinpointing the most successful outcomes.
Even then, though, you need to make a commitment toward the sport you are willing to risk your money on and keep learning.
4. Match Bets Are Long-Term Winners
Many sports fans want to experiment as sticking to match bets gets a little old. Parlay, or accumulator bets are a perfect way to give yourself some bit of excitement, but the truth is that if you are looking for long-term success in sports betting, single match bets are the best options.
They invite the smallest degree of uncertainty and work to a cut-and-dry system, which should help you achieve long-term success in sports betting. You can, of course, use any excess winnings you have generated to try your luck at a few more risky bets that offer a higher yield.
5. Shop for Odds
Another valued strategy is the odd comparison service, which is very intuitive. Basically, you want to look up which the best odds are, and as such, you want to give yourself the biggest advantage, reduce the house juice and let's face it, benefit from a slightly better betting coefficient.
Many expert bettors make sure to keep accounts at several sportsbooks out there with the sole purpose of making sure they can shop around for the best lines and markets. It's good to have your accounts set up at two or three distinct bookies out there, but you can spread your bankroll further if you like.
6. Don't Go In-Play Right Away
In-play or live bets can be mighty fun, however, flying in blind can have the reverse effect. Ideally, you want to consider in-play betting only in those instances when you have advanced enough to be able to realistically benefit.
Live odds change quickly, and there are multiple functionalities that you need to factor in before you can really dive into this segment and expect to make a return. The yields can be higher here but so is the uncertainty.
The best way to approach sports betting is to go through our list of tips and pieces of advice one by one.
Start small and start simple. In-play betting is definitely a worthwhile expansion opportunity, but allow yourself to get skilled enough in the more boring segments before you reach for the live betting markets.
There is a learning curve, and remember gambling should be fun so never gamble any more than you can afford to lose and be gamble aware.
