How to Bet on Sports: A Concise Guide
So you want to learn how to bet on sports? Well, as the expression goes, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” In the world of online sports gambling, too, any number of paths can lead the successful bettor to victory after victory at the online sportsbook. Moreover, any number of methods may be employed in picking winners. When looking at how to bet on sports, there are four tips regarding what not to do.
How to Bet on Sports: Tip One
First and foremost, it’s vital that you do not bet on your favorite team indiscriminately. Staying open-minded throughout the course of the season is a critical aid when wagering. No matter where you’re allegiances lie, keeping an level-head is definitely a good strategy.
Many punters place bets on their favorite teams at online spotsbook sites like . More experienced gamblers will tell you that their illusions about favorite teams don’t exist. Placing bets on the winners is what’s important. This is especially a common practice in European soccer and Super Bowl betting.
Tip Two
Love and devotion make for great blinders. So while your knowledge may be second-to-none on your team’s current injuries, attitude and play making abilities, any semblance of objectivity may be non-existent. Convincing yourself of impending victory is great as a fan, but potentially costly at the sportsbook.
This principle was made quite apparent during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Most online sportsbooks reported that England was drawing an incredibly disproportionate amount of action. In fact they eventually were giving the English 6/1 odds to win the tournament. Let’s be frank, a supposition that seems laughable in hindsight. Yet it’s a mistake millions in the British Isles will make again when the Cup restarts.
Tip Three
Of course, if you’re a fan of a juggernaut (and by “juggernaut,” we mean serious all-time powers like the 1999 St. Louis Rams or 2007 New England Patriots), feel free to wager. Most of the time, though, just stay away from betting your team’s games at all.
Just as important as not falling in love with your own team is not falling in love with your own predictions. If that NFL team you pick to win the Super Bowl starts the season 0-3, you should be jumping off your own bandwagon right quick. A single injury to the left tackle in the NFL or an upset home loss in the Premiership. These can send a team reeling with poor results for weeks and affect the table for the rest of the season; on the plus side, a couple of good free-agent signings and/or sleeper mid-round draft picks can utterly change the fortunes of a team for a year or even much, much longer. (Consider what the 1974 NFL Draft did for the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise, to name one easy example.)
Tip Four
One fairly obvious place where self-destructive belief sneaks in is in “outright winner” betting at the beginning of a season. The fact is that sports franchises in most leagues rarely repeat titles. The defending champions typically tend to draw the smallest odds. Interestingly, the most outright betting action occurs during the pre-season. Unless you’re talking about the NBA or possibly Manchester United, the bettor’s head is telling him/her that Team X will not repeat. Who will listen…?
How To Bet On Sports: Conclusion
So, here’s how to bet on sports. First off, know your game. And the players involved. Always have a clear mind, one which can out-smart the online sportsbook. This way, you’ll be able to make more cash than any other strategy out there. Be sure to check out our other guide; Sports Betting For Dummies.
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