Profit with Sports Betting
Introduction: Profit With Sports Betting
As a sports bettor, maybe you will not win 100% of the time, but if you are careful and skillful in your choices as a handicapper, then you already enjoy a massive advantage over the recreational bettor. Let’s have a look at football spread betting for a great example of how to get a winning position from the sports bookmakers. Anyhow, if you would like a fast way to win the jackpot online, you should stick to the online casinos.
The Vigorish
The first thing we need to know is how does a sportsbook actually make their money? Well, for every bet that’s lost, they charge a commission. This is the “Vigorish” or “Vig” for short. In sports betting, the most common odds are 11 to 10. This means that if for every $100 you want to win, you’ll be needing to risk $110. As an example….you bet on the Giants to win with a sportsbook and wager $110. If they do win, then off you go and collect $210. But if they lose, then you have lost the whole $110.
The Ideal Betting Situation
Now in an ideal world, the sportsbook would like to have the same amount of money wagered on each team. This is simply because when one of the bettors wins, he wins $100. But the loser loses $110 and the $10 difference is the profit for the sportsbook. In this case, the sportsbook really doesn’t care which team wins as they are assured a profit with an equal amount bet on each team. And they can spend part of their profit on football sponsorship deals. But what happens if one team is a lot better than the opposition? Or if more are betting on one team than the other? Well, in these cases, the sports bookmaker has a system in place to equal out the risk. That is the risk for himself, not you the punter.
Profit With Sports Betting: The Point Spread
It’s a common but misplaced belief that the points spread is the predicted margin of victory that one team will beat another. This is not true. It actually represents the handicapper’s prediction of what numbers will be necessary in order to split the wagering so that it’s even for each team. This line can be more or less constantly changing to take into account the betting numbers from each side. The goal of the sportsbook is to even these opposing bets to as close as possible so that there’s a perfect balance between the two sides. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you turn a profit with sports betting.
The Bandwagon Effect
If the general consensus is that the public is fully behind one team, then the sportsbook or oddsmaker will need to adjust the line in order to get some action for the other team. If not, then the betting is going to be totally one-sided. This is something the sportsbooks will try hard to avoid. As we saw earlier, the profit is in the bets being as equal as possible from each of the contesting teams. The problem for sportsbooks is that the public tends to follow the reactions of the crowd. That’s why if one team is steaming ahead in the betting stakes, then there’s a “bandwagon” effect, with more and more punters piling on. To make sense of it all, we suggest that you read the following slowly. Remember that for the sports bookmaker the line is flawed if it can’t attract the same wagering amounts for each side.
The Contrarian System
But from a smart handicapper’s perspective, the line is flawed when it doesn’t match with his predictions. Now a weaker team can actually become the favorites if the public gets behind them. When this happens, then the underdog is a huge overlay for the seasoned punter, meaning that the odds are now in his favor. For example, let’s say that Team 1 is the 3 point underdogs, but thanks to oodles of public support become the favorites to win. So, because the public is supporting Team 1 by betting heavily on them, the line moves to make Team 1 the one-point favorite. But a clear head would tell you that they are still, in reality, the underdogs. It’s just public sentiment, not actual numbers, that have moved the betting into their favor. And that’s why, for a cool handicapper, Team 2 is an excellent choice. This is the “contrarian principle” because it goes against the general betting consensus.
Profit With Sports Betting: The Handicapper
The important point here is that the handicapper is not swayed by public opinion or sentiments. He has his own sources of information and those are his primary calls to action. From there, he will make his own rankings, irrespective of the “official” line. He will be making his points spread and then comparing this with the official line in order to find discrepancies. Thanks to the internet, there are massive amounts of data to trawl through. Thus giving the handicapper even greater possibilities to find hidden gems. There are even computer programs available to help with this task. (You can learn more about them in the latest lottery news)
Do You Have What It Takes?
So you have to ask yourself, why don’t more punters show a profit with sports betting? As with all things you want to do well, you’ll be needing to study and practice. And most people are just too lazy or cannot bother to make the effort. Even though it would mean they are no longer blindly throwing their wagers away. You don’t need to be Albert Einstein in order to become a winning handicapper. But you do need some persistence and a desire to succeed. If we look back at the odds of 110 for a football or basketball match, then the handicapper needs only win 52.38% of the time to break even. Of course, with higher odds, you have an even greater chance of breaking even. If you constantly bet the underdogs, then you’ll win lower % but you’ll still make money.
