Strategize Like A Winner: Follow These Top 5 Sports Betting Pointers
There’s no denying the thrill that comes with sports betting: the analytical thinking required to place bets, the element of suspense throughout the game, the sense of community when watching a game with a group of friends, and of course, the thought that you stand a chance of winning big…all these factors contribute to that sense of excitement as you eagerly wait for the final result.
But as exciting as it may be to place bets on sports, if you really want to make a profit from your bets, adopting a betting strategy is key. We have listed five crucial pointers for you to keep in mind before wagering your hard-earned money. And, if these following pointers won’t make you want to place a good wager, perhaps the fact that there are loads of Free Bet USA Sportsbooks available might!
#1. Manage Your Bankroll
This is the very foundational pointer that we need to get across before anything else. When you’re betting you should set aside a certain amount of money to gamble with. This money needs to be disposable income that you afford to lose. As with any other type of gambling, you don’t want to use money that you cannot afford to lose.
Therefore, a good idea would be to set aside a certain amount of money that you can use for your bankroll for the week, the month, or the season. As a general rule of thumb, you should only make bets with 1%-5% of your bankroll. It is very tempting to be losing and then increase your bet size to try and win back your losses. However, chasing losses is always a wrong approach that will often lead to losing even more money.
#2. Do Your Homework
Without this strategy, you might be better off not betting at all. Conducting your own research is needed in many areas of life, but more so when your own money is at stake. While going with your hunch may work some of the time, it will not lead to consistent winning in the long term.
To really profit from sports betting you need to peruse statistics, observe trends and analyze past games. You also need to be critical in your approach and ask questions about the bigger picture behind a particular game, such as: what does this game mean to each team? Are there any underlying factors affecting the players that may impact the results? Is there any home-field advantage? Is the coach and his team under any particular pressure? Such questions will give you a better idea of what you can expect and hopefully put you in a better position to wager money from an informed place.
#3. Bet Against The Public
This is a betting strategy that’s also known as ‘fading the public’. The underlying premise behind this strategy is that casual bettors are more frequently wrong. Therefore, it makes sense to build a strategy that involves observing public betting trends and wagering on the other side of the popular bet. Of course, just fading the public blindly and taking it as a hard and fast rule, is never a good idea. Instead, as has been pointed out in the previous section, you must conduct your own research and take an in-depth look at statistics and trends. This will put you in a better position to bet against your emotions and to be free of public opinion, which is often based on overreactions to recent performances or news.
#4. Focus On One Team
It will serve you much more in the long term to be an expert on a single team than to have an average amount of knowledge on several teams. Focusing on one team allows you to gain more in-depth knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses, and be conversant with their playing style as well as their records, so that you can make evaluations on the facts and wager in their favor. This tactic also injects an element of consistency in your betting strategy, so that you’d be able to track your bets over time and adjust them accordingly.
As you gain more expertise on the team you’re focusing on, you’ll also be able to pick up on subtleties that might escape others, thus allowing you a competitive edge when placing your bets. All this inevitably makes your bets less risky, as you’d be betting from an informed place. Besides, specializing in a team will create a degree of emotional attachment which would act as an incentive for you to do more research and make better bets.
#5. Shop Around For The Best Price
Just like you need to shop around for any product or service that you need, shopping for the best lines is no less important. This betting strategy is also known as ‘line shopping’ and it involves your having an account with multiple online sportsbooks so that you can check out each one and shop from the book that offers the best line for you. Line shopping is a great betting strategy because it can help you find better odds for the same bet, which can increase your potential payout and make your betting more profitable in the long run. Over time, even small differences in odds can add up to significant profits.
An additional benefit that comes from having an account with different online sports books is that you’ll have the opportunity to take advantage of the different promotional offers upon sign-up and a first deposit.
