Sports betting is one of the oldest forms of gambling. People bet on sports long before the internet existed. For example, betting on horse races has a rich history in the United Kingdom since 1665. Much has changed with the advent of the internet. But, the basic concept of sports betting stayed the same. Learn how to bet like a pro with our complete guide.
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At first, sports betting looks easy. However, that’s all but true. Sports betting is a challenging form of gambling. But when done right, it can also be very lucrative.
The basics of sports betting are pretty straightforward. That’s why this form of betting is so attractive. But, there is more to learn to get the most out of your bets.
Ever wondered why your friends win their bets, time after time. The answer is quite simple. Improve your betting strategy with our premium guide. And avoid common mistakes. Online betting is fun. But making money while you are betting is more fun.
Reading guide:
- Introduction
- Types of sports betting
- Ultimate strategy
Introduction
As mentioned earlier, the basics of sports betting are fairly simple. However, becoming a professional is on another level. Without any knowledge, you just end up losing money. So be prepared to invest time into sports betting. In the end, it really pays off.
In the next chapter, we describe the most common types of bets. But every type of bet comes with odds. An odd is a number between the range of 1 to infinite. For instance, a single wager returns the odds of 1.40. Placing a bet of C$10 returns winnings of C$14.
As you can see, placing single bets is not putting money into our pockets. Luckily, bookmakers provide the opportunity to combine the odds of multiple bets. The combination creates a new odd visible on your bet slip. In the right picture, you see a clear example of a combination bet. For the sake of convenience, we placed a bet of C$10. The total odds and cash out potential are far more attractive than with a single wager.
The most bookmakers allow up to 10 or 12 combinations. As you can imagine, the total odds of your bet slip can be outrageous. However, with so many different bets, the chance of winning all of them is practically zero. Therefore, you must stick to our strategy, which gives the best chances of winning. If you are familiar with sports betting, jump to the last chapter: The Ultimate Strategy.
Types of Sports Betting
The first betting type is the money line. The money line is the simplest type of wager. For example, Liverpool is matched up against FC Barcelona. Liverpool is the most favourable team of this matchup. Therefore, the odds are determined at 1.43 for Liverpool. On the other hand, the odds of the underdog are determined at 2.10. Let’s say you place a bet of C$100 on FC Barcelona. You win C$210 if Liverpool loses the match. The last option is a draw. The principle is the same as the other options. You place a bet on the event that neither one of the teams wins the match.
The second type is points spread betting. This type of betting is a bit more complicated than the money line. With spread betting, the outcome must cover the spread to win your bet. As a result, sports betting becomes more interesting for both teams. For example, the Giants play against the Dolphins. The teams are determined at the following odds:
- The Giants: -4.5 points (-110)
- The Dolphins: +4.5 points (-110)
As shown above, the Giants are the favourites. They need to win with 4.5 points or more to win the bet. If that fails, the Dolphins stayed within their cover. So, they will win the best instead. The -110 means that you need to wager C$110 to win C$100.
Another type is proposition betting. A proposition bet is based on a specific event during the match. For example, the first player who scores a goal. Or the first player who gets a yellow or red card. These kinds of bets come with high odds. However, the chance that the event occurs is pretty low. This kind of betting is fun during big tournaments with a couple of friends drinking some beers. But, don’t include this type of bets in your strategy.
The Ultimate Strategy For Sports Betting
The ultimate strategy starts with a lot of research. Pick a sport of interest and get familiar with players, teams and competitions. Becoming aware of statistics, characteristics and more information are the first steps. A lot of bookmakers offer tools that provide information about the match. But without knowledge of the sport and competition, the info means nothing. Once you are familiar with the sport, you can start applying the strategy. The strategy consists of the following three steps:
- Never pick more than 3 different matches.
- Only use the following options to make up your bet slip:
- Win/draw/lose
- Total under/over (goals/points)
- Including overtime
- Both teams to score
- Never bet more than C$10 at once.
Never Pick More Than 3 Different Matches
The first step is the most important rule. Placing bets on more than three matches is too risky. Every match demands you to choose between win, loss or draw. Therefore, predicting all the outcomes is very unlikely even when there is a favourite. So, narrow down your bet slip to a maximum of three matches.
The total odds of the bet slip is probably low and unattractive. The next step increases the odds with less increase in risk. After you concluded three matches, start looking into total over/under betting options. Add these extra options for each match based on previous head to head history. 9 out of 10 times bookmakers provide this information alongside the betting options. Otherwise, choose one of our top bookmakers: Bodog or Intertops
In general, you should pick 2 extra options per match, such as total goals over 2.5 and both teams to score. These options increase your totals odds making it more lucrative.
Only the use the following options to make up your bet slip
As mentioned in the first step, there are some extra bettings options to increase your total odds. We listed the relevant options:
- Win, lose or draw.
- Total goals or points over/under.
- Both teams to score.
- Including overtime.
The list doesn’t cover all options. But it gives good insights into what kind of betting types are interesting. Why only choose from these options? The options increase your total odds without taking too much extra risk. Moreover, the information available on these statistics is super valuable. For instance, the match history of two teams tells the total amount of goals is always over 2.5. The chance that this will happen again is very acceptable. As a result, your total odds increase and your risk management stay low.
Never bet more than C$10 at once
The last step is to never bet more than C$10 at once. It’s better to spread your risk with multiple bets than putting all your money on a single bet. This way, you can enjoy the fun of more bets. To end our guide, we provided an example bet slip made up using the ultimate strategy. Now it’s up to you to make real money with sports betting.