Sports betting is a fun and exciting way to place a wager on a sporting event. It’s a great way to make some extra cash, and it can even be a great way to build your bankroll over time. However, it’s important to understand that it is a marathon, not a sprint, so it’s important to manage your risk effectively.
1. Start with a flat-betting approach: Betting the same amount on every game, risking no more than 1% to 5% of your bankroll per play is a good strategy.
2. Use data analysis to your advantage: When placing a bet, take a look at the historical stats for the teams involved and analyze how they’ve fared in similar situations. This will help you determine whether a team is trending in the right direction or not.
3. Do your research: Before you place a bet, do some research on the sport, the teams and the betting markets. This will help you avoid making a mistake and will increase your chances of winning big.
4. Use fractional odds: Understanding the value of fractional odds is important for any sports bettor. They can help you understand the implied volatility of a specific sports market and determine which bets offer the best value for your money.
5. Always bet the underdog: Underdogs are often overlooked and can provide valuable betting edge. They are usually more balanced in their attack and tend to be better at keeping up with their opponents defensively.
6. Consider expected value: Expected value is one of the most important and crucial factors in evaluating sports bets. It takes into account the probability of a particular team winning and assigns an expected value (EV) to each outcome.
7. Bet on the total: When you bet on the total, you are predicting how many runs, goals and points will be scored by the two sides involved in the game. The Over and Under lines can be very interesting, especially when a high-scoring game is involved.
8. Consider the Pythagorean Wins Stat: This is a clever method of determining which teams are more likely to win. It’s a simple mathematical calculation that looks at the number of points a team scores and compares it to the number of points they score against other teams.
It’s a great tool for assessing the chances of a team winning, and it’s also very useful for handicapping.
9. Be disciplined: It’s tempting to bet big money on games that have a lot of hype surrounding them, but be careful. Be sure to bet only what you can afford to lose and don’t be afraid to read up on sportsbooks before placing your bets.
10. Open a specific bank account: To really make money betting on sports, you need a separate bank account dedicated to this activity. This account should be based on the size of your bankroll, which should be at least 2% of your total roll.