Sports betting is all about placing wagers on the outcome of a sporting event, whether it is a football or hockey game, a tennis match, or even boxing and UFC. Sports betting also covers things like horse racing and global events like the World Cup, as well as entertainment events like talent shows.
When you are thinking about placing bets on sports, there are a lot of strategies that you might want to consider – and some can be used as strategies for other ways of gambling and placing bets, too.
Sports Betting Basics
However you are playing, it is always a good idea to get the basics right when it comes to wagering.
Never bet more than you can afford to lose
While placing bets can be fun and exciting, especially if you are on a winning streak, money management is a strategy that will help you make sure you aren’t risking too much. Before you get started on any sports betting strategies, make sure that your bankroll is money that you can afford to lose completely. We all want to win, but then it wouldn’t be a gamble if there wasn’t the risk of losing. It’s also a good idea to follow experts like Doc’s Sports to make sure you are always in the loop.
Don’t chase losses
“The next one will come in” is the refrain of the loser – and while it might be the dream to have it all come in on your next bet, chasing losses is a surefire way to lose all your bankroll. Quit while you are behind and recognize when you are on a losing streak, there will always be another day you can play.
Know your strategy
Hunches might come in as winners, but they aren’t a reliable strategy when it comes to producing winning results. If you want to place bets (and win) like the pros, then you need to know what they are doing to get their consistent wins.
Analyzing statistics and trends in teams and players can also greatly enhance your betting strategy. Those looking to sharpen their NFL betting skills can view free NFL picks here to gain insights from seasoned analysts. Staying informed and adapting your strategy based on expert opinions can significantly increase your chances of success.
Some Interesting Strategies
There are as many sports betting strategies as there are bettors – so choosing the one that works best for you will depend on a number of factors from your bankroll to your appetite for risk.
Some strategies that you might want to check out are below:
1-3-2-6
This is a strategy that is based on the balance of probabilities. Using this formula, you need to place up to four consecutive bets, depending on the results of the last bet.
Decide on a unit that you want to bet with, usually about 1%-5% of your bankroll. You will be placing consecutive bets using these units as follows:
Place a bet of one unit – as an example we will use $10. If that bet wins, your next bet will be 3 units ($30). If that wins, your next bet will be $20, and then $60.
If at any point a bet loses, you start the cycle again. The benefit of this is that there are only two points where you will have an overall loss – the first and second; with a maximum loss of 2 units.
Fibonacci
Fibonacci was a mathematician that produced a sequence of numbers that stretches to infinity, where every number is the sum of the previous two numbers. When it comes to sports betting, using this sequence on bets with odds of more than 2.62 will eventually net you a profit.
Essentially, you place bets based on the Fibonacci numbers. The first bet would be $1, then it would continue ($1, $2, $3, $5, $8, $13, $21 etc.).
Even if you do not get a win until the 11th bet ($144), the returns on odds over 2.62 would still give you profit, outweighing the amount you have already spent. This is quite a simple system and can get results quite quickly if you make the right decisions, but with the amounts growing quite quickly you could be into thousands of dollars before a win if you don’t get that streak going.
Dutching
Similar to hedging in stock trading, ditching is a process where you place wagers on more than one outcome, making it more likely that one will come in. This is similar to placing an each way bet on horse racing, for example. You might dutch by placing a bet on one team to win, and on the other too. Making more selections means it is more likely that you will win, but the profits will be smaller. Less selections might mean more profit but increases risk.
Research
An often-overlooked strategy in sports betting is just doing your research. If you place bets on the outcome of a sporting event that you know nothing about, then you are essentially flipping a coin and betting on heads or tails.
Choose a sport, and a specific league to follow. It is easier if you choose something like the NHL, Bundesliga, or the Premier League, where there is a lot of TV coverage of matches and discussions in the media, so you can keep track of stats, previous performances, injuries, and suspensions. The more data you can use in your research, the more able you will be to predict outcomes and make winning selections.