Many people wonder how betting on sports works. It’s an understandable question. After all, you usually see money changing hands and the lines moving around indicating which teams are winning and losing. It appears to be a standard practice, but that’s actually because the practice is quite sophisticated.
The truth is that betting on sports is a lot more complicated than it first appears. It is, in fact, a science and an art all rolled into one. You need to know the theories behind why sports betting works the way it does in order to intelligently place a wager or to understand the moves the bookmakers make when the games begin. From there, it’s just a matter of executing your plan and enjoying the finer things in life.
Let’s take a trip down theoretical memory lane and see what makes sports betting different from other types of wagers.
The Basis For Sports Betting
As with any other type of betting, when the games begin your wager should be based on the line. Most places will have two sets of lines, one for betting on the favorite and one for the underdog. It is generally accepted that the favorite will win by a larger margin, but that’s not a hard and fast rule. You should look at the line movement and consider the facts and circumstances of each game.
The Edge In Preplanning
Once you’ve determined which teams you’re going to back you need to do some research into the matchup. One of the best tools for doing this kind of research is Vegas Stats, which provides information about all the sports including football. You can enter a few lines of betting and get a report detailing things like team history, matchup data, and even statistical comparisons between the two teams. In the end, you’ll have all the information you need to make a well-informed decision.
The Mathematics Behind It All
The key to successfully betting on sports is proper mathematics. When the time comes for the bookmaker to settle your bet he’ll want to make sure that the odds are in your favor. So, just how much should you bet? How much are you willing to risk? Properly answering these questions depends on several factors. First, you need to consider how much you know about the game. More importantly, you need to consider how much you can afford to lose. You can always contact the agency overseeing the event if you’re not sure how much to wager. In the meantime, here are some general guidelines:
If You Don’t Know Much About The Game
The first and most important rule of thumb when betting on anything is to bet only what you’re confident you can win. Going back to our previous example, let’s say you believe that the Bears will cover the spread and win by a score of 10–9. Given that it’s a home game for Chicago and they’re playing on their own turf, you might feel confident enough to wager $10 on the game. If, however, you don’t know much about basketball, you might not feel as certain. You should still wager $10, but you might want to bet $20 or $30.
How Much Can You Afford To Lose?
The second rule of thumb to keep in mind when betting on anything is to never bet more than you can afford to lose. Now, we’re not talking about bankroll management here; we’re talking about how much money you’re willing to risk. The more you risk the more you can win, right? Well, yes and no. Consider this: say you’ve got a $100 bankroll and you want to risk $20 on tennis. You might feel pretty good about winning $20, but if the match is close, you could end up losing $40 or more. You might also end up having to fund your account with a loan or credit card, which brings us to our next point.
Worst Case Scenario
Last but not least, we want to remind you about the worst case scenario. The worst case scenario is what you’ll want to avoid at all costs. It’s easy to look at the example just given and assume that the best case scenario is what you should strive for. That’s true, but again, only if you don’t have a bad experience with the sport or team in question. The worst case scenario is what you’ll want to avoid at all costs. Sometimes, you’ll have to settle for average results instead of seeing sharp gains, but at least you won’t lose everything you’ve bet on. When you reach a point where you lose more than you win, it’s usually time to walk away. You’ll never win if you don’t play. You’ll never lose if you don’t wager.
The key to successful betting on sports is proper planning and research. You want to make sure you do your research before placing your bet so you can be certain that the odds are in your favor. Moreover, you should only risk what you can afford to lose. When you begin losing, it’s usually time to cut your losses and walk away. Of course, this is assuming you’ve done your research and you’re playing games you know well, but that’s the general idea.