In the world of sports betting, everyone knows what a punter is: it’s the person who places the bets. But what exactly is a punter? Is it someone who regularly goes to the bookies and places single bets of a few pounds? Or is it someone who invests in large sums of money in order to make profitable bets?
These questions arise because there is a tendency for people to think of sports betting in terms of betting shops, which are the stereotypical image that comes to mind when you think of sports betting. But this is certainly not the case, as most sports betting takes place online, and venues like the World Wide Web made it possible for punters to place bets with the click of a button and on the move. That’s a significant advantage when you’re competing against the bookies’ odds – or in the very least, the boredom of the trip to the bookies – in order to win some money.
The Many Forms Of Punters
Nowadays, it’s not unusual to see people who fit the mould of a stereotypical “bookie” sitting in a pub with their friends, drinking craft beer and passing around a massive pile of betting slips with the head bookie on them, as though their very presence alone is going to make their friends rich.
But this isn’t the case for everyone who calls themselves a punter. In fact, there are so many different forms of punters that it’s hard to generalise – which is why, when someone asks you what you do for a living, you’re better off telling them the truth and admitting that you’re a gambler than trying to fit yourself into one of the few molds that there is for a punter.
Straight-Forward Or Intuitive Betting?
The first thing you need to know about punters is that they are extremely diverse group of people. So diverse that, in some cases, it’s difficult to tell whether someone is a gambler or a bookmaker just by looking at them. This is an important point, because it means that you cannot assume that you know how someone is going to react in a situation that might require clever thinking – or at least, the appearance of cleverness – in order to win money. This is why there are so many different types of punters – in case you run out of ideas and need someone to brainstorm with.
Large Sums Of Money Are Useful
Punters are not all famous for being wealthy, although some undoubtedly are. But what is important is that they have enough money to gamble with. In the grand scheme of things, winning or losing a few hundred pounds on a football match is not a big deal. What is important is that you have enough money to continue gambling. This is why, even if you are a beginner, you should consider investing in large sums of money in order to increase your chances of winning and reduce the amount of times you have to start over from scratch. The appearance of wealth is therefore more important than any real financial status. So, while you might not want to become a bookmaker, you should consider becoming a gambler – at least, until you can amass a small fortune.
Most Professional
Punters are very professional when it comes to their gambling, which is why they usually come across as very confident and capable of dealing with any situation that might arise. This is certainly a good thing, because it means you’re going to be in capable hands should something go wrong – or, at least, it means you’re not going to be in the hands of a complete amateur who might let his emotional attachments get in the way of proper betting procedure. But it also means that you should expect the unexpected, because they are very good at what they do and don’t let things like illness or bad luck get in the way of them producing high-quality work.
Many Different Strategies
Another important thing to know about punters is that they are very creative strategists. They might not always come up with the most elegant solutions, but they sure do a good job of finding ways to win and ways to lose, using whatever resources they have at their disposal. Take the 2018 World Cup in Russia: a lot of bookmakers didn’t expect England to do so well, and many pubs and online platforms offering betting odds were completely taken by surprise. So much so that, at the time of writing, England are still favourites to win the cup – despite not being one of the best teams in the world. Creative strategizing is very important, because it means you’re not going to fall into the trap of thinking that your chances of winning are going up because everyone else is piling on the favorite – or that you’re guaranteed to win simply because you’re sitting at home, while everyone else is out enjoying themselves at a sports event. It’s important to stay vigilant, but also be aware of opportunities that present themselves, because the odds might be in your favor.
Underdog Love
Something else that distinguishes punters from other groups is their undying loyalty to underdogs. This might sound like a strange thing to say, given that underdogs are usually considered to be those who are inferior to others and have no chance of winning. Yet, somehow, punters still find ways to back these obscure and little-known teams, with the hope of making a profit from their misfortune. Take the 2019 Cricket World Cup: a number of teams were considered long shots before the start of the tournament, and yet they all exceeded expectations – most notably, the England team, who exceeded everyone’s expectations by winning the whole thing. As a result, they became one of the most popular bets for the tournament, with many people getting behind them as a result. This might not sound like much, but for a tournament that started with such low expectations, this was a significant amount of money – enough to keep a bookmaker busy for a long time. It also shows the importance of staying with a team even when they are behind: most bookmakers will not take bets on teams who are losing, as it is considered unfair to gamble when the outcome is uncertain. Yet, this is exactly what punters do – they put their money on the underdogs with the hope of making a profit from their misfortune.
Unpredictable
Finally, it’s important to note that punters are completely unpredictable. This means that you cannot rely on any patterns or trends to discern when they’re going to win or lose, or which team they might back. It might be that they back the underdogs for the whole season, but then they turn around and bet on the favorites for a particular match. Or it could be that they bet on underdogs in one match and then on favorites in the next. The only thing you can be sure of is that, at some point, they’ll end up losing money – but you cannot say with any certainty when this is going to happen. This is why, when you have the opportunity to place a wager with a bookmaker, you should take it – even though you might lose some money at first – because you might just end up making some significant profit.
If you want to understand what a punter is, you need to try and put yourself in their shoes for a few hours. Imagine that you’re at a sports event, with others around you betting on the matches as well. You want to place a wager on the next game, but you’re not sure which way the odds are going to turn out. You might think about trying out a number of bookmakers, seeing which one gives you the best odds for the match you’re interested in, and then place a wager on this particular bookmaker’s terms. But remember: not all bookmakers are made equal, and some might take advantage of you if you don’t do your research first. So, even though you might feel confident that a particular bookmaker is going to give you the best odds, you might be better off taking your business elsewhere – especially if you want to keep your funds safe. This is a lesson that everyone, from the casual punter to the professional, should learn.