Some people bet on sports purely for the thrill of engaging in the sports event in a more participatory fashion. For most online casino sports bettors however, the goal is to win the bet. Making a simple win-lose bet is fairly easy but if you’re going to get more into the details of placing a bet, you should consider studying the science of sports betting before you put your money down.
There are many things that can derail a sports bet aside from simply making the wrong choice. For one thing, sporting events are unpredictable. But more importantly, we have to acknowledge that each and every one of us has inherent biases that can make us place wagers that aren’t made because it’s the reasonable thing to do, but because we followed emotion. Even when you think that you’ve followed all the rules and placed your bet according to every bit of logic possible, it can all come crashing down.
Sports betting, as opposed to gambling on casino games, isn’t based on mathematical probabilities. It’s based on knowing the sport and making cold assessments of the pluses and minuses of each bet in order to achieve maximum results. Some people find it hard to make money in sports betting but if you remember some of the most important things to avoid when betting on sports, your chances of success will be significantly higher.
Some of the most common sports betting mistakes that you should learn to avoid include:
1. Betting on Favorites
When you bet on sports, you are trying to find value in your plays. That means, the ideal bet would be one that pays out more than the bettor risks. That means that you have to think twice about betting on a heavy favorite because you need to bet more than you would if you bet on the underdog. If you bet on a favorite you jeopardize your funds because if you lose, you lose a lot.
For instance, if you bet $500 five times on a team that’s a -500 favorite, you are risking $500 for the possibility of winning $100. Even if you won four out of five wagers, you’d still come out with $400 in winnings and $500 in losses on that last, losing bet. It’s impossible to predict the outcome of sporting events with 100% accuracy so when you put that much on the line, you’re taking a huge risk.
Some people think that they can come out ahead by achieving small wins by wagering on heavy favorites. It’s not really a sustainable strategy. Betting advisors suggest that you pass up the easy wins in favor of betting on underdogs that may be able to pull off an upset. That way, you only need to hit a handful of high-value underdogs to offset some losses.
In the end, achieving the highest number of wins isn’t the only goal of sports betting. The goal is to keep your cash flow in the plus. Don’t use a betting strategy that relies too heavily on wager on the big, expensive favorites.
2. Buying Points
Buying points sounds safe and stable but it’s not at all. Regardless of whether it looks like a play will deliver a better win at +10 than at =9.5, it’s almost never worth the risk. The majority of games simply aren’t won by the points achieved at the last second of the game – on average, there’s at least a couple of points in the spread. By buying points, you might as well be giving away your money.
The oddsmakers know their profession. They set lines in order to make it hard for the better to make a decision. You’re not going to find an easy fix so stop looking for one. In the long run, you’ll have a more successful betting session if you are careful to not exacerbate losses and sacrifice winnings for only a half-point here and there.
3. Chasing Losses
There’s a whole betting system that proposes that you double your money on your second bet after losing the first. The rationale is that you can win back your original loss plus the second bet but, what happens if you lose that second bet? Believe it or not, the system then tells you to double your money from that second bet on your third bet. And so on.
In any kind of gambling, you win some and you lose some. You’ll go on winning streaks and on losing streaks but remember…..you can never predict what’s going to happen next.
Basically, over time, you’ll get the best results if you have a solid long-term strategy. It makes sense that after a loss, you wouldn’t want to go back to even…..you want to win the second bet and make up for your loss in the first bet. But the risk of losing both bets isn’t worth doubling that second bet. That’s not a strategy.
Basically, whatever you do, you need to stay within the limits of your bankroll. When the money that you budgeted for your sports betting entertainment ends, your betting session ends. Within that framework, you can dole out the bets slowly or quickly.
4. Leg Parlays
Another gaming strategy that doesn’t work over the long run is that of taking big risks. It’s entertaining and thrilling but it’s not a part of a sustainable gambling technique.
One system that many gamers favor is the multiple leg parlay. A multi leg parlay (also called an Accumulator or an “All-Up”) involves a type of bet in which the bettor combines multiple single bets into one large bet. Each of the smaller bets is considered a “leg” of the multi-bet.
You have to remember that, not only is it extremely difficult to hit a multi-leg parlay but unless you get up to 5+ plays, you get shorted on the odds. So if you play a 2-leg, 3-leg or 4-leg parlay, the odds stay in the house’s favor.
If you end up hitting a big parlay, you will probably wish that you’d put more money in. But the chances of making that hit don’t justify the risk. In the long run, it’s in your best interest to ignore those types of bets.
5. Emotions
Believe it or not, most people bet on their favorite team or player. There’s no real rational reason for that – they just feel that that’s the best way to give their support. It’s true that having “your” team as part of the match-up makes the whole process of betting on a sports team more exciting. But if you’re looking to make some money on your bet, think again.
Most sports fans are emotionally attached to “their” favorite team and emotion clouds judgment. Review the information about the two teams and then make your decision. If you still want to bet on “your” team, keep the stakes low so you don’t lose too much on a bet that you made for no other reason than to show support to one team or another.
If you want to be a successful sports bettor, stick to these basic rules and focus on making high-value, rational wagers. You’ll be surprised at how well you do!
