Over the years, observers have noted that poker players seem to enjoy a high rate of success at sports betting. Ever since the United States lifted its ban on sports betting, sports fans have been trying to figure out what they can do to increase their rates of success with their wagers. Many observers have noted that, on average, poker players seem to do better than the average bettor when placing wagers on sporting events.
What do these online casino poker players know that the rest of us need to figure out?
Similar
Some analysts say that poker players do well with sports betting because the two types of gambling are actually quite similar. They’re not simply entertaining, like slots, and they aren’t simple games of chance, like lottery games. With lotteries and slots, there’s nothing that you can do to increase your chances of winning. Nothing that you do will impact the outcome.
But with poker and with sports betting, the more skill that you bring into the game, the more your chances of succeeding increase. The element of chance is always there but the better your analysis of the game and your moves, the better you will come out in the end.
This perfect combination of skill and luck is the element that makes poker players such good sports bettors. They know that they need to know how to evaluate all aspects of the game carefully, have an excellent grasp of all of the various possibilities that could impact the game and eliminate, as much as possible, guesswork. The odds associated with different situations, the backgrounds and experience level of the competitors, even the weather……all of these elements impact the outcome of both types of competitive events.
Bettors who know how to break down and evaluate each competition’s component parts will do well in either type of event.
Math
Both poker playing and sports betting requires thinking in terms of math and probability. When you play poker, you must calculate your outs, probabilities and other elements of the game. Poker players understand and accept that poker revolves around making the moves that carry the highest probability of winning. And that means that you have to think in numbers.
Sports betting is similar, though it involves more complex equations. When you bet on sports you must be able to understand the basis of statistics and predict trends. When you understand how probability works, you’ll get more out of your wagers.
Also, both types of gaming require keeping track of stats. In poker, following stats means keeping track of the statistics during a single game or tournament When betting on sports you need to follow a player or a team for an extended period of time and track their statistics throughout a season or multiple seasons. Only after you have the tools that give you the information about how the team/individual performs can you evaluate your betting options.
Passion
Poker players who are considering taking up sports betting might be interested to hear that there’s no specific sport that is suggested as one that is most appropriate for their betting activities. The main idea is that to be successful in sports betting, it’s important to understand the rules of the chosen sport, follow that sports’ events and get to know the players and the teams and their stats.
However, if you’re not interested in sports, don’t even bother. If you aren’t a sports fan, at least on a low level, you will almost certainly not be prepared to put in the time to research the different aspects of the sport that you need to know in order to place solid wagers.
Consider – if you didn’t enjoy poker, would you play it on a professional level? Almost certainly not. We need passion to drive us as we try to be better at what we do. Poker players are almost never in it only for the money – winning cash prizes is, of course, motivating, but at the end of the day, passion for the game is the reason that most poker enthusiasts keep playing. Same with sports betting – to be successful, you must enjoy sports and be prepared to follow the games, track the results and try to understand how the players and the coaches make the decisions that they do.
Locations
If you are interested in expanding into sports betting, you might want to consider the options of where you can enjoy the best sports betting experience. You can always go to a land-based casino and go to the sportsbook section of the casino where you can make your bets over the counter.
Today, many casinos offer online betting so you can make your bets online without ever leaving your house.
If you’re betting online, chances are that you’ll enjoy a much larger betting spread, as well as a larger range of sports on which to bet. You’ll be able to compare the odds that the various online platforms provide so you can choose the casino that gives you the best odds for the wager that you wish to place. Some betting sites offer better odds than others so it’s important to compare and contrast the various sites, just as you compare tournaments when you decide where you want to play poker.
Another advantage of online sites for sports betting is the casinos’ welcome bonuses which you should explore so that you don’t miss bonuses to which you are entitled. Sometimes, it’s the available bonuses that allow you to narrow down your decision of where to wager.
A new betting option at both on-site and online casinos is the in-play betting (also called “live betting”) option. With in-play betting the gamer can wager on different aspects of the game even as it’s already underway. Live betting wager options include the chance to guess which player will score next, bet on what a particular player will do next, place a wager on when the coach will next call a time out or, or course, bet on the final score or which team will win.
Poker players like the live betting feature because it offers the same kind of suspense and thrill that comes from playing poker. Making the right decision requires that one think quickly because everything can change within seconds.
Live betting also allows one to “tilt” so, as with poker, it’s important to keep a cool head in such a situation.
Analytical Approach
Both sports betting and poker require an analytical approach. If you can do it with poker, you can do it with sports betting. If you are a good poker player and a sports fan you can combine your two interests and make some money along the way.
