Betting on sports has probably been around as long as there have been sports. Laws from Ancient Egypt, estimated to be 5,000-6,000 years old, have been uncovered that reveal that this ancient civilization regulated gambling. With humans’ attraction to risk and the potential for a payoff, it’s not surprising that sports betting is a booming industry in today’s world.
This exciting world offers many ways for bettors and sports fans to engage in this growing global market. With an estimated market value of $194.63 billion in 2021, we are going to look at how you can stake your claim to part of the action.
Bankroll Management
The most important first step to any good sports betting strategy is to determine the various parts of your bankroll. Without solid groundwork here you are setting yourself up for disaster.
First, you will need to decide on your betting budget. The amount that you can afford to risk is going to vary from person to person depending on their circumstances. The golden rule is to only play with money that you can afford to lose.
Set yourself a wager limit and stick to it. This is the maximum amount that you will place on any single bet. Professional bettors normally set their wager limit at 1-2% of their bankroll.
Two other limits that should also be set are a session loss limit and a stop win limit. Your session loss limit defines that any particular betting session ends when you’ve lost a certain amount of money. Often overlooked, but equally important is to have a stop win limit that determines the end of a particular betting session once you have won a specified amount of money.
We highly recommend that you establish a separate betting bankroll. That way you won’t accidentally exceed your limit. Keeping it separate will also make it easier to keep track of your overall gains.
Understand The Odds
You need to understand the odds to be able to determine what your potential winnings could be. Bettors new to sports betting should also be aware that there are also different ways that the odds are presented by bookmakers.
Moneyline (American) odds show the odds relative to a $100 wager. A positive number represents the winnings on a $100 wager, while a negative number represents the amount a wager would have to be to win $100. This is the most common type of odds used in the U.S.
Fractional (British) odds are written with either a hyphen (-) or slash (/) between two numbers. The first number represents the winnings obtained on a wager represented by the second number. For example, for 10/1 odds you would win $10 for every $1 of your stake. Fractional odds are also referred to as traditional odds.
Decimal (European) odds show the winning amount for every $1 wagered. Unlike moneyline and fractional odds, decimal odds include the initial stake in the number.
Research
Always do research before placing any bets.
With the massive number of betting options available it is vital that you understand the different types of bets. Ranging from the easier straight bets to exotic propositional bets, knowing how the type of bet you are staking works is essential if you want to make any sort of gain.
The second step of your research should be to analyse the statistics and trends of your chosen sport, team, or competitor. While the internet provides a great number of sites that provide this information, the trick is to find a few sites that offer reliable and reputable information. Always check where a site gets its information from, as this will help you to determine how good the information is. Once you have selected a few good quality sites you can leverage their statistical and trend information to make more informed decisions.
You will also want to keep up to date with the current news and updates. Many things such as injuries, team changes, and even the weather can affect the odds.
Thorough research will not only indulge your passion for your chosen sport, but it will also improve your edge for any wager that you decide to stake.
Shop Around
There is a great deal of competition between bookmakers as they all want your business. So, take your time and shop around between them to find the best odds. Doing this will help give you the best value for your money.
And who knows, by shopping around you might even find those rare arbitrage betting choices. By placing bets on both sides of a game with different sportsbooks you may be able to lock in a profit regardless of which team or players wins.
Check Your Emotions At The Door
There aren’t many things like the endorphin rush of a big win nor the heart dropping despair of a large loss. But you need to know that your emotions will bias your decision-making ability.
If you are going to be betting regularly, you’re inevitably going to experience black streaks from time to time.
For this reason, it is important that you be as objective as possible when deciding what wagers to stake. If you find that your emotions are gaining the upper hand, then we suggest that you take a break and clear your head. By developing the discipline to remain emotionally detached you will significantly reduce your chances of going on tilt.
Emotional bias is also the reason that’s recommended that you don’t bet on your favourite team. Your passion for your team is something that should be enjoyed, and you don’t want to colour with incurred losses because you felt it necessary to support them, even when the numbers didn’t support the bet.
Remember To Have Fun
Just like when you gamble responsibly at sites like Bella Vegas, your sports betting journey should be fun whether you win or lose. To help cultivate your enjoyment and hopefully your profits, we hope that the above advice will assist you in making smarter decisions.
Develop your plan and then stick to it. At the end of the day the discipline that you develop will positively influence your betting outcomes. Now go out there and stake your claim.
