Sports betting is a multibillion-dollar industry. No matter how much you can afford to play, gambling is a fun way to complement watching sports each week. But, why rely on luck when you can increase your chances of making money with a smart game plan. If you are interested in improving your gambling knowledge, check out our six proven sports betting strategies.
1) Keep an Eye on Your Sports Betting Bankroll
Regardless if you are new to gambling or a seasoned vet, your bankroll is an important factor to consider. The bankroll is the amount of money you will put aside for your betting endeavors. This amount, no matter your situation, should be a sum that you can afford to lose.
Some online sportsbooks such as SugarHouse will match your first deposit. This is a great way to play with house money, as it were.
In any case, when making bets, a proven sports betting strategy is to limit the amount of money you bet. Professional betters will generally only bet somewhere between 1-5% of their bankroll on any bet. This decreases the risks involved and gives you a chance to diversify.
Sports betting is not poker. At no point, even if you think you have a sure lock, should you bet the house on a single bet. Stay disciplined with your bankroll bet percentages to see success over time.
2) Do Your Research
This may sound obvious, but this is the best betting strategy for sports. No matter which league you choose to bet, you need to know the situation.
It is never wise to bet with a devil-may-care attitude. Throwing out quick bets moments before a game is not smart. Every better has hunches, flyers, and epiphanies. While you may strike gold sometimes on a baseless bet, long term this strategy won’t work.
Alternatively, spending the upcoming week to games doing your homework pays off. Take a look at the games that interest you. Find the stats, trends, and injuries that will influence the team. There are many databases available to help you track these things.
Do your research beforehand to ensure that you are making smart wagers.
3) Consider a Single Team Sports Betting Strategy
This betting strategy goes hand in hand with doing your research. During some months of the year, there can be many leagues playing at the same time. As such, there is a cavalcade of potential games to bet on. This can be an overwhelming amount of sports. You could be stretching yourself too thin chasing lines.
A successful betting strategy is following a single team. This will limit the amount of research you will have to do each week. Make an effort to watch that specific team every week. Learn their players, strengths, weaknesses, etc.
Once you learn this team’s tendencies, you will only need to study their opponents. Yet, this betting strategy does not mean you have to wager on that team every time. If you see a matchup that doesn’t look right or the line feels wrong, hold off.
The important thing to remember is even if you lose a few wagers on this particular team, don’t jump ship. Keep up with them, you’ve already done your homework. In the long term, you will have a strong idea if the bet is smart.
4) Keep Emotions Out of Your Wagers
If you are into online sports betting, it is likely you are a fan of sports. The problem is “fan” is short for fanatic. Emotions run deep in sports. However, it’s important to keep emotion on the sideline. Don’t bet because you like or dislike a team for an emotional reason.
Despite the sports betting strategy above, the one team you choose to bet on doesn’t have to be your favorite team. In fact, you should probably avoid betting on the teams you are emotionally invested in.
Betting with your heart instead of your head will lead to poor decisions and lost money.
5) Beware of Tilting
Speaking of emotions, avoiding tilting is important to successful betting. Tilting is a poker term referring to a player who gets lost in the game because of emotions.
It is easy to lose control of your wagers if you get hit with a bad beat. A painful or pricy lost bet can send a gambler spiraling. You can start chasing bets to try to make up for the loss.
Similarly, a huge win can make you feel unstoppable. You can begin to get cute with your winnings. Throwing money away on bad wagers as if you have nothing to lose.
If you ever find yourself on full tilt, it’s important to take a break. Whether you had a great or terrible betting week, take a breather. There will always be other sports weeks.
As a sports betting strategy, betting responsibly is the key to success. Sometimes a cool-off period may be needed.
6) Shop the Line
Shopping around is a good idea before any purchase. The same is true with betting. Depending on betting traffic, a game’s line can change from sportsbook to sportsbook. This is called shopping the line.
For example, the line of an NFL game could be Seattle (-3) at Arizona on the Bet365 book. If you shop around, you may find the same game with a (-3.5) spread on the SugarHouse sportsbook.
Having accounts at multiple betting sites will help you shop the line.
Remember These Sports Betting Strategies Each Week
These proven sports betting strategies will increase your chance of success. You don’t have to follow all these tips to the letter, but keep some of them in mind as you make your wagers.
Not only will this knowledge make gambling more fun, but also give you a chance to tilt the odds in your favor.
If you enjoyed this guide, take a look at our insider guide to betting on football.