Sports betting makes up around 40% of the global gambling market – quite a lot, if we take into account that the other players include casinos and lotteries across the nations. A good share of the sports betting market is represented by online betting – because, who wouldn’t love to make some money whilst downing a beer and enjoying their favourite sports from the comfort of their homes? Before you start wagering your hard-earned money, you should learn what you’re doing. Our sports betting 101: the basics of online sports betting guide is here to help you get started.
1. Know Your Sport Inside-Out
The secret to successful sports betting is being an expert in your field. For instance, if you like football, just being an NFL fanatic won’t make you a successful bettor. In-depth knowledge is vital for winning a bet. Without it, you won’t be able to understand various possibilities, predict outcomes, or even estimate the win-lose odds. Fortunately, there are sources like Doc's Sports Service, that provide free tips and strategies to help you with it. Once you know how to interpret each situation, you can start making your first bets.
2. Learn How Sports Betting Works
Sports betting can be overwhelming when you don’t know where to start. The first thing is to learn how to read the odds.
Odds represent the ratio between the stake and winning, and are established by bookmakers. You’ll spot them as a fraction when placing a bet, and each odd will give you a clear indication on how much you can expect to win.
Whilst things could be more complicated than this, to take a simple example, an odd of 2:1 means that you will cash out $2 for every dollar you bet. Needless to say, the higher the stake, the higher the profit you might walk home with.
To avoid losing money at first, it’s always a great idea to use sportsbook bonuses for your first bets. These bonuses are freebies given by various providers and that you can use to learn what you’re doing.
3. Try New Types of Wagers
The simplest type of betting you should start with is the win, lose, or draw – you basically choose which team wins, which loses, or whether there’ll be a draw. Once you’ve mastered this technique, though, it’s time to move where the money are. Live, in-play bets that require you to interpret situations and make bets according to them are riskier, but more profitable.
4. Only Bet on What You Know
Someone once said that we never stop learning, and truer words have never been uttered. No matter how much you try to excel, you’ll never be able to learn everything about your sport. That’s why you should only concentrate on teams and leagues that you know. For instance, if you’re an NFL fan, chances are you won’t be able to make accurate predictions for the European rugby leagues, even if the two sports are similar.
5. Keep An Open Mind
Do you believe betting is a way to get rich fast? Never start betting. Whilst betting can be fun and bring you profits, chances are you’ll lose a lot before you get the grip of it. That’s why you should establish a budget, stick to it, and don’t get too discouraged if you lose it all at first. When you do start winning, avoid investing more than you’ve established just because you can – this is how most people start losing their money. With this in mind, keep things light and fun, and approach sports betting with an open mind.
