Many sports bettors would say that they bet only for fun, but let's be real here - we all want to make a winning bet and see that money building up in our bank account. Sports betting looks easy when you start - you have all the sporting events in the world to pick from, and all you need to do is bet on the events you strongly believe will go through. In reality, it is much tougher and sometimes even impossible to win.
Therefore, we have a quick guide on how to make safe bets that will definitely get you closer to winning.
Pick your sport wisely
Sports bookmakers have a wide range of sporting events, from the biggest US sports leagues all the way to cricket in Asia, ice hockey in Scandinavia, and soccer in Africa. The good news is that you can always find your sports in the offer, but at the same time, you can get lost in the thousands of events that happen daily.
Most sports bettors were sports fans long before sports betting saw its global expansion. That means that you already have your favourite sports, and by following them for years, you have gathered some knowledge, which in some cases can even be called expertise, or at least you want to see it that way.
Of course, you will need to get lucky to win a bet, but at the same time, it is not just a lottery. Explore VegasOdds for more details about the rules of the games and the betting options for a particular sport that will be the difference maker.
So, if you want to start with sports betting, do it on the sport you already follow. Placing a bet on a sport you are not into becomes just a lottery and does not bring any fun following the event because, most of the time, you won't even know what is happening.
Do your research
Doing solid research on the current circumstances that can, and most of the time will, impact the game is a crucial part of sports betting. The combination of analyzing stats, betting trends, and your gut feeling can be the recipe for a winning bet.
Today, there are plenty of websites like VegasOdds where you can thoroughly research the game and players you need. Seeing the current form, previous head-to-head matchups, and overall and home-away record should be a routine before you make a decision whether or not to place a bet on a specific event.
Every sport has its own factors that should impact your decision. Starting lineups in basketball are easy to predict, but in soccer, the absence of a particular player can change the formation of the game, and that can have a major impact on the outcome.
We all know who the best MLB teams are, but who will start on the mound is all that matters at times. There are pitchers who can have control of the entire game, while others can easily get the team in a hole.
In tennis, there are three different surfaces, and while some players are brilliant on clay courts, they are terrible while playing on grass. So, digging deep when analyzing is what separates great sports bettors from the rest.
Do not rush anywhere
Recent research has shown that 85% of the winning bets in the United States were single bets, while only 15% were parlays. You don't need to be an expert to understand that increasing the number of games you bet on decreases your chances of winning.
Of course, the odds for a single bet are way lower than building up a nice parlay that could possibly multiply your bet. Still, a lack of patience is one of the reasons why most bettors lose long-term. If you are able only to bet on single games that come a couple of times a week, you can expect a long-term winning percentage of 65-70%, which is considered high in sports betting.
Set your budget
Not setting a betting budget that will not affect your regular expenses is the road to disaster. When sports betting, you need to decide how much money you are able to invest in sports betting on a monthly basis and stick to it no matter what.
Many bettors who had this in mind when starting have increased the budget after winning a couple of bets and put themselves in a situation to lose all of that with one losing bet that will eventually come. So set your budget and enjoy sports betting without jeopardizing your or your family's budget.